Religious bigotry has replaced racial bigotry among congressmen. Both the House and the Senate have shown a spike in religious bigotry, the targets being mostly Catholics and Jews.
A few months ago, two U.S. senators, Kamala Harris and Mazie Hirono, showed their anti-Catholic colors by attacking a Catholic nominee for a job on the federal bench because of his membership in the Knights of Columbus.
Brian Buescher, who was nominated by President Trump to serve on the U.S. District Court for the District of Nebraska, was badgered by these Democrats for belonging to an “all male society,” one that just happens to oppose abortion and gay marriage. It is undeniable that Buescher was attacked because he belongs to a Catholic group.
In January, Bill Donohue contacted the House Ethics Committee asking for sanctions against Rep. Ilhan Omar after she lied about students from Covington Catholic High School. She accused them of making fun of rape—”it’s not rape if you enjoy it”—and for racism (they were accused of taunting five black men). None of this was true, which is why she deleted the remarks from her website. She never apologized, which is what we would expect.
Donohue wrote to Ethics Committee chairman Rep. Ted Duetch and Ranking Member Kenny Marchant asking them to invoke Rule XXIII, Section 1, of the Code of Official Conduct which addresses civility.
More recently, Omar went on a rampage against Jews, accusing them of buying votes and putting the interests of Israel ahead of the U.S. She rolled out the familiar anti-Semitic tropes to the applause of extremists in the Democratic Party.
When a resolution was introduced in the House calling for a statement condemning anti-Semitism, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, the House Speaker, caved in to Omar and her ilk by diluting the resolution; it condemned virtually every expression of bigotry. We labeled it a “sham.”
This led Rabbi Aryeh Spero of the National Conference of Jewish Affairs, who is a good friend of Donohue’s, to stage a sit-in at Pelosi’s congressional office. We supported it and some Catholic League members participated in it.
Religious bigotry is no more acceptable than racial bigotry. Regrettably, we now have to fight to get this voice heard. The good news is we have some key allies to work with.
