At last night’s discussion on her history as an atheist Lobbyist, Lori Lipman Brown hinted that while there’s only one “out” atheist in Congress (Democrat Pete Stark of CA’s 13th district), plenty of others are “friendly” toward the lobby, and there may be as many as 20 other non-theists in Congress, but not willing to make it public. Elizabeth Dole, fighting to keep her Senate from North Carolina, thinks she found one:
The already-contentious North Carolina Senate race took a brutal turn Wednesday after incumbent Sen. Elizabeth Dole released a television ad suggesting challenger Kay Hagan is “Godless.”
“A leader of the Godless Americans PAC recently held a secret fundraiser for Kay Hagan,” the 30-second ad says before showing clips from members of the group declaring God and Jesus do not exist.
“Godless Americans and Kay Hagan. She hid from cameras. Took godless money,” the ad’s narrator also says. “What did Kay Hagan promise in return?”
I’m laughing about the whole thing, but I don’t have a stake in that election. For atheists, though, there’s a lot to be mad about. First, that calling someone “godless” is an insult — the term is used repeatedly in the ad. Second, instead of saying “No, but it’d be OK if I was”, the purportedly godless Kay Hagan instead felt it necessary to list her Christian “credentials”. I doubt she’s one of the 20 non-theists either way, but really folks — atheists aren’t that scary.
If you’re the type that enjoys political ads, you can watch the video here.
With the help of people like Lori Lipman Brown we can let the candidates know that we are a larger block of voters than many of the ethnic and religious groups that they pander to. Hey, time to have a spine and throw some of your pandering in this direction!