Senator Barak Obama may as well save his time and money and abandon any thoughts he may have had about being President of the United States.
You see, the internet’s Mother Superior of Religious Intolerance and Hysterical Exaggeration has decided that Obama can’t pass muster when it comes to the Constitution’s well known and time honored religious test.
If you are unfamiliar with this test, don’t worry. Our Holy Mother will shine the light of extraordinary ignorance on your confusion and the obfuscated will become opaque. Just don’t get slimed by the nauseating bigotry oozing from every word:
His full name—as by now you have probably heard—is Barack Hussein Obama, Jr. Hussein is a Muslim name, which comes from the name of Ali’s son—Hussein Ibn Ali. And Obama is named after his late Kenyan father, the late Barack Hussein Obama, Sr., apparently a Muslim.And while Obama may not identify as a Muslim, that’s not how the Arab and Muslim Streets see it. In Arab culture and under Islamic law, if your father is a Muslim, so are you. And once a Muslim, always a Muslim. You cannot go back. In Islamic eyes, Obama is certainly a Muslim. He may think he’s a Christian, but they do not.
How to dissect this idiocy? A better question might be, why bother?
Answering the latter question is easy; because when you ignore bigotry like this, you in effect become part of the problem. Especially if you have a voice to denounce it. This blog may be small (and getting smaller) but as long as I have one reader who will listen, I will always speak out when I believe someone has crossed the line. And Saint Debbie has proved once again that logic and reality take a back seat to unbridled fear and loathing.
To wit:
So, even if he identifies strongly as a Christian, and even if he despised the behavior of his father (as Obama said on Oprah); is a man who Muslims think is a Muslim, who feels some sort of psychological need to prove himself to his absent Muslim father, and who is now moving in the direction of his father’s heritage, a man we want as President when we are fighting the war of our lives against Islam? Where will his loyalties be?
First of all, my middle name is David. Since everyone knows that David was a mighty King of the Jews (“Once a Jew, always a Jew”), perhaps Rebbi Debbie could explain how my Jewishness has affected my ideology and character.
What’s that? I was born a Christian so we’re talking about a different kettle of fish? Since even Ms. Schlussel doesn’t know whether or not Obama’s father was in fact, a Muslim (“the late Barack Hussein Obama, Sr., apparently a Muslim…”), how does she know that Obama’s father didn’t give him the middle name of one of his close relatives who may have been Muslim and hence, the appellation was passed from father to son by tradition and not as a result of any religious significance?
I know that injecting a little logic into this story might cause Debbie’s head to explode but really, what does it matter if Obama’s father or grandfather or his second cousin twice removed on his mother’s side were Muslims? Senator Obama identifies himself as a Christian. And since we’re still poring over the constitution looking for the verbiage that states no Muslim can ascend to high office, maybe we should just accept Obama at his word that he doesn’t keep a blood soaked copy of the Koran in his Senate desk nor does he attend secret meetings of al-Qaeda on his lunch breaks.
And the leap of illogic made by Schlussel that because Obama’s father may have been Muslim that we must then ask “where will his loyalties be” reeks of bigotry and is pretty damned ignorant to boot. Perhaps we should have a loyalty oath for all Muslims in America – even the armed forces. We will allow Muslims to fight and die for their country but, just to be on the safe side, make them swear that they won’t behead any of their comrades in their sleep nor will they proselytize for their religion. And if that’s not good enough for Schlussel, maybe we could assign a reliable Christian officer to keep an eye on them lest they switch sides in the middle of a battle.
One question: Will they take the oath of allegiance on the bible or the Koran? Maybe we should ask Dennis Prager. He and Schlussel should be great pals given that they see eye to eye on the “Muslim Question” in America.
I swore to myself that after the Jill Carroll nuttiness, I’d never link to a Debbie Schlussel post again. But this foolishness is so far beyond the pale of rational discourse that it merits me breaking that promise. The idea that having a Muslim father or even being a Muslim oneself disqualifies anyone from high office is so foreign to the very ideas that gave birth to this country that one wonders whether Schlussel can truly grasp the insult she does and the hurt she causes by even suggesting the idea.
Yes there are radical Muslims who hate us and wish to kill us all (not too many from Kenya, by the way). To be so ignorant as to say that Obama is “is now moving in the direction of his father’s heritage” without one shred of evidence that this is so and to hint that this deserves our disapprobation in the first place puts Schlussel and all who agree with her in a very dark place where bigotry and fear rule the mind rather than reason and logic.
Enough, Debbie. Crawl back under your rock and commune with the other slugs and slimy things who would defile the body politic with unreasoning ignorance and hate. You have proven once again that appealing to the lowest common denominator among conservatives may be a path to readership and links but is a poor substitute for the light of reason and tolerance that should be the hallmark of real conservatives.
UPDATE
Baldilocks (who doesn’t write half as much as most of us would like her to) gives it to Schlussel and the paranoid right with both barrels in “A Warning to the Right”:
I’m tired of the insinuations about Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) because his dead father was a Muslim. I’m tired of the insinuations about his middle name—Hussein—and the racist/bigoted insinuations that I’ve seen on the Right that flow from there. I’m even tired of the assertion that the senator isn’t even really a black American (whatever that means to a group of people who are demonstrably of mixed-race for the most part) because he has a white mother and a non-American black—i.e. African—father and, yes, since his father and my father were/are of the same tribe and nationality, I take that last bit of information quite personally.
Like me, Senator Obama wasn’t even raised by his biological father* and, though he had an Indonesian step-father who was probably a Muslim, he says that he is a Christian. And, like me, Obama has been long interested in knowing more about his heritage—probably since, like me, Obama was born and raised here in our beloved USA with a zero amount of it, outside of our middle and surnames. And, unlike most black Americans, the senator and I are blessed enough to know at least some part of our African heritage—something that is very prized among the mostly slave-descended black American population.
But Debbie Schussel determines such interest as something else. Well, guess what. I was raised as a Muslim also. My mother and (black American) step-father subscribed to the creed of the Nation of Islam back in the day. And like Obama, I went to a Muslim school—for longer than he did. I even have a high school diploma from Clara Muhammad Elementary and Secondary School, obtained when I was fifteen, since the school didn’t take summer breaks.
Baldilocks is a retired Air Force Reserve officer. Maybe Schlussel wants to question her patriotism and ask where her “loyalties” lie?
UPDATE II
With a predictability that would put a laxative to shame, the left holds up Schlussel’s severed head and proclaims her “Queen of the Conservative Blogosphere.”
I hate to bust up this self-congratulatory party fellas but if you bother to read any of the conservative blogs linking to Schussel’s piece, you would notice one curious thread that connects all of them:
Every single conservative or right of center blog that links to the piece strongly criticizes Schlussel for her bigotry and stupidity.
Duh.
7:53 am
[...] UPDATE: Others: Liberal Values, Baldilocks, Rick Moran, (Who points out the obvious here – some folks are completely missing the common thread on many of the blogs linking Schlussel – we disagree with her.) [...]
9:40 am
I actually had a different take from the other lefty blogs. I noted that Schlussel has let the cat out of the bag (or, the elephant out of its cage) so that people like Ed Rogers can’t say “Barack Hussein Obama” and then act like they’re not engaging in bigotry. I also noted that even the most diehard rightwing and conservative blogs are repudiating Schlussel.
You can read about it here.
9:45 am
Oh great, now Moran is an Obama apologist. What’s next, you and John Cole are buying cowboy hats and going to start working on your line dancing? If the right had taken the line you’re taking now in 2004 we’d now be looking at a President Kerry.
Suddenly the rats think they’re just too good for the Swift Boat.
10:05 am
It’s absurd to label Moran an “Obama apologist”; he’s not for Obama as much as he’s against idiocy. I applaud him for it, and would hope that my team will just as readily call a fool a fool when the time comes.
10:36 am
Nice post, Rick, and I agree with jpe.
10:39 am
[...] Update: While for the most part I applauded the sanity of the conservative blogosphere in repudiating Schlussel’s post, Right Wing Nut House lived up to its name. They wrote: With a predictability that would put a laxative to shame, the left holds up Schlussel’s severed head and proclaims her “Queen of the Conservative Blogosphere.†[...]
10:39 am
It’s a good thing Rove and the Boaters weren’t against “idiocy” when they sunk Kerry.
You guys are all getting pretty pussy if you ask me.
10:45 am
Have you actually read the liberal blogs you linked to? I have not called Schussel “Queen of the Conservative Blogosphere,” I haven’t noted that elsewhere, and the implications is quite the opposite from the posts.
The fact that conservative blogs are also criticizing Schussel is a major part of my post at Liberal Values, with my post containing links to many of the same blogs you link to.
10:49 am
Web Reconnaissance for 12/20/2006
A short recon of what’s out there that might draw your attention.
12:00 pm
A Google search for the phrase Queen of the Conservative Blogosphere reveals there’s only one potential contender for that title. Technorati says the same.
12:25 pm
I can criticize Ms. Schlussel for her assumptions about Obama’s religious affiliations based on his name and parentage. By her logic individuals cannot choose their own belief system. They are stuck with what their parents bestow upon them. So, when I tell you that I am an atheist, don’t believe me. My parents gave me a Scottish name – first, middle and last – then baptized and raised me Presbyterian.
I do share some of her suspicions. While I would never support a law that would prevent a candidate of any religious affiliation from running or taking office should they be elected, I, personally, will not vote for a Muslim. Kieth Ellison was elected to the House in a fair and free election and should be allowed to hold his office regardless of which book he places his hand on when he swears allegience to the USA and to uphold it’s constitution.
I am, however, still free to use a religious test to determine my own vote. I use it for Muslims because most would tell me that Islam is not just a relious philosophy. It is also a political and socio-economic philosophy – in short, a holistic approach that informs their choices in all aspects of life. And it’s a philosophy with which I have a great many disagreements.
12:47 pm
This is a great post, but you should really reconsider your characterization of the liberal blog reaction. Within the links you post, Liberal Values specifically notes that you, Greg Tinti, Allahpundit, and Blue Crab Boulevard have objected to Schlussel’s rantings. Michael Stickings at the Reaction acknowledges that neither the thoughtful conservative bloggers nor the Bush administration hold Schlussel’s paranoid view of Muslims. Gary Farber at Amygdala calls her a moron and doesn’t ascribe her beliefs to any other conservative. And who has ever called her the “Queen of the Conservative Blogosphere”?
3:29 pm
I would like to thank you and the other conservative bloggers for the responses to the horrible bigotry placed by Debbie Schlussel. I am a liberal and upon hearing of your blog as well as many others calling her out on her hatred,I was well..kinda shocked. Finally something both us on the left and and you guys on the right are agreeing. MMFA has a section dedicated to honoring your blogs for their quick responses and appreciate your view. I fully realize now the Debbie and other fringe righties do not speak for all of you. Thank You greatly
3:49 pm
Good on you!
It is important for conservatives to call out those on their own side who proffer bat shit crazy ideas.
And I’ve never thought the lady was the ““Queen of the Conservative Blogosphere”.
Conservative Bloggers are bloggers. This lady is a frequent contributor to Fox News, has been published in the New York Post, the Wall Street Journal, the Detroit Free Press and has appeared many times on Sean Hannity’s show.
See a trend here?
It’s obvious that she far outranks any Conservative blogger sitting in her basement. We can only conclude she is a representative of the Mainstream Conservative establishment.
3:54 pm
Furthermore I would like to state that I do ont believe that nutjob bigot represents all conservatives. It would like a conservative that I am like Fidel Castro. I believe that their are good conservatives out their and bad ones(same with liberals) and that one must differentiate between them. I put this blog on my GOOD CONSERVATIVE BLOG
4:05 pm
Ooh.. I really shouldn’t have read the comments to that post.
So freaking sad.
Debbie is but a symptom of the problem many honorable conservatives are going to have to face.
4:05 pm
Thanks, Rick. Writing more is my New Year’s Resolution.
And I’m a retired NCO, not an officer (insert old military joke about working for a living here).
4:33 pm
Debbie Schlussel—Princess Of Hate
I attacked Dennis Prager some weeks back over his Keith Ellison piece, which I found troubling in its implications. How much more must I reject Debbie Schlussel and this hate-mongering effort that exceeds even her usual quotient of venom? So,...
4:59 pm
Just to be clear Rick. Don’t think that my comments detract from my admiration for you making this post. You and the other conservative bloggers, and I haven’t seen ANY conservative bloggers agreeing with her, are to be highly commended.
I disagree with you often, but you show a level of integrity and intellectual honesty that is becoming more and more rare these days.
5:59 pm
Barack Hussein Obama – It’s the Record, Not the Name
Debbie Schlussel seems to fear that Barack Obama is some sort of latent terrorist because his father was Muslim:
But, then, I decided to look further into Obama’s background. His full name–as by now you have probably heard–is Barack H…
6:26 pm
The thread over at Schlussel’s blog makes Little Green Football look like a bastion of moderation, thoughtfulness and understanding.
8:23 pm
On criticism of the media and blogs
There’s a lot of talk on both sides of the aisle today about Wall Street Journal assistant editorial features editor Joseph Rago’s piece on the demise of the media and rise of the blogosphere and National Review editor Rich Lowry’s su…
5:14 am
Nice to see all the righties scrambling to put some distance between themselves and their recent political past. After years of smear and race-tinged politics you fellows suddenly want it to be known that you’re really just a bunch of kind and concerned Neo-Libs who would never insinuate anything negative or unfair?
And you people actually wonder why nobody is buying it …
5:19 am
Your stupidity is matched only by your shallowness.
You are obviously ignorant of what has been written on this site. And I doubt whether you’ve visited a handful of conservative sites in the past – unless it was to leave vapid, incoherent, imbecilic comments like the one you left above.
Suggestion: Stay stupid by not reading any conservative blogs. You only embarrass yourself when you come over here and leave idiotic comments.
5:23 am
Truth hurts, eh Moran?
Of course it does.
5:26 am
Again, the fact that you haven’t read anything else on this site makes you an ignoramous for spouting nonsense about my alleged “race tinged(?) politics” and “smears.”
Give up trying to defend your stupidity. It’s embarrassing.
5:32 am
I can understand your sensitivity on this subject, Rick. Probably explains all the silly name-calling and sputtering.
The right is definitely trying to reposition itself on issues such as race. One of the major lessons of 2006 for the GOP is the realization that the message is changed quickly their future will be as a southern regional party dependent on reactionary politics with a cloaked racial theme.
I guess we should all commend you for getting the message.
5:35 am
Your intimating that I am “repositioning” my self on race issues is absurd on its face – as I keep saying since you fail to follow through and read what I write.
Good to see you backtracking though -
5:41 am
Don’t recall having discussed you sprecifically, Rick. Is it really always all about you here?
But yes, I certainly can understand your embarrassment over having supported reactionary Republican politicians in the recent past. Guilt by association can be unpleasant.
But as they say, lie down with pigs, wake up smelling like, well, you know the rest.
Bu the way, how’s that war in Iraq going? Still pushing that load of crap?
5:46 am
Still backtracking?
Jesus Christ, don’t you bother to read what you wrote a couple of minutes ago?
Nice to see all the righties scrambling to put some distance between themselves and their recent political past. After years of smear and race-tinged politics you fellows…
You’re right…How could I possibly infer you were talking about me?
Keep backracking. Another couple of entries and you’ll be claiming you were praising me for my stance.
5:52 am
I stand by that, Rick. I mean, why else woulkd you be so sensitive on the race issue? Are you actually claiming that Karl Rove and the little ass he works for haven’t injected racial messaages into some of their recent campaigning?
Guilt by association, Rick. It explains your pain.
5:55 am
You never address the content of my response – you simply change the subject.
You never defend yourself from my specific criticisms – you fall back on tired, worn liberal talking points.
It is pointless trying to debate someone who refuses to engage.
11:34 am
[...] To Rick Moran atRight-Wing Nuthouse, who helpfully links to other condemnations: Enough, Debbie. Crawl back under your rock and commune with the other slugs and slimy things who would defile the body politic with unreasoning ignorance and hate. You have proven once again that appealing to the lowest common denominator among conservatives may be a path to readership and links but is a poor substitute for the light of reason and tolerance that should be the hallmark of real conservatives. [...]
2:22 pm
[...] PUNDIT VINCE AUT MORIRE VODKAPUNDIT WALLO WORLD WIDE AWAKES WIZBANG WUZZADEM ZERO POINT BLOG THE DARK SIDE OF “TRADITIONAL VALUES” BOEHLERT MISSING THE POINT ABOUT AP SOURCING OBAMA FAILS RELIGIOUS TEST: SCHLUSSEL LOOKING INTO Admin Login Register Valid XHTML XFN Design by: Hosted by: Powered by: 12/21/2006 THE DARK SIDE OF “TRADITIONAL VALUES” CATEGORY: Politics, History,Ethics [...]
2:22 pm
I have argued Mr. Moran, been banned by Mr. Moran, and have offered endorsement of his positions at times. He can be hard-headed and cantankerous sometimes, but he has never even implied anything racist in all of the reading I have done here.
11:45 pm
Going after Debbie Schlussel for her remarks regarding the religious heritage of Barack Obama and the religious/ideological persuasion of Keith Ellison is all well and good. But perhaps, in fairness, we could spread the ignominy around a bit?
The current headline at USA Today reads:
“Will conservative Christians support a Mormon for president?”
12:48 am
“Gary Farber at Amygdala calls her a moron and doesn’t ascribe her beliefs to any other conservative.”
And to be clear, no, I don’t ascribe her beliefs to conservatives in general; that would be false and silly.
I’d say that there’s a particular kind of nativism, and of anti-Muslim bigotry, of which a thread can be found in relatively small number of Republican voters, who agree with Schlussel and this sort of kooky bigotry, but I’d also never claim that there aren’t nitwit idiot Democrats, either, and most of all, I wouldn’t attribute the beliefs of one individual to any other given individual without reason.
Or, put another way, I’d never be so silly as to make a generalization that the “right,” in general, believes something so offensive.
But, then, Rick, it’s a little difficult to understand your basis for objecting to such a thing, given the fact that you, right here, label me as speaking for “the left” (damn, and I keep missing memos), and claim I support something I never said, and for which there’s no evidence whatever that I believe (since I don’t), all simply because you view me as one of “the left.”
Sheesh. It’s helpful if you notice when you’re doing the same thing you’re accusing others of doing (generalizing and tarring universally, without evidence), let alone that there’s no evidence to support your claim (that I called, or regard, Schlussel as anything resembling the “Queen of the Conservative Blogosphere”); in point of fact, I said not a word in that post about conservatives, or Republicans, or anyone but Debbie Schlussel and Ann Coulter.
Do feel free to make a correction.
4:03 pm
Farber’s right. He isn’t calling her a conservative or a Republican or anything but a moronic bigot.
He’s also right in the comment above, where he says you’re doing exactly what you’re complaining about.
Don’t you just love irony!
4:18 pm
Hey Davebo (#16):
Debbie is but a symptom of the problem many honorable conservatives are going to have to face.
You’re on the right track, however the reality is that extremists are everybody’s problem, no matter where they’re burning holes on the political/social fabric.
Chip
8:53 pm
The first casualty of Obama
Update:You cannot close the book on the Obama topic until you have read this post. Rick Morin, you GO boy (and Baldiocks, too…)
11:36 am
I have with regret to most of the postees here the bad news for you all.
Barak Hussain Obama is a Muslim, a terrorist puppet, a baby killer, a tax the workers and give it to the ones’ who do not work, Death to America 147 days in office senator, is not Christian, cares not for us but for himself, denounces human life, wants you to be his slaves, and walks hand in hand with the presidente of Iran who wants the same for us. All muslims beleive the Quran literally and isn’t anything but a story book for self destructive behavior which B Hussain O learned for most of his life. You vote for him and you help destroy patriotism this country so beleives and which has been ordained by God (not allah) to be there with the truth of His son Jesus Christ for sending the good news to all men in such a time as this. So if you waste your vote on this man please don’t waste your prayers since you will need many. He is a killer of this institution and he wants not to lead but to dictate HIS directions with chins around your neck and the blade to your throat. Hitler the second generation is on the way. His name is Barak Hussain Obama Jr.
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