I Swear!
(image from www.house.gov)
Love him or hate him, Virginia congressman Virgil Goode has been fanning the flames of religion and politics. Using scare tactics to dvide people rather than bringing them together, the Republican representative wrote to his constituents and replied to CNN that “if American citizens don’t wake up and adopt the Virgil Goode position on immigration there will likely be many more Muslims elected to office and demanding the use of the Koran.” His comment was in response to Muslim-elect Keith Ellison from Minnesota who asked to be sworn in using the Koran vs. the Bible. He is a man of faith Virgil, what’s wrong with Keith swearing on his faith instead of yours??
The Virginia congressman sounds like a total idiot. Perhaps he should consider singing for Xmas the adapted carol “I Slander As I Pander.”
To his credit, the newly-elected member from Minnesota is showing almost superhuman restraint:
More at http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/21/us/21koran.html
And by the way, Rep. Goode won his district by a margin of 59% to 40%, so his constituents must love him. Here’s his official website: http://www.house.gov/goode/
I wonder why Ameicans are afraid all the time? Hmmmm…
I totally agree with your point but…why is this in SF.metblogs? While I don’t agree with her politics and find her explication of them shoddy, at least Joann’s “political” pieces usually have a local tie-in.
To Chester: we don’t necessarily want to be provincial all the time do we? we can pretend that we care about what’s going on in the rest of the country…
What does this have to do with San Francisco?
His opponent didn’t have the means to run a particularly effective campaign against him. Rep. Virgil Goode — my representative — trades on his father’s name, the beloved Virgil Goode Sr. Goode was a Democrat until he became an independent in 1998, and then a Republican in 2000. He does not advertise his party affiliation, and many people continue to vote for him believing that he is, as his father was, a Democrat.
No, not “provincial”, but the nature of this site would seem to be, by definition, region-specific. I would think that this bar ought to be considered even more rigidly when an article’s intent is purely political.
This underscores why no congressman should be sworn in by any religious document. They should be sworn in on the Constitution.