New Jersey Gov. Christie gets one right on the irrational fear of Sharia Law

By Richard K. Barry

Okay, I don't like Gov. Chris Christie. I've said before that I think he's a bully and I've been disgusted by his union bashing. But he is an effective politician and when he occasionally gets something right, it is a thing of beauty.

Such was the case when he defended the appointment of Sohail Mohammed to the state bench despite the fact that it angered some wackos on the right who seem to see the threat of Sharia Law wherever they look.

Christie called such concerns "crap." He went on to tell reporters that he rejected complaints that have been made that Sohail Mohammed is unfit to be a judge because he defended Muslim Americans who were wrongly arrested post- 9/11, saying that:

Ignorance is behind the criticism of Sohail Mohammed. He is an extraordinary American who is an outstanding lawyer and played an integral role in the post-September 11th period in building bridges between the Muslim American community in this state and law enforcement.

And in addressing frequently heard comments by conservatives who fear that Sharia Law will come to America he said:

Sharia Law has nothing to do with this at all, it's crap. The guy is an American citizen. Sharia Law business is crap and I'm tired of dealing with the crazies. It's just unnecessary to be accusing this guy of things just because of his religious background.

Too bad Christie hasn't jumped into the Republican presidential nomination race, as some thought or still think he might. It would be fun to see him take on Herman Cain who has made quite an effort to fire up his base by suggesting that we need to actively oppose Sharia Law coming to America because, apparently, that's going to be such a big problem for us.

Christie's politics aside, there really are potential Republican presidential nominees who know that in this go round you have to be more than a little insane, or pretend to be, to be seriously considered. If Christie got in, he'd be dealing with the crazies every day and that is something for which he seems to have little patience.

Here's the clip of Christie addressing the press on the issue:

(Cross-posted at Lippmann's Ghost.)