Monday, November 30, 2009

A governor for all Virginians?

You may recall that Pat Robertson, responding to the shootings at Fort Hood, said Islam is "not a religion" but it is rather a "violent political system" that he compared to fascists and communists. Rev. Robertson is a close confidant and mentor of Governor-elect Bob McDonnell.
Last week a group of religious leaders, of many faiths from across the Commonwealth, sent a letter to the Richmond Times-Dispatch entitled Words Matter: An Open Letter to Bob McDonnell. They cautioned that words of hate, such as those spewed by Rev. Robertson, will create "new room for bigotry and intolerance." These men and women of faith continued, writing, "despite our theological differences, the fact that we Christians, Muslims, and Jews worship the same God seems to escape people like Pat Robertson."
They concluded by reminding the Governor-elect that words really do matter:
Gov-elect McDonnell, some of us had the pleasure to know you in the past and we firmly believe that you aspire to be the governor of Virginians of all faiths. In this spirit, we are anxious to hear your public remarks opposing the divisive words of the Rev. Pat Robertson and asserting your vision of an inclusive Virginia.
Perhaps I missed it over the Thanksgiving holiday, but I have not yet heard Mr. McDonnell disavow Robertson's detestable comments. Bob McDonnell ran as a governor for all Virginians and I hope he will be true to the voters' estimation - even if it means his friend, Rev. Robertson, never is given the opportunity to say grace or kneel in prayer in Virginia's Executive Mansion.

2 comments:

Chip Masters said...

Bob McDonnell will sell off Virginia's assets to overseas interests as fast as he can, so it makes no difference what Pat Robertson said.

However, what Pat Robertson said is true. In the Muslim faith, they do not have a separation between government and religion like Western nations have. So, the description of Islam as a violent political system is valid.

The election proved that the citizens do not care about the ties between televangelist Robertson and the tool of the rich multinationals, McDonnell.

The only thing Virginians can hope for is to have some Delegates and Senators with enough courage to stop Bob McDonnell from selling off every state asset that we have left. Every time an award of one of those "operations" contracts are awarded, whether the subject is toll roads or port operations, you can bet that a huge under the table payment will be passed along to McDonnell for making the sell-off happen.

Anonymous said...

Chip Masters, separation of church and state isn't relevant to what Robertson said, nor is it an issue for the religion to deal with. It's a state matter. And the truth is that the country with the world's largest Moslem population, Indonesia, is a secular democracy.

Other than that, bash McDonnell all you want.