Republican by the grace of God, apparently
Katherine Harris, the one-time GOP golden girl, and the apple of Sean Hannity’s eye, has been running a rather interesting campaign for the U.S. Senate seat in Florida. The Republican Party pulled its support from her campaign after a series of scandals, most notably her acceptance and misreporting of campaign contributions from defense contractor Mitchell Wade, the man who pled guilty to bribing congressman Duke Cunningham.
Since then, she has seemed hell-bent on self-destruction. Most recently, in an interview with the Florida Baptist Witness, she told the paper:
“[I]f you’re not electing Christians then in essence you are going to legislate sin.”
In addition to advocating a Christian litmus test for politicians, she says:
“[I]f people aren’t involved in helping godly men in getting elected than (sic) we’re going to have a nation of secular laws. That’s not what our founding fathers intended and that’s (sic) certainly isn’t what God intended.”
Going to have a nation of secular laws? We’ve had one for 230 years.
But these are just the silly ramblings of a woman desperately trying to hold on to a sliver of hope for her campaign. Even if she is serious, I don’t think any serious people take her seriously. Seriously.
But this did strike a chord with me: In her Statement of Clarification on her website, Harris says she was “addressing a common misperception that people of faith should not be actively involved in government.” Huh? Is there any misperception that people with religious beliefs should not hold public office, let alone a common one?
According to one poll 70% of Americans think it’s important for a President to have strong religious beliefs. Most Presidents are “actively involved in government.” I mean, sometimes they have brush to clear, but usually they make with the governing. So Harris’ clarification doesn’t fly with me.
I file this one under persecution complex. It fits neatly between Tom Delay complaining that the government’s investigation of him represents persecution of Christians and the faux “War on Christmas”. These are cynical ploys wherein politicians, or those who do their bidding, attempt to convince the majority of Americans that they are a persecuted minority in order to spur them on to the polls.
This is a pet peeve of mine. There is enough real persecution going on in the world, religious and otherwise, that I don’t think we need to manufacture any in order to exploit the faith of Americans. In my 30 years of life, no one has yet prevented me from saying a prayer or holding religious beliefs. No one has prevented me from wishing a “Merry Christmas” or humming a carol. And this is the first time I’ve heard it suggested that if I have a religious faith, I shouldn’t hold public office. But if someone like Katherine Harris would be my colleague, why would I want to?
