7k SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard

Advertisements

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) went off the deep end this week at Ralph Reed’s Faith and Freedom Coalition’s Road to the Majority Conference. Speaking at the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, D.C., he doubled down on the old War on Christianity meme that wears so well among the faithful. Despite shoving their religion down our throats for 2,000 years, we are to believe these poor bigots are in danger of extinction – whoever the Islamists don’t get, the liberal elites will.

Watch Courtesy of Right Wing Watch:

Advertisements

“It saddens me to see these countries that are supposedly our allies that they continue to persecute Christians,” he said, ignoring the persecution of non-Christians BY Christians here at home, in America.

It angers me to see my tax dollars supporting regimes that put Christians to death for blasphemy against Islam, countries that put to death Muslims who convert to Christianity and counties who imprison anyone who marries outside their religion.

Mr. Paul apparently thinks it is perfectly okay for Christians to treat non-Christians in these ways, for example, the “Kill the Gays” legislation in Uganda, or reducing the LGBT community and non-Christians to second-class citizen status here at home.

It angers me that my tax dollars go toward propping up the Church, when the First Amendment clearly states that the government shall make no law establishing religion.

“I say no more money to countries that are doing that to Christians.”

I say no more money to Christian organizations that harass and persecute anyone they don’t approve of.

“There is a war on Christianity,” he told his audience, well ahead of the Christmas season. “Not just from liberal elites here at home, but worldwide.”

By war on Christianity, he means we have the nerve to tell him we don’t feel his religious beliefs trump or own. The audacity!

“And your government, or more correctly you are having to pay for it. You are being taxed to send money to countries that are not only intolerant of Christians but openly hostile…”

Other countries, you say? Our tax dollars don’t have to leave these shores to support a religion that is not only intolerant of non-Christians (or the wrong kind of Christians) but openly hostile.

He kinda misses the entire point of the First Amendment, doesn’t he?

Rand Paul doesn’t care about the persecution of gays and lesbians, or of transgenders. He doesn’t care about the persecution of Pagans or secularists or of atheists. He doesn’t care about anyone but Christians.

Christians have never been the target of persecution in the Western world since the fifth century, and before that, they were persecuted for less than ten years total. Less than ten years. Christianity has been systematically persecuting people since the fifth century and it is still doing so today, right here at home Right in front of Rand Paul’s eyes. Right in front of his audience’s eyes.

By campaigning against the First Amendment, Rand Paul has shown himself to be completely unsuitable for high office. His job is to represent everyone in his district, not only Evangelical Christians. His job as president would be to represent the interests of ALL Americans, not only Evangelical Christians.

But Rand Paul can’t and won’t do that. Rand Paul is a tool of the Religious Right and his avowed fears of an Islamic Caliphate fall just a little flat when he himself aspires to be a Caliph here at home. The presidency is a secular – not a religious – office, and Rand Paul and his supporters would do well to remember that in an age of declining church membership and young people increasingly tired of the persecution of their friends.

The Republican tent has gotten very small, and unfortunately for the GOP, Republicans seem to embrace that fact, using language that, while sure to appeal to the base, alienates the rest of America. Their problem in an ecumenical sense, is similar to their immigration problem.

Pragmatically, it would benefit them to tone down the holy war rhetoric but they can’t. This sort of thing builds up a momentum of its own. There is no backtracking from either/or propositions. They have declared the rest of us to be evil, and you cannot compromise with evil.

Pragmatism is a dinosaur in the Republican Party, as you can see from some of the crazy remarks coming out of this year’s conference. US News & World Report gives us a quick rundown:

“We gotta put some salsa sauce on the Republican party.” – Sam Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, calling for more Latino outreach by the Republican party. He also encouraged delegates to “just reach out and grab that brown hand.” “Immigrants are more fertile.” – former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, making the case for immigration reform “College campuses are indoctrination camps for the abortion industry.” – Kate Obenshein, vice president of Young America’s Foundation, in a panel on advancing the pro-life movement. She also called Planned Parenthood “barbarians.” “We are at a tipping point the likes of which we have never seen in civilization.” – Rep. Mark Sanford, R-S.C., on government spending. “[Allen West] is a real American … We should really take something from his gene pool and put it everywhere across this great country.” – actor and conservative speaker John Ratzenberger, best known as “Cliff” from the TV show “Cheers,” introducing West to the convention crowd. “We lost because Obama won crushing, lopsided majorities among Americans who are single, poor, irreligious … There are people who are all three.” – Michael Medved, conservative radio talk show host, on why Republicans lost the 2012 presidential election.

John Ratzenberger wanting to spread of Allen West’s sperm is disturbing enough, and contrary to Ann Coulter, it is not Marco Rubio (ironically, a past speaker at the conference) and the other Republicans who support immigration reform who will destroy the Republican Party. It is the religious bigots like Rand Paul, Michele Bachmann, and others.

Paul and his audience won’t see that – their religious zealotry has blinded them to our shared reality and to cause and effect. They are blinded by hatred for humanity, and if this is their battle cry for 2016, they have lost already.