Jaffe

The end of a career?

Last week, an interview with Representative Katherine Harris, from the 13th Congressional District of Florida, appeared in the Florida Baptist Witness. Representative Harris, who is running for the US Senate, told Witness editors,"If you are not electing Christians, tried and true, under public scrutiny and pressure, if you're not electing Christians, then in essence you are going to legislate sin."

What?

"And if we are the ones not actively involved in electing those godly men and women and if people aren’t involved in helping godly men in getting elected than we’re going to have a nation of secular laws. That’s not what our founding fathers intended and that’s certainly isn’t what God intended."

I don't know what God intended, but I'm pretty sure that is what the founding fathers intended. In Article VI of the US Constitution, our founding fathers wrote "...no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States." Sounds pretty clear to me.

I could go on about different parts of the interview, but you should really read the whole thing. Not surprisingly, politicians from both parties are distancing themselves from Representative Harris, who two days after Witness published the interview, was at a gun show in Orlando (apparently she can separate legislating 'sin' from showing her support for gun owners/collectors/users) and defended herself by saying that her "comments were specifically directed toward a Christian group."

I may be one of the many "average citizens who are not Christians" and who doesn't "know better" (couldn't help quoting her one more time), but I know when I see someone who doesn't represent me, or anyone I know. Representative Harris has no business in the federal government. I don't think she belongs in any local government either, at least not in a country that is supposed to be inclusive and tolerant.

Is this the end of Katherine Harris' political career? Let's hope so.

Labels: politics

posted by Aron @ 9:10 PM