All Violent Crimes Are Hate Crimes! Dems' Ideology Up for Debate

Tony Perkins, Washington Update, FRC: All Violent Crimes Are Hate Crimes!: Despite the valiant efforts of Senators Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and others, the "hate crimes" amendment passed this morning by a vote of 60-39. The amendment was attached to the Defense Authorization bill despite the fact that it was not germane. Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) did his best to justify his effort to create a two-tiered system of justice, saying it was to fight "terrorism in our neighborhoods"! It is apparent that those who voted in favor of it believe in a special class of victims that entitles some citizens to greater protection under the law than others because of their sexual preference. We applaud the President for promising to veto this bill, which has hijacked the crucial issue of military readiness and mired it in homosexual propaganda that puts our troops--and the greater good of this legislation--in jeopardy. While the outcome is disappointing, pro-family groups surprised hate crimes supporters by helping win over six converts for equal justice. A half-dozen senators switched their positions at the last minute to create a vote margin large enough to sustain the President's expected veto. Sen. Hatch was particularly eloquent in opposition to Kennedy. See also: Senate adds hate-crime measure to war bill

Dems' Ideology Up for Debate: At last night's Democratic debate on MSNBC, candidates gave some revealing responses to questions on faith, parental authority, and traditional marriage. On the issue of homosexuality in the schools, the question was asked of John Edwards if he would be comfortable having the "King and King" fairy tale--which ends with two men kissing and living "happily ever after"--read to his young children as part of the curriculum. Edwards responded, "...I don't want to make that decision on behalf of my children. I want my children to be able to make that decision on behalf of themselves, and I want them to be exposed to all the information, even in (chuckling), what did you say, second grade? Well, second grade might be a little tough but even in second grade, to be exposed to all those possibilities. Because I don't want to impose my view--nobody made me God--I don't get to decide on behalf of my family and my children... I don't get to impose on them what it is that I believe is right." At the conclusion of the debate, Tim Russert referenced the discussion of faith in the Democratic party. He asked simply, "What is your favorite Bible verse?" Of all the responses, none included an actual Scripture citation and only one hopeful--John Edwards--directly quoted a verse from memory. Sen. Hillary Clinton (N.Y.) responded with "The Golden Rule," which is commonly mistaken as Scripture, though, as the New York Times political blog notes, Luke 6:31 approximates it. Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) said, "The Sermon on the Mount," and went on to talk about how it spoke to "social justice and equality." I think it's interesting that the media uses knowledge of one Bible verse as a measuring stick for spirituality. Plenty of hopefuls from both parties can quote Scripture, but they should be evaluated not by how many verses they know but how they apply them to their daily lives and political thought. See also: The Democrats Quote Scripture

---

Tags: debate, Democrats, hate crimes, Tony Perkins, US Senate To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!