Florida CFO and gubernatorial candidate Alex Sink and U.S. Senate candidate Jeff Greene — both Democrats — are joining Republican candidates for higher office Rick Scott, Bill McCollum, and Marco Rubio in publicly stating their opposition to President Obama‘s words tentatively supporting the construction of a mosque two blocks from the site where the World Trade Center once stood.
In a statement Saturday, Greene said the president “has this all wrong”:
I strongly oppose his support for building a mosque near Ground Zero especially since Islamic terrorists have bragged [about] and celebrated destroying the Twin Towers and killing nearly 3,000 Americans.
Freedom of religion might provide the right to build the mosque in the shadow of Ground Zero, but common sense and respect for those who lost their lives and loved ones gives sensible reason to build the mosque someplace else.
Sink yesterday told the St. Petersburg Times that while she’s “grateful for our constitutional right to freedom of religion,” she opposes the mosque:
When it comes to what to build close to the hallowed site of ground zero, I think it ought to be up to the people of New York City to decide.
…
It is my personal opinion that the wishes of the 9/11 victims’ families and friends must be respected. They are opposed to this project and I share their view.
Speaking with the Times, Rep. Kendrick Meek, who is running against Greene in the Democratic Senate primary, remained neutral, calling the issue “ultimately a decision for the local community in New York City to make.”
