Florida Senate candidate Katherine Harris infuriated many people - both Democrats and Republicans - over the weekend with her declaration that a vote for any non-Christian politician is equivalent to a vote for "sin." She said the separation of Church and State is a "lie" because "God is the one who chooses our rulers."
In response to the question from the Florida Baptist Witness, "What role do you think people of faith should play in politics and government?", Harris responded (emphasis added):
[...W]e have to have elected officials in government and we have to have the faithful in government and over time, that lie we have been told, the separation of church and state, people have internalized, thinking that they needed to avoid politics and that is so wrong because God is the one who chooses our rulers. 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 then 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. So it's really important that members of the church know people's stands. [...] .... And you know, it's hard to find people that are gonna behave that way in a campaign and be honorable that way in a campaign. But that's why we need the faithful and we need to take back this country. It's time that the churches get involved. [...] And if we don't get involved as Christians then how could we possibly take this back?
And when asked, "Why should Florida Baptists care about this primary election?" Harris responded (emphasis added), "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."
Click here for the full interview.
While many are calling on Republican officials to get involved, the Party remains silent on the issue. This isn't the first time Republican candidates have spoken offensively about non-Christians in this election cycle. Just over a week ago, the Forward called out J.D. Hayworth for his praise of Henry Ford's anti-Semitic "Americanization." But still, the RJC has said nothing. What will it take for Republican leaders to publicly condemn one of their own?
The Moderate Voice captures some Democrats' responses to Harris's outrageous remarks.
Central Florida News 13 reports Harris's "clarification", as though her flip-flopping claims are okay as long as she's just pandering to one specific audience at a time:
Speaking to reporters at the gun show in Orlando Saturday, Harris said she believes people of all faiths should and need to be involved in politics. She said she only talked about Christians because she was being interviewed by a Christian magazine.
And the Republican hypocrisy continues...
Wow... I can't believe how christian americans can be so bigoted towards non-christians, especially atheists, jews and muslims. :|
Posted by: tai tai diggs | December 22, 2008 at 03:26 PM