Excerpt:
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid broke with President Obama Monday over the proposed mosque near Ground Zero, saying the controversial Islamic center should be built elsewhere.
Spokesman Jim Manley said in a written statement that Republicans should show their sincerity about sensitivity to Sept. 11 survivors by backing a high-profile bill to grant health benefits to rescue workers, something that stalled in Congress earlier this month.
But at the same time, Manley put Reid on the record for the first time in the hyper-sensitive and volatile mosque debate.
"The First Amendment protects freedom of religion," Manley said. "Sen. Reid respects that but thinks that the mosque should be built someplace else."