Yes. That's right. Dan Patrick, the reichtwing radio talk show host whose "baby buying" bill was first reported by TexasKaos' moiv and has since brought widespread condemnation of Patrick, the Texas GOP and (of course) Texas, walked out on the very first Muslim prayer held in the Senate and then had the audacity to call himself tolerant!
"I think that it's important that we are tolerant as a people of all faiths, but that doesn't mean we have to endorse all faiths, and that was my decision," he said later, "I surely believe that everyone should have the right to speak, but I didn't want my attendance on the floor to appear that I was endorsing that."
Patrick was the only Texas Senator to walk out on him.
Ok, let me get this straight. You want to show your tolerance for religious freedom...by turning you back literally on it and walking out it?!? The man, like his buddy Rick Perry, is either a bumbling idiot or a political genius. I'm going with idiot.
What adds to the irony is the fact that the lawmaker who invited the Muslim cleric, Imam Yusuf Kavakci of the Dallas Central Mosque, was a Jewish woman and fellow Republican, Sen. Florence Shapiro, R-Plano.
So go ahead, Dan. Explain to everyone in only your delusional, "baby buying" world how your actions make sense. Explain how a Jewish woman can invite and listen to a Muslim cleric but a fundamentalist Christian cannot. Explain why she has no problem this occured before the holy Jewish celebration of Passover but you and your fellow wingers are incensed a Muslim man spoke at the Senate days before Easter. Exactly when would it be ok for a Muslim man to speak, Dan?
The US Pastor Council of Houston, a group of conservative ministers, also complained about the prayer because of "concern over the oppressive impact of radical Islam worldwide and the pressure to accept cultural and religious diversity."
I'm not quite sure why they expected a Jewish woman to invite a radical Muslim cleric, but to her credit, and it is a credit to the GOP that Republicans like her still exist, Shapiro vetted Kavakci to make sure he was not a radical - because you know how them Islamo-facists can be.
Shapiro praised Kavakci's "extensive interfaith experience" and said he represents a "substantial constituency of Texans who deserve to be represented."
She said she checked out his reputation with the Anti-Defamation League and other groups to "make sure he was not somebody I would be embarrassed by."
Shapiro said she never leaves the floor when Christian ministers deliver an invocation "in Jesus' name" and doesn't consider her presence an endorsement of Christianity.
"I have a great respect for Christianity. I have a great respect for anyone who comes and prays. That's what this country was based on, its freedom of religion," she said.
And if the ugliness couldn't get any worse, Patrick had to say this:
"In many parts of the world, I know that Jews or Christians would not be given that same right, that same freedom," he said. "The imam that was here today, he was fortunate to be in this great country."
I don't know the citizenship of the Imam, but given that he's lead his Dallas mosque for over 20 years, I think he's earned the right to NOT have "foreignness" brought into the picture. Is Patrick saying the imam is allowed to live the US as a priviledge? Or that the imam doesn't love and appreciate this country?
Furthermore, what is Patrick proposing? That the United States should emulate the ugliest actions of the world? That we should out-discriminate everyone else?
This country was built on equality and tolerance, by hard-working men who did not have Daddy's name to give them everything, by beautiful Italian grandmothers who displayed the true spirit of America, which the audacity and the language of liars like Newt Gingrich and Patrick has obscured recently.
It is a shame that Patrick will represent Texas. Just when we convinced the world that not all Texans are an embarrassment, we have this genius to make us look like backward, self-promoting nutcases.
In closing, I want you to re-read the statement by the US Pastor Council of Houston:
The US Pastor Council of Houston, a group of conservative ministers, also complained about the prayer because of "concern over the oppressive impact of radical Islam worldwide and the pressure to accept cultural and religious diversity."
"The pressure to accept cultural and religious diversity." They talk about "accepting cultural and religious diversity" like it's a bad thing!
And that is the fundamental problem and divide between these conservatives like Patrick and Cheney and George Bush who control the Republican Party. They fundamentally think differences of opinions and views are wrong. Either you are a loyal "Bushie" or you are a traitor.
Dan Patrick's own action against the muslim cleric precisely indicates the problem with the conservatives like him who control the GOP. Patrick literally felt that for him to listen to the prayer was the same thing as endorsing and agreeing with the muslim cleric.
They equate listening with agreeing and weakness. It is no wonder then that they can't listen and they can't accept different viewpoints. To them it is a sign of weakness.
I couldn't agree more. It is a sign of weakness all right. It is a very weak man who can't listen to other viewpoints. And with this repugnant action, Dan Parick signaled he may be the weakest man in Texas (at least when George Bush is not in Crawford).
