When the House of Representatives, after a 16-day standoff, finally decided to reopen the government and raise the debt ceiling last night, it was only fitting that more crazy was on tap.

As the vote was coming to a close, House stenographer Dianne Reidy, 48, took to the speaker’s podium and started an unprecedented rant about God. On the recording, she can be heard yelling

He will nоt bе mocked! This iѕ nоt оnе nation undеr God! It nеvеr was. Hаd it been… It would not have been… No. Thе Constitution wоuld nоt hаvе bееn written bу Freemasons, thеу gо аgаinѕt God! You cannot serve two masters. Praise be God Lord Jesus Christ.

She was also heard to say something about the devil before security officers forcibly escorted her out of the room.

The rambling and mystifying nature of the outburst notwithstanding, some see Reidy’s eruption as a sign of religious courage. Exclaimed one commenter,

Thank you Dianne Reidy for having the courage to stand up to evil and say the Lord’s name in its presence. You have been heard by many and know that we cover you in prayers.

And then there was Fox and Friends, whose intrepid hosts found themselves in the unenviable position of needing to distance themselves from the strident stenographer’s unacceptable, possible psychotic episode, while simultaneously getting across how much they, too, love praising Jesus.

First, the broadcast team presented a couple of viewer e-mails:

It was not a mental episode. What she was doing was known as an exercise of the gifts of the spirit where she brought a warning and a message from God.

And:

Amazingly, this religious and obviously sweet lady gets fed up and speaks her mind, something we all have tried to do. She brings up our dear Lord and she gets a mental evaluation? I think it should be the other way around.

Co-host Elizabeth Hasselbeck then opined, as if talking about a folk hero:

“Who knows, maybe she just saw something that didn’t seem right and mounting frustration and tensions brought it out of her.”

Though Reidy underwent psychiatric evaluation, she herself thinks her actions were perfectly rational — and inspired by the Holy Spirit.

“For the past 2 1/2 weeks the Holy Spirit has been waking me up in the middle of the night and preparing me (through my reluctance and doubt) to deliver a message in the House Chamber,” she told Fox News’ Chad Pergram in a statement. “That is what I did last night.”

Reidy’s husband is worried sick. Just kidding — he is proud, he told the media.

[Dianne] is a sweet, level-headed wonderful woman of God. I am proud of her.

It’s unknown whether Reidy can return to sanity — and to the job she’s held for the past eight and a half years.



