McMahon rival Grimm pushes back on Bloomy

The Politico reports:

Michael Grimm, one of the two Republicans vying for the nomination in NY-13 to take on Democratic Rep. Mike McMahon, sent a letter to Mayor Michael Bloomberg asking him to reconsider his support for the mosque near ground zero.

 

Bloomberg has endorsed McMahon in the district, although McMahon has said he thinks the project ought to be relocated.

 

Grimm is a former FBI agent, as he mentions in his letter, which is after the jump.

 

August 17, 2010

Hon. Michael R. Bloomberg

Office of the Mayor

City Hall

New York, NY 10007

 

Dear Mayor Bloomberg:

 

As a candidate for Congress in New York’s 13th Congressional District, I have been meeting with many residents of Staten Island and Brooklyn and hearing their thoughts about the issues that face our city and country. While jobs, taxes and the economy are among the top concerns voiced by our friends and neighbors, the proposal by the Cordoba Institute to build a mosque and Islamic community center near the site of Ground Zero permeates nearly every conversation I have with voters.

 

 

Today, I am writing to ask you to reconsider your position in support of the construction of this mosque. The communities of Staten Island and Brooklyn that I am seeking to represent experienced among the highest per-capita losses of life on 9/11. As a former FBI agent, I was alongside other first-responders at the Ground Zero site in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks. I saw the direct consequences of Islamic terrorism. As you can imagine the proposal is of special concern to me and my community.

 

 

It is difficult to imagine that the backers of this project did not understand the emotional trauma this project will cause to all New Yorkers who lived through that day or suffered losses in their lives. Of all the locations in the City of New York, why was this site chosen? Clearly there is an agenda behind this effort.

People who oppose this plan cannot be blindly described as racists or anti-Muslim bigots.

 

As a United States Marine during Operation Desert Storm I had the privilege to wear our country’s uniform as we defended Saudi Arabia and then liberated Kuwait, both Muslim nations, from the aggression of their Iraqi neighbors. I would not hesitate to again wear my country’s uniform in defense of our Constitutional freedoms. I am grateful we live in a country that allows us to practice our chosen religion freely. But there is also a clear difference between “rights” and doing “what’s right.”

 

 

While I respect your opinion, I must take a stand for the people of Staten Island and Brooklyn. And for that reason I will continue to speak-out and do everything in my power to ensure this project does not go forward. I ask you to please reconsider your position and at the very least respect the position of those who are opposed.

Sincerely yours,

 

Michael Grimm