Bill Donohue comments on how Shari Song, the Democratic candidate for a state senate seat in Washington, is reacting to bigotry:
Shari Song’s tolerance for intolerance is stunning. The man she is running against, Mark Miloscia, is the victim of rank anti-Catholicism, and she is taking it in stride.
Some Democratic operatives tried to whip up anti-Catholicism by posting a doctored photo of Miloscia on a website: it shows him dressed as a bishop holding a rosary, including captions that depict him as a stooge for the Vatican. It’s a throwback to the days when the Know Nothing Party of the 19th century challenged the loyalty of American Catholics, portraying them as giving their allegiance to Rome, not the nation.
Instead of condemning this bigotry, the best Song could do was to say that the website was “a little bit misguided.” She literally defended those responsible for this anti-Catholic statement saying, “I don’t believe they are anti-Catholic or intended it to be that way.” So just what would it take, Ms. Song, for you to brand someone anti-Catholic?
One Democratic activist is trying to walk it back, saying, “A couple of local Democratic legislative district members got together and did it on their own. I don’t know all the names of who’s involved….We’ve had to talk to them to try to get them to fix it.” Nice to know this guy is comfortable giving advice to strangers. More important, the local media continue to miss the many facets of this remarkable story.
There’s more. On October 22, Song and Miloscia were at an event hosted by the Federal Way Mirror, the local newspaper. Held at the Twin Lakes Country Club, stacks of the anti-Catholic flyers were placed on a table set aside for each candidate’s literature; they were placed alongside Song’s material. Neither she, nor anyone from her staff, objected.
Public officials who cannot honestly represent all the people have no legitimate role to play in a democratic society.
