For some reason, the voters of Tennessee’s 7th District keep sending Republican Marsha Blackburn back to the House of Representatives, dunno why, because Tennessee, we guess? Blackburn’s your standard-issue lady Republican: she knows that women don’t really care about equal pay; the cause of climate change, if it even exists, is debatable because a handful of shills for the fossil fuels industry say so; affordable health care that doesn’t suck is bad; abortion is bad; and hey, what if the Boston bombers had Obamaphones, HUH? She’s also proud to call herself “CongressMAN,” rather than “Congresswoman,” hooray for feminism.
From time to time I find myself fantasizing about how nice it would be if voting was limited to smart, informed people- you know, the sort who understand and can actually intelligently discuss issues instead of reciting the talking points Fox News Channel drills into their pointy little skulls? Then I remember that other attempts to limit voting (literacy tests- see Louisiana, State of) have poisoned the well. Turns out that when you try to keep people from voting (can you say, “VOTER ID”, Republicans??), you’re thwarting idiocracy democracy, which in America means pandering to the lowest common denominator.
This sad reality goes a long ways toward explaining how Marsha Blackburn keeps getting re-elected. Either her constituents have zero standards when it comes to the IQ of those who represent them in Congress, or no one else in the district was willing to run. Most GOP congresscritters can be counted on to faithfully and repeatedly vomit their new and improved Talking Points of Freedumb ©, but Blackburn evidently isn’t much for doing her homework. Judging by the video, she clearly didn’t realize that she might be expected to support her assertions with actual…you know, evidence. As any good, red-blooded, Christian, patriotic ‘Merican can tell you, Christians are being terribly and mercilessly persecuted in this country. Every. Single. Day.
Except when they’re not…which is Every. Single. Day.
(Here’s what I really want to know: Why is it that whenever Conservatives do something that involves claiming that they’re persecuted (or represents their desire to persecute gays, non-Christians, etc.), they call it a “Freedom Summit/Conference/Forum/Gangbang/Clusterf—k”? Or do they really believe that true freedom lies in being able to deny others whom they disagree with and/or despise their freedom?)
While addressing the aptly named “South Carolina Freedom Summit,”, Blackburn glibly veered off the reservation and claimed rather obliquely that Christians are being persecuted, saying
“we’ve got some issues” and “we want to make certain that individuals have the right to continue to worship, and to exercise their religious beliefs.”
Of course, anyone who pays attention to these things (and why would you?) understands that what Blackburn is saying is code for “those g——-n Librul atheist elites are denying us our God-given right to remake this country in our own His image.”
That Blackburn couldn’t come up with a single example of Christians being persecuted isn’t surprising…because there are none to be found- unless you consider the mere stating of her assertion makes it real and factual. Blackburn wouldn’t have even had to look very far for examples of (faux) persecution of Christians. People claiming that denying their God-given right to discriminate in His name is in itself discrimination can be found from coast to coast. What’s the use of worshiping God unless you can make yourself feel righteous and holy by oppressing those not enlightened enough to worship your bastardized, hate-fueled version of God?
Here’s a nugget of wisdom for Blackburn and those who believe themselves to be just this side of martyrdom for their beliefs: in America, you don’t get to claim to be part of a persecuted majority. You can claim otherwise all you want, especially since there’s no perceived burden of proof, but if Christians are persecuted, I’m the Duchess Of Windsor. It’s to convincingly claim persecution when 80% of the population self-identifies as Christian, and believing in the majority religion is a de facto litmus test for public service.
Also, if you’re going to run a propaganda campaign, you might want someone smarter and more adept than Marsha Blackburn, who give a whole new meaning to the term, “token female.”
