Rep. Diana DeGette (D, 1st District CO), in a stunningly revealing series of votes recently, displayed the left's prejudice against Christian culture. Ducking public view when confronted with the evidence of her cultural bigotry, in a manner reminiscent of KKK clan members hiding from public view, she hid behind her mouthpiece.
On Dec. 11th Rep. DeGette voted against recognizing the importance of Christmas and Christianity. DeGette's chief of staff, Lisa Cohen, told FOXNews.com that DeGette previously has opposed similar bills on Christianity because she "has concerns about separation of church and state." Well, DeGette's concerns about church-state separation do not extend beyond Christianity, as revealed by a simple check of the congressional record. You'll find the record of Rep. DeGette's votes below, after the quotes from Dr. Martin Luther King's letter.
First, the voice of reason. I found no mention of these votes on Rep. DeGette's official website. In fact, a search of her website for the term Christmas yielded, this morning, only three references to this most sacred and widely celebrated Christian tradition.
Results for "Christmas"
96.40% Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Letter From a Birmingham Jail
64.50% DeGette: Republicans Acting Like the Grinch Who Stole Christmas
64.50% DeGette vs Bush on the war
So, let me remind Rep. DeGette of the importance of Christianity in Dr. Martin Luther King's words, quotes taken from this very letter that she posts on her website. Note well Dr. King's eloquent references to Christianity, his appeals to its principles, and his testimony to its function as a moral foundation for just governance. Maybe this will break through DeGette's bigotry.
“We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.”
“We have waited for more than three hundred and forty years for our constitutional and God-given rights.”
“Now, what is the difference between the two? How does one determine when a law is just or unjust? A just law is a man-made code that squares with the moral law or the law of God. An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with the moral law. To put it in the terms of Saint Thomas Aquinas, an unjust law is a human law that is not rooted in eternal and natural law. Any law that uplifts human personality is just. Any law that degrades human personality is unjust. All segregation statutes are unjust because segregation distorts the soul and damages the personality.”
“Of course, there is nothing new about this kind of civil disobedience. It was seen sublimely in the refusal of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego to obey the laws of Nebuchadnezzar because a higher moral law was involved. It was practiced superbly by the early Christians who were willing to face hungry lions and the excruciating pain of chopping blocks, before submitting to certain unjust laws of the Roman empire. To a degree academic freedom is a reality today because Socrates practiced civil disobedience.
“If I lived in a Communist country today where certain principles dear to the Christian faith are suppressed, I believe I would openly advocate disobeying these anti-religious laws.”
“I'm grateful to God that, through the Negro church, the dimension of nonviolence entered our struggle.”
“Was not Jesus an extremist for love -- 'Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, pray for them that despitefully use you.'
“Was not Paul an extremist for the gospel of Jesus Christ -- 'I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.'
“Was not Martin Luther an extremist -- 'Here I stand; I can do none other so help me God.'
“Was not Thomas Jefferson an extremist -- 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.' ...
“So the question is not whether we will be extremist but what kind of extremist will we be. ... In that dramatic scene on Calvary's hill, three men were crucified. We must not forget that all three were crucified for the same crime--the crime of extremism. Two were extremists for immorality, and thusly fell below their environment. The other, Jesus Christ, was an extremist for love, truth and goodness, and thereby rose above his environment.”
“And I have watched so many churches commit themselves to a completely other-worldly religion which made a strange distinction between body and soul, the sacred and the secular.”
“Yes, I love the church; I love her sacred walls. How could I do otherwise? I am in the rather unique position of being the son, the grandson and the great-grandson of preachers. Yes, I see the church as the body of Christ. But, oh! How we have blemished and scarred that body through social neglect and fear of being nonconformists.”
“Whenever the early Christians entered a town the power structure got disturbed and immediately sought to convict them for being "disturbers of the peace" and "outside agitators." But they went on with the conviction that they were "a colony of heaven," and had to obey God rather than man. They were small in number but big in commitment. They were too God-intoxicated to be 'astronomically intimidated.' They brought an end to such ancient evils as infanticide and gladiatorial contest.”
“I hope the church as a whole will meet the challenge of this decisive hour. ... the goal of America is freedom. Abused and scorned though we may be, our destiny is tied up with the destiny of America. Before the pilgrims landed at Plymouth we were here. Before the pen of Jefferson etched across the pages of history the majestic words of the Declaration of Independence, we were here. ... We will win our freedom because the sacred heritage of our nation and the eternal will of God are embodied in our echoing demands.”
“One day the South will know that when these disinherited children of God sat down at lunch counters they were in reality standing up for the best in the American dream and the most sacred values in our Judaeo-Christian heritage, and thusly, carrying our whole nation back to those great wells of democracy which were dug deep by the founding fathers in the formulation of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence.”
“I hope this letter finds you strong in the faith. I also hope that circumstances will soon make it possible for me to meet each of you ... as a fellow clergyman and a Christian brother."
Rep. DeGette's Votes against the religion of Dr. Martin Luther King in her crusade to expunge Christianity from government.
At http://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes.xpd?person=400101 you'll find that Rep. DeGette voted to recognize the major celebrations of Islam and other world religions, but voted against Christmas.
Here are the votes:
House Roll #1143 on Dec 11, 2007 7:02 PM
Nay
H RES 847 Recognizing the importance of Christmas and the Christian faith. (under suspension of the rules) Passed 372-9, 50 not voting
House Roll #928 on Oct 2, 2007 5:06 PM
Aye
H RES 635 Recognizing the commencement of Ramadan (under suspension of the rules) Passed 376-0, 56 not voting
House Roll #1012 on Oct 29, 2007 7:13 PM
Aye
H RES 747 Recognizing the religious and historical significance of the festival of Diwali (under suspension of the rules) Passed 358-0, 74 not voting
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