It seems that every time the Religious Right needs someone in Congress to take up their latest bogus crusade, they can inevitably rely on Sen. Jim DeMint.
Earlier this year, DeMint took up the Right’s nonsense claim that the stimulus legislation was somehow “anti-Christian” and forced a vote on it on the Senate floor … and now he is vowing to the Right that he will take the lead in opposing hate crimes legislation, even leading a filibuster if necessary:
Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., today confirmed he will fight the “hate crimes” legislation pending in the U.S. Senate and, if necessary, will launch a filibuster against the plan that critics have dubbed the “Pedophile Protection Act.”
His Washington office confirmed to WND his position today, shortly after several Christian activists who have been rallying opposition to the proposal said they had received word he would help.
…
Rick Scarborough of Vision America told WND DeMint had assured him he understood the issue and would use every delay tactic available to him as a senator.
“And if it gets to the floor,” Scarborough said, “If it’s necessary, he would filibuster. He said he would do that as a last resort.”
“He told me, ‘Rick, I’m used to being beaten up by the Left,'” Scarborough said.
Scarborough also said James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family, also has agreed to work against the “hate crimes” plan, with possibly a radio program on it soon. Scarborough said the campaign will contact pastors in coming days, asking them to preach about the possible loss of their right to preach on biblical truths and what that would mean.
The endorsement by DeMint is a huge turnaround for the campaign against “hate crimes,” which before today had not seen a single senator stand up and announce a formal opposition to the plan.
“Everyone else that we talked to either said or implied that it is a lost cause,” Scarborough said.
But he noted the Old Testament story of King David, while still a youth, taking on the Philistines’ champion Goliath.
“For every other warrior, the battle against the Philistines was unwinnable,” he said. “David dropped what he was doing and when he did the whole nation got its courage.”
“Jim DeMint is going to give a lot of courage to other senators out there,” Scarborough said.
As we’ve explained a number of times before, just about every objection the Right has to hate crimes legislation is based on lies and misinformation.
But so was the “controversy” over the stimulus legislation and that didn’t stop DeMint from echoing their claims then, and so it’s unlikely that the falsity of their attacks will bother him this time around either.
