Congressman John Shimkus Commends Non-Believing Constituents to the Nether Region

On February 5, 2010, in Peter Roskam, Religious Freedom, by RSR
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{{w|John Shimkus}}, member of the United State...
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The Republicans in Congress have begun to embrace Twitter with great enthusiasm. Recently, we have seen Peter Roskam and John Boehner bragging to anyone who would listen about how the GOP had a far greater representation on Twitter than the Luddite Democrats. Roskam, in particular, has been gleefully tweeting about his tireless efforts to help the nation’s bankers and brokers cope with these trying economic times. I like following the GOP on Twitter. Helps me keep abreast of their latest mischief and talking points.

Representative John Shimkus of Illinois’ 19 District and, seemingly primarily an agent of the nation’s coal companies, is one of the more interesting of the GOP tweeters. He starts each day by tweeting a bible verse carefully selected to edify his followers or to chastise Democratic infidels.

I found today’s selection a little disturbing:

Psalm 53:1 The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. Corrupt are they, and have done abominable iniquity: there is none that do good

Now, I don’t doubt Representative Shimkus’ expertise in the realm of corruption. And I have no complaint about his expression of his religious beliefs in the course of his duties as a Congressman. And I don’t have a problem with Christians in government – in fact I am enthusiastically backing a committed Evangelical candidate, Ben Lowe, to replace Representative Peter Roskam in the 6th District. I do have a problem with the sort of Christians who use their “faith” to justify all manner of intolerance, to trample the religious freedoms of others, to justify unjustifiable social and economic structures, and to absolve themselves of any responsibility to make better the lives of their fellow human beings who are suffering because of that structural injustice.

I think that Representative Shimkus’s selection of scripture today, if not deliberately provocative and triumphalistic, certainly demonstrates an insensitivity to the fact that we live in a pluralistic society under a Constitution that guarantees freedom of religion (or freedom from religion) to everyone, non-believers included.

I believe that Representative Shimkus owes his district an apology and that he should be more careful about his selections in the future. The non-believers in Representative Shimkus’ district are entitled to representation too.

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Does the Evangelical Movement Belong in the Democratic Party?

On November 8, 2009, in Ben Lowe, Christianity, Congressional Elections, Peter Roskam, by RSR
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Kevin Spidel posted a thoughtful diary today at Daily Kos posing that question, using Peter Roskam’s 2010 challenger, Ben Lowe, as a case in point.

My answer is an unequivocal “yes”.

Excluding anyone on the basis of their religious belief is wrong and efforts to do so should be deplored by all Democrats. I admit to having a reflexive tendency to react negatively to avowed Christians, particularly Evangelicals, running for political office. That tendency is based on years of experience with the likes of Jerry Falwell and Tony Perkins. But assuming that all Evangelicals share their world view is not correct and, to the degree that I do so, I am guilty of the same kind of intolerance peddled by them.

We are only beginning to be acquainted with Ben Lowe. Let’s ignore the stereotypes and let him speak for himself about who he is and what he wants to achieve through his candidacy. While it is too early to promise Ben my vote, he has my attention, and I am encouraged by what I have heard so far.  I support his candidacy as a Democrat.

I am firmly committed to preserving a woman’s right to choose. I am equally committed to LGBT rights.  A candidate’s positions on these matters are important and they affect the way I vote. But, for me, anyway, there is no litmus test. Our country and our planet face some many critical problems right now – global climate change, poverty & hunger, a looming water crisis, a health care crisis  – and we have to be willing to work with everyone to attempt to resolve them. I would remind everyone that we presently have a Representative, voting on our behalf, who seems to think everythings hunk dory as long as we keep giving tax breaks to rich folks. It is hard to imagine that a person like Ben representing us would not amount to an improvement.

At any rate, I hope that Democrats will give Ben a chance to speak for himself on issues like abortion and LBGT rights rather than rush to judgement. If anyone is truly attempting to undermine his candidacy, I hope they will cease and desist. We should be thanking Ben for having been willing to step up to the plate when no one else would.

Update: Kevin’s post referred to above has been deleted from Daily Kos  but is available on MyDD. Not sure what happened on Daily Kos to prompt the deletion. I thought it was a great post. There was a pretty vigorous discussion going on when I last saw it but seems like that’s a good thing, that Democrats wrestle with this issue.  Also, check out Ben Lowe’s thoughts regarding Faith and Politics.

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More Video on Roskam Opponent Ben Lowe

On November 4, 2009, in Ben Lowe, Congressional Elections, Peter Roskam, by RSR
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Thanks to RSR reader Matt for pointing out this video which is a little more recent than the first one posted. Ben talks about care for the environment in a faith context. I’m really starting to like this guy. Not ready to endorse him, but I like him. Ben is a good reminder, to some progressives like myself who react reflexively to Christianity in politics, that not all Evangelicals are cut from the same cloth – not all have sold out to the Republican corporate establishment.

Ben’s concern for stewardship and for social justice is refreshing to one who has live through the reign of Henry Hyde and his political heir, Peter Roskam, in the 6th district. I’ll be watching closely to see whether Ben can translate his admirable impulse for justice and stewardship into a sound policy platform. I’ll also be watching to see how well Ben is able to relate to the diverse 6th District community (we’re not all Christians, we’re not all religious, some of us have been marginalized by organized religion) and how he deals with the boundary between personal belief and public policy.

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