Nativism's blessings

I'm sure you've seen this all over the blogosphere this morning, and I hate to link to it as it only encourages them, but...what the fuck?

The same was true in religion. The steady pressure to conform to American norms, exerted through fair means and foul, eventually persuaded the Mormons to abandon polygamy, smoothing their assimilation into the American mainstream. Nativist concerns about Catholicism’s illiberal tendencies inspired American Catholics to prod their church toward a recognition of the virtues of democracy, making it possible for generations of immigrants to feel unambiguously Catholic and American.

Really? Comparing Mormons' (illegal) polygamy to...what...Ramadan? The U.S. government didn't "persuade" Mormons to give up polygamy, they demanded it in return for admission to the Union*. What Islamic practice are we to pressure Muslims to abandon, "through fair means and foul?"

Ross Douthat: determining who may assimilate and who may not.

* But still practiced by many fundamentalist Mormons.