Virgil's been making a name for himself: Head Religious Bigot of the 110th Congress. His latest opinion piece in USA Today is an example:
A letter I sent in early December was written in response to hundreds of e-mails from constituents upset about Rep.-elect Keith Ellison's decision to use the Quran in connection with his congressional swearing-in. Their communications followed media reports that Ellison, a Minnesota Democrat, had said that he would swear on the Quran. He repeated that at a gathering of Muslims in Detroit on Dec. 26.
My letter did not call for a religious test for prospective members of Congress, as some have charged. Americans have the right to elect any person of their choosing to represent them. I indicated to my constituents that I did not subscribe to the Quran in any way, and I intended to use the Bible in connection with my swearing-in. I also stated that the Ten Commandments and "In God We Trust" are on the wall of my office, and I have no intention of displaying the Quran in my office. That is my choice, and I stand by my position and do not apologize for it.
My letter also stated, "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 Quran."
Immigration is arguably the most important issue facing the country today. At least 12 million immigrants are here illegally. And diversity visas, a program initiated in 1990 to grant visas to people from countries that had low U.S. immigration at that time, are bringing in 50,000 a year from various parts of the world, including the Middle East.
Let us remember that we were not attacked by a nation on 9/11; we were attacked by extremists who acted in the name of the Islamic religion. I believe that if we do not stop illegal immigration totally, reduce legal immigration and end diversity visas, we are leaving ourselves vulnerable to infiltration by those who want to mold the United States into the image of their religion, rather than working within the Judeo-Christian principles that have made us a beacon for freedom-loving persons around the world.
I'm glad to find out that Rep. Goode's first letter was written after constituents flooded him with emails. Now I can start the proceedings to repossess the memory of Thomas Jefferson from Virginia with a clear conscience. We should just show up, dismantle Monticello, and move it to some place that understands what Jefferson meant by Separation Between Church and State.
People are rightly concerned about immigration issues. But maybe we can avoid the slandering of a fifth of the world's population while solving our immigration policies. What in God's green earth is the "Islamic" religion? I don't pretend for a single moment that the term "Christianist" is meant to describe all adherents to the Christian faith. Christianity is best represented by people who work to bring Christ into their own lives, not bash him into the lives of their neighbors. It is the standard Jesus himself set up when he said that "the Kingdom of God is among you."
However, he also warned about people who would hire trumpet players to walk before him, announcing their arrival at the Temple to give alms. Any Christian in the public eye risks this perception, but it's clear when said Christian is courting the attention.
Take for example his denial of a religious test in his desire to refuse Keith Ellison to swear in on a Quran. Technically, he is correct. His original letter, sent to constituents, makes no mention of trying to stop Ellison from using the Quran. One can only imagine the letters he was getting that such a response was considered necessary to mail out to hundreds of his constituents. Perhaps they were asking him what he was going to do about it. His reply: the only thing he could. He's going to have a Bible in his hand when he takes his oath, and he's got the 10 Commandments and "In God We Trust" on his office wall. And as long as he's their congressman, that's not going to change.
Seen that way, it's quite a remarkable brand of butter he's using on his cranked-up constituents. He's not going to do a single thing about stopping Ellison from using the religious book of his choice, but that gives him all the permission in the world to flaunt his Christianity. And he will, by God, and he'll make a stand against all of these Muslims that Bill Clinton let into this country, before we good Christain Americans have to abide the sight of another brown person carrying a Quran into our government buildings!
Rep. Goode's flock doesn't like Muslims entering our shores and our public buildings, apparently. They had enough of that on 9/11, as Rep. Goode makes clear. And Rep. Goode has to keep his seat with this kind of constituents, so I guess we should bless him for doing the best he could without giving them exactly what they wanted. He certainly is doing an excellent job in using the free publicity to get his immigration views out there.
Still, I find a bit of fault in how he's handling all this. It's bad religion to exploit religious prejudice to gain political power. Rep. Goode could have made exactly the same points he did while confronting his constituents' intolerant attitudes, and he could have done it in a way that wouldn't have endangered his seat in the slightest. Christians expect their leaders to call them on their sins. And when such correction is done with an attitude of love, all the Christians I've ever known will clam up and take the admonition. Instead, Rep. Goode grandstanded, revelling in his Ten Commandments wall hanging, a code well understood by anyone familar with the shenanigans of Alabama's Roy Moore. Furthermore, he is openly courting the comparison of Mr. Ellison's election to the attacks of 9/11. Behold the new McCarthyism.
Bad religion, bad politics. Mr. Goode, stay clear of Monticello. We'll be after it directly.
UPDATE: A nice fisking of a Goode press conference here. It doesn't catch onto Goode's point about not requiring a religious text, but there's a lot of confusion about that out there.
Plus, Ellison is using Jefferson's copy of the Quran for the swearing-in. That's bloody brilliant.
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