From Think Progress:
Right-Wing Radio Host Fabricates Controversy To Attack First Muslim Congressman
Right-wing radio host Dennis Prager wrote a column earlier this week claiming that Rep.-elect Keith Ellison (D-MN), the first Muslim elected to Congress, had “announced that he will not take his oath of office on the Bible, but on the bible of Islam, the Koran.” Prager claimed this “act undermines American civilization,” and compared it to being sworn in with a copy of Hitler’s “Mein Kampf.”
Bloggers on the left and right — including Taylor Marsh, Steven Bennen, Eugene Volokh, Stephen Bainbridge — have torn apart Prager’s argument on constitutional grounds.
But Prager’s column is based on one other glaring error: the swearing-in ceremony for the House of Representatives never includes a religious book. The Office of the House Clerk confirmed to ThinkProgress that the swearing-in ceremony consists only of the Members raising their right hands and swearing to uphold the Constitution.
November 30, 2006 at 7:06 pm
Thanks for mentioning left and right, ’cause I read at least three different conservatives ripping Prager about this today.
November 30, 2006 at 7:06 pm
BTW, close your italics!!
November 30, 2006 at 7:09 pm
Did you see Glenn Beck’s interview with Keith Ellison? It was featured on the Daily Show the other day.
It went something like this:
Beck: “Now, I know Muslims, and I’ve been in many mosques…”
Cut to Jon Stewart, deadpan:
“You just KNOW this is going to end badly.”
Cut back to Beck:
“But how do I know you’ll be keeping America’s interests at heart?”
By now Ellison is grinning, as if he’s thinking to himself, “What a dumbass.”
His response was very gracious, something like he’s been elected to serve the people of his district, he’s an American first and a Muslim second, and so be it.
BTW, I enjoy your blog – hope you will consider linking to mine!
December 1, 2006 at 8:17 am
Well nice to see folks on the right condemn this too, but I am not surprised at the lies.
December 1, 2006 at 1:41 pm
How does “right-wing doofus gets his facts hopelessly garbled” translate to “right-wing liars” plural? And what’s the underlying story? Maybe Mr. Ellison actually thought he was going to swear on Hubert Humphrey’s corpse or on an autographed Rod Carew baseball bat.
Truly, equating the Qur’an with Mein Kampf is moronic.