Oh dear, they just can't figure out flyover country, can they? The Democrats have lost another controversial "religion adviser."
After strong protests from Catholic League and other critics, a minister who supported the California atheist seeking to censor the words "under God" from the Pledge of Allegiance has quit her post with the Democratic National Committee.
Out-of-touch party boss Terry McAuliffe had appointed the Rev. Brenda Bartella Peterson just 13 days ago.
As Catholic League's William Donohue said after investigating the astonishing appointment, "what we found will make people of every faith wonder whether McAuliffe and the DNC have totally lost their senses."
Peterson was one of 32 clergy members who filed an amicus curiae brief supporting atheist Michael Newdow’s attempt to keep children in government schools from reciting an uncensored version of the Pledge of Allegiance.
"The brief shows infinitely more concern for the sensibilities of atheists like Newdow than it does for the 90 percent of Americans who believe in God," Donohue had fumed. "And this is the person the Democrats want to dispatch to meet with the heads of religious organizations? Are they out of their minds? Would they hire a gay basher to reach out to homosexuals?
"The Democrats are now 0 for 2 in appointing senior religious liaison directors. The Kerry campaign first appointed Mara Vanderslice as the Director of Religious Outreach, but when we exposed her as a radical leftist who associates with anti-Catholics, the Kerry staff silenced her. Now they’ve stepped in it again by selecting Rev. Peterson."
Donohue's spirited assault on the appointment hit home.
"Rev. Peterson told Religion News Service that 'it was no longer possible for me to do my job effectively,' the Washington Post reported today, adding that her decision was made 'after the New York-based Catholic League issued three blistering news releases attacking her positions,'" a pleased Donohue said.
'Anti-religious Elites'
"The selections of Vanderslice and Peterson suggest that either no one bothers to vet candidates for religious outreach, or the elites making the choices are anti-religious. If the former is true, then this shows that the Democrats place no priority on appealing to people of faith. If the latter is true, then Kerry needs to bring in a big broom and clean house," Donohue added.
"The only question now is whether John Kerry and the DNC have finally got the message," he said. "When we exposed Mara Vanderslice as a left-wing activist who cavorts with anti-Catholics, the Kerry camp silenced her as its Religious Outreach Director. When we exposed Rev. Peterson as a Left-wing activist who went into the U.S. Supreme Court on the side of atheist Michael Newdow to censor the words ‘under God’ in the Pledge, she was forced to quit her role with the DNC. The first hire may have been a mistake, but it is not credible to maintain that the DNC erred in hiring Rev. Peterson: they knew what they were getting and they knew what happened to Vanderslice, and yet they persisted anyway.
'Imploding'
"Why," he asked, "are Kerry and the DNC imploding on religion? Because too many of the elites running the show are devout secularists who put a premium on freedom from religion. Their idea of religious liberty is banning nativity scenes on public property. Their idea of diversity is censoring ‘under God’ from the Pledge. Their idea of tolerance is forbidding a moment of silence in the schools. Their idea of a good Catholic is Frances Kissling of Catholics for a Free Choice. Their idea of compassion is hiking taxes. Their idea of helping the poor is giving them directions to a soup kitchen. And their idea of choice is abortion, not school vouchers."
When McAuliffe announced Peterson's appointment, he said: "Brenda has dedicated her life to showing us all how religion and politics intersect with integrity. We are proud to have her join the DNC in order to spread John Kerry's positive vision to people of all faiths."
It seems that McAuliffe has now learned that it is true that pride really does cometh before the fall. And in this case the fall took only 13 days to cometh.
Note to Terry and Kerry: Why not see if "the Rev." Barry Lynn is available? Then again, Jesse Jackson is mighty lonely after being paved over by Al Sharpton at the Democrat convention.
