Tag Archives: Islamophobia

Mark Alford (r) knows exactly what he’s doing

09 Tuesday Dec 2025

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“….For hundreds of years Germany was good enough to receive these elements, although they possessed nothing except infectious political and physical diseases. What they possess today, they have by a very large extent gained at the cost of the less astute German nation by the most reprehensible manipulations….” – Adolf Hitler – January 30, 1939

Mark Alford (r) [2025 file photo]

Yesterday:

Congressman Mark Alford
[December 8, 2025]

Securing America isn’t optional — it’s our duty.
[….]
BIG TENT IDEAS

REP. MARK ALFORD: Time To Counter Escalating Radical Islam Menace In America

‘After an era of open borders and the left’s continued efforts to stifle reasonable debate about the effects of third world immigration, America grapples with the corrosive advance of radical Islam.’

CONGRESSMAN
MARK ALFORD

Bigot.

Every right wingnut accusation is a confession.

Some of the responses:

Mark, you are falling deeper into the trap of the national christian movement.

He’s always been there.

I thought big tents had room for all kinds? Which one of us is confused? 🤔

We have a big tent for those that want to assimilate to American culture. Goat humpers need not apply.

They’re so open about it these days.

Just curious, what border do we share with an Islamic country?

trump invites them to the white house and they give him expensive gifts, money or business deals that benefit the orange man or the organization

Christians accept secularism. Islam does not.

Oh my.

==========

So how are we vetting Qatari airmen coming here to train?

By the amount they can afford to pay Trump.

==========

Look out everyone it’s the boogeyman!

Let’s talk about the Christian nationalist version of Sharia law

Actually, this islamaphobic rant and fear mongering IS A TOOL of Xian Nationalism. (Not calling them “Christian” because Jesus would say “I never knew you.”)

Been thinking the samething for awhile. Christian National are ok with religious control as long as they are their laws.

==========

Where in your district do you perceive this threat?

in the far reaches of what used to be Mark’s brain.

==========

Instead of uniting, this guy is taking our money just to divide us. Unity is our strength!! Make America UNITE again

What about the radical fascism in America right now?

I think the actual problem is the corrosive advance of radical christian nationalism.

Time to counter xenophobia in America.

We getting after that radical Christian movement too? Lol

First they came for….

“…Not this time…”

So anyone thats not far right wing and white is fair game

We are not scared. We see you.

Yeah? Where?

Accepting others is an American value. You guys talked the same way about my Irish ancestors when they came over.

Xenophobic much?

First deal with the ongoing violent threat from radical-right Christian nationalists.

I suppose Christian Extremism is better somehow.

The Daily Caller? That’s like referencing the National Enquirer!

An insult directed at the National Enquirer.

Do you happen to have crime stats for folks who say they’re Christians?

By “securing” don’t you really mean “only white people” in America?

The Daily Caller???? LOL!!!!

Another divisive message from a radical politician.

Mark look at the comments.
Think deeply about your dignity and integrity.
These things you’re allowing will be held against you.

Missouri’s 4th district drama queen has spoken

Why don’t we deal with all religious fundamentalists. For starters let’s tax all the churches!

Ohhhh a religious war. Those are always successful

And when the fk have Republicans ever wanted “reasonable debate”?

There’s that.

Far more worried about the rise of white Christian nationalism and fascism, which has taken hold in the highest echelons of government.

Can we do something about the radical Christians trying to take over our country?

The radical “Christians” are a bigger problem. Do something about them.

I’m more concerned about radical christianity. They’re the ones running roughshod over our civil liberties in this country.

Do you ever listen to or learn anything outside the MAGA echo chamber?

Make America Hate Again!

More fear propaganda.

Isn’t there enough hate here?

Too much.

The Daily Caller? You want us to take this post seriously?
Hilarious!

Rep Mark Alford – please give one example of this “menace” here in district 4. We’ll wait.

The only religious threat this country faces, comes from Christianity.

Every fascist needs a scapegoat.

Radical White Supremacy? Radical Brown Shirt “policing”? Radical Klan cults? These are imminent threats. What are you doing about mitigating these threats?

If a government built around religious fanaticism is wrong (and it is), why are you all embracing Christian Nationalism?

The Constitution guarantees the right of freedom of religion. Your racism won’t change that.

Want to know what happens to you when you side with evil against God? Watch all of the people who turned away from God and towards trump. Watch what now becomes of their lives. It has begun, it’s in motion. Some of you can feel it in your soul. These are judgement times. Right now would be a good time to reflect on where you stand in this life.
Embracing trump = Turning away from God.

So the economic numbers coming out this week must be pretty bad if the GOP has to make Muslims the “boogeymen”.
Anything to distract us from the corruption and coverup of Trump’s mental status.

Congressman Mark Alford
Stop the hateful rhetoric!
STOP IT!

Maybe Congressman Alford could tell us what a “Third World Country” is. Talk about going back in time. Republicans like you are corroding our government and lying everyday. Trump is the one inviting them into the White House. What a bunch of hypocrites. You better worry about the Christian Nationalists first. They are in the room with you.

lol… we are grappling with religion being the government… thanks to you right wing, fake christian fucking assholes. That, you douche bag, is the problem we have. Personally, I have NEVER had an issue with any reasonable person because of their faith, color or creed… that’s because I am NOT an asshole

You’re scared of a girl.
[….]

They don’t belong in our country and they sure shouldn’t be holding office. It’s time to reenact the law which was overturned in the 90s that they cannot hold political office.

Time to show your racist self

Radical Maga is a far bigger danger to the USA than Islam is. I wonder who Maga will be telling its cult members to hate next month?

And you are a hateful delusional bigot !!!

The vast majority of comments on here are unbelievable. People who want to sit on their butts and wave their precious signs ( In this house we believe…, Immigrants welcome here, etc) feeling self-righteous and pleased with themselves. Has your house been broken into? Yet? Has your daughter been raped yet? Has your 8 year old been hit by a guy in a car or truck who can’t read street signs in English? Yet? It has happened to Americans and could happen to you! Has your tax money been scammed by foreigners yet? Probably yes. Has your state’s Medicare/ Medicaid money been used by immigrants who were given EVERYTHING when they were invited into our country by the OBiden administration? Probably Yes. Why aren’t you outraged and angry as @&$%# ? Instead you nit pick on Christians and Conservatives because they happen to want to preserve our country and our culture. It’s terribly sick and sad that you just don’t care about your future, your children’s future or your country’s future. People who hate us and don’t appreciate our country and culture AND don’t wish to assimilate can go home and the faster the better.

This is why we can’t have nice things…

Radical Right Wing Christians meanwhile…can serve up Racism at will

You should worry more about nazis that have taken over the Republican party

Good lord, you’re stupid.

Fake weather boy Allfraud. There is nothing that is notable about you. There’s nothing that is significant. There’s nothing that makes you stand out. Everything that you say or do is from a script that you read. Has been tried before, and it resulted in the event rebuttal from those who believe in the rights and freedoms of others. Whether it be the illegal internment of Japanese Americans, the cruel enslavement of African-Americans, the indentured servitude of Chinese Americans, or the cruelty being displayed now. Our nation has always had tyrants and those willing to go along with them. So, fake weather boy, all fraud your time will too eventually end

You should be ashamed mark! You arn’t following Gods work! You are everything God teaches us to fight against!! Hate for our neighbor!!

Oops, your racism is showing.

All of you MAGAts seem to thrive on fear, anger, and hatred. Ya’ll might want to get some counseling.

asshat

Muslims make up only 1% of the US population. If that scares you you’re pretty fragile to begin with.

Let’s start in securing America from bigots like you

Reads like Nazi propaganda

What happened to you? Were you always this angry little man? I remember when you started in Kansas City as an anchor. You had this goofy sense of humor. But under that fake tan you had this simmering racism and resentment for women and people around you? How did you develop such a love for misinformation? You were a journalist of sorts. More of a goofball talking head, but still. It’s really shocking to see this ugliness. Sad, really.

It’s so sad how racists this country is becoming!

So this idiot doesn’t believe in the Constitution? Freedom of religion asshole.

Alford is just another trump tool, kissing the ring and hoping/begging for his recognition. Pathetic.

Alford is just an idiot spewing propaganda.

Hitler said that about the Jews

We noticed that.

Sweet baby jeebus you are an idiot, and an embarrassment to our nation.

And you just proved you are a bigot. Smart.

You either are stupid or you think your constituents are

It’s both.

You guys are literally fascists and I am supposed to be scared of my neighbors because they dress differently and have a different religion?

You are such a fucking idiot.

It’s fascinating how Marky can’t find his voice or guts to speak out when Trump is hosting a radical who had an American journalist cut into pieces while he was still alive. Trump kissed MBS’ butt and yelled at an American woman for daring to mention the murder, all while accepting billions of dollars in crypto scams from people who helped Hamas, giving nations with ties to terrorism access to advanced AI chips, and making deals for his crappy resorts in the Middle East. I can’t imagine how Mark sleeps at night, pushing this crap of pointing fingers about enabling religious radicalism while turning a blind eye to what the administration is doing to weaken our security on behalf of nations to whom he is beholden, not to mention enabling the unChristianity and danger of the Christian nationalist movement within our own nation and our own government. It’d be a heck of a thing to still have more than a handful of GOP politicians willing to speak truth to power. Enjoy whatever financial gains you’ve made off of selling out your constituents. You’re earning your place in history as a cowardly enabler of the first order. It’d be funny if it weren’t such an utter dereliction of duty. You’ve managed to make MTG look like a moral and intellectual giant, by comparison. 🙄

So is remembering your oath…but seem to have shit all over that. Stop gaslighting you ass h a t.

What a load of racist BS. Where is your concern about radicalized MAGA?

MAGATS, always jousting at windmills. Someone explain this literary reference to them, since they don’t read.

The most radical religious group in America is the Christian Nationalist Movement. People like yourself.

Didn’t you just post something about stopping religious discrimination? I guess you only mean certain religions huh? You got any examples of the “corrosive advance of radical Islam?” I bet I got plenty more more of examples of the corrosive advance of white nationalism!

Funny, but the main terrorists I see these days are armed, wearing masks, assaulting citizens while claiming theyre sent by Noem the dogkiller.

Quit promoting Islamophobia. It’s not any better than antisemitism.

You are painting all followers of the Islamic faith with one brush. You imply that all are terrorists and that Islam is radical.
That’s like saying all Christians are radical Christian Nationalists instead of Christians who actually follow Christ.
Because only a radical Christian Nationalist would put up a post like this one.

Are the radical Muslims in the room with you right now? Are they feeding you Baklava?

Congressman Mark Alford You are beyond being a FU***ng Moron.
You would know this if you had “true” Town Hall meetings, instead of pandering to your rich supporters…

Mark Alford (r) [2024 file photo].

Free speech – you support it or you don’t

13 Thursday Apr 2017

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I was kid when in the early 1960s the Free Speech Movement (FSM) erupted in demonstrations on the campus of the University of California, Berkeley. FSM leaders such as Mario Savio and Bettina Aptheker became my heroes. Their goal was to secure the rights of students to engage in unhampered political speech on campus. The result of their efforts insured that right to students of both the right and the left.

Another of my heroes – or heroic group, if you prefer – is the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). I spell the name out in full because I want to emphasize that the group stands for “civil liberties” period, not civil liberties for the left or the right.

I’ve sympathized with many of the ACLU’s crusades that fall on the spectrum of causes involving leftist goals. Easy to do. But what I’ve really admired is that the commitment of the ACLU has been to principle, not political identity. It’s what led the organization to stand up for the rights of a group of neo-Nazis to parade down the streets of Skokie Illinois in 1978, a city where numerous Holocaust survivors lived. Not easy to stomach, but the right thing to do if you value the freedom to speak freely.

I tell you this because I want you to know where I come from when I write about the recent free speech controversy at Truman State University and, by extension, similar occurrences at Universities around the country. US News summarized the Truman State situation:

Some students at Truman State University in northeast Missouri are circulating a petition seeking to halt a speech by an author who runs the website “Jihad Watch.” Concerns arose at the public university in Kirksville when a Republican student group arranged to bring Robert Spencer to campus Thursday night, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (http://bit.ly/2osMqZG ) reported. The Southern Poverty Law Center identifies Spencer as an anti-Muslim “propagandist,” and the school’s Muslim Student Association has responded by recruiting another speaker to appear beforehand in the same lecture hall. Truman State described allowing the event to proceed as a free speech issue, although leaders stressed the university isn’t sponsoring Spencer’s speech. “Cordial discourse on even the most contentious of topics is a fundamental tenet of a liberal arts education and a hallmark of a free society,” the university said in emails to student, faculty and staff this week. “This often includes viewpoints many people strongly oppose.”

We should be clear about the fact that Robert Spencer espouses reprehensible beliefs. But the petition drive that seeks to silence him is, to my mind, almost equally reprehensible, no matter how much its sponsors may believe in their righteous cause. They can protest his presence and I hope they do – protest is speech, after all – but making one’s own views heard through protest should not involve silencing the other guy.

Nor is repression useful to the cause of diversity. Denying Spencer the opportunity to put his views out, as repulsive as they may be, deprives us of the opportunity to expose his errors – errors that thrive and take on added power when they are not fully and openly examined. It is especially important to bring this type of ugliness into the open and show how devoid of substance such hate-mongers are now that we have a President who gives comfort to similar bigoted, white nationalist factions.

Many students who support the petition claim to make a distinction between “free” speech and “hate” speech directed at any specific individual or group. However the distinction is false. Free speech is an activity and is inclusive of even hate speech, which is a category of speech – they are not analogous entities, one of which we can endorse while prohibiting the other. (Clearly libelous speech  is another matter altogether – one with which the legal system has been designed to handle.)

The only way to deal with “hate speech” is to expose its falsity with – cliche or not – more speech. Efforts to prohibit hate speech imply that those who find it disturbing are not capable of counter agument. When we further argue that we aim to spare targeted individuals or groups pain by silencing hateful speech, we need to realize aren’t helping them, but rather condescending to them by underestimating their strength and ability to defend themselves in the – forgive me for another cliche – court of ideas.

Fortunately, the Muslim Student Association at Truman seems to understand the issues and has responded by securing the inclusion of a counter-speaker to appear at the same venue prior to Spencer’s address – to the horror, needless to say of the folks who recruited Spencer. Conservative Club members who sponsored the event seem to believe that adding a dissenting voice will sully the “intellectual diversity” they believe Spencer brings to their campus. Of course, the addition of the Muslim Students’ speaker actually ensures that the event celebrates not only intellectual diversity, but introduces the element of critical argument that insures perspective in evaluating that diversity.

Tomorrow I hope to read that the event at Truman this evening (Thursday, April 13) came off without anything more untoward than a relatively noisy protest – I won’t be disturbed if I learn that Spencer got an earful of the contempt he deserves – but I will be very saddened if he leaves Missouri armed with more ammunition that he can use to tar all progressives as self-righteous, authoritarian enemies of all speech but their own.

What’s that about reaping what you sow?

13 Monday Jun 2016

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Saturday night a man killed 50 people and injured 53 more in a shooting spree in a gay club in Orlando Florida. The shooter claimed allegiance to ISIS, but also, according to his father, he was “angered a couple months ago when he saw two men kissing in Miami” and “that it may be related to the shooting.” It was, as President Obama remarked, “an act of terror and an act of hate.”

It didn’t take Republicans long to hit the social media trail with Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R) quickly tweeting that, as it says in the bible, man “reaps what he sows.” A staff member quickly tried to back off the callous triumphalism, claiming that Patrick wasn’t referring to the shooting of LGBT people in Orlando, and had posted the message before he knew about the massacre.

But why else did Patrick tweet this message bright and early on that particular Sunday morning? Since his spokesperson asserts that he didn’t know abut the shooting, it couldn’t have referred to the havoc we sow when we make military assault weapons easily available to all and sundry, including suspected terrorists – a privilege specifically guaranteed to those on terrorism watch lists at the insistence of Republican in congress.

Perhaps he was tweeting about the the selection of the crass and racist Donald Trump as the Republican Party presidential nominee. GOP pols who have spent the last 30-40 years broadcasting racist dog-whistles cannot be surprised at the potentially destructiveTrumpian harvest they are now reaping. In a piece aptly titled, The party of Lincoln is dying, conservative WaPo columnist Michael Gerson noted that, “since Trump now owns them [i.e., Republicans], they now own his prejudice […] .

And, make no mistake, the list of Republicans stumbling and staggering into the Trump camp grows daily. All four Missouri GOP gubernatorial candidates are all in for Trump – with more or less enthusiasm. Republican Senator Roy Blunt may have declared his intention to do no more than support the party nominee in the early days of the GOP Trump surge, but he’s finally shuffled into position for Trump. It doesn’t matter if any of them are racists in private when, by supporting Trump, they freely choose to present a racist face in public.

As for Trump, his response to the Orlando shooting tells us all we need to know about today’s GOP. Upon learning about the shooting, the narcissistic Islamophobe tweeted:

Appreciate the congrats for being right on radical Islamic terrorism, I don’t want congrats, I want toughness & vigilance. We must be smart!

Using a mass murder as an occasion to gloat! But hey, it’s all about Trump, isn’t it? He followed up this morning with another tweet calling once again for a ban on admitting Muslims to the U.S. (not a word about homophobes or limiting access to assault weapons):

What has happened in Orlando is just the beginning. Our leadership is weak and ineffective. I called it and asked for the ban. Must be tough

Just goes to show, lie down with dogs and get up with fleas – or, how about putting it like this, GOP – you’ll soon reap the bitter harvest you’ve sown.

Dana Loesch thinks Mitt missed an opportunity to identify bigotry with free-speech

06 Monday Aug 2012

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All this time, I’ve been reading about Mitt Romney’s reluctance to pick up on the Michele Bachmann anti-Islam crusade as an example of his political cowardice. Bachmann’s efforts to instigate a Muslim witch-hunt were so egregiously hateful that even a small number of GOPers – those who still have a remnant of conscience – were willing to risk the ire of their mean-minded base and call her out.  I assumed Mitt’s reluctance to discuss the issue reflected the dilemma of a man who, like John McCain, knows better,  but who can’t afford to alienate his only real supporters – the folks who hate Obama and Muslims enough to vote for Romney just because he isn’t either.

Seems, though, that I was wrong – either that or Mitt’s cowardice just hasn’t paid off as regards the aforementioned base. None other than St. Louis fringewing luminary, Dana Loesch, wants us to read Mitt’s silence on the topic of Bachmann as a simple failure to take up the cudgels for free speech, which she presents as a potentially useful political gambit (via DailyKos):

If I were — which I’m not, I’m not advising him, he couldn’t afford me — it just seems so easy to do. Like, if they’re asking him, “What is your thought on the Chick-fil-A story, what do you think about Michelle Bachmann and the Muslim Brotherhood?” he could say, “I don’t have a problem with free speech, do you?”

And that report that Congresswoman Bachmann — the inquiry that they presented towards Congress — that raised a lot of questions. And who’s against free speech?

Who, indeed, is against free speech? Not I certainly. Michele Bachmann has every right to speak freely – but that does not make the content of her speech right correct, nor does it mean that others should let her get away with inciting hateful action without speaking out. I, for example, also have the right to speak freely and point out that Bachmann’s a hateful moron, which in no way contravenes Bachmann’s free speech rights.  So if Loesch is saying that folks should feel free to speak their minds, I agree – and I’ll go a bit further even and say that it would be great if Mitt Romney would do so and, just once, be up front with us about what he really thinks – and not continually try to game the political angles, even in the way suggested by Loesch.

After all, you can only go so far in politics and avoid all specifics. However, it’s also reasonably clear that you can’t go too far at all if you’re given to defending obvious bigotry. Nobody asked Mitt if Bachmann had a right to say what she did, just whether or not he agreed with the content, her call to take action against Muslims in government. Which fact just might explain why Mitt has hesitated to take advice of the sort Loesch is handing out.

And, just for fun, what’s that business about Mitt Romney (multi-billionaire beneficiary of political donors who fit the same description) not being able to afford Loesch? She’s trying to say she’s too principled to work for his prevaricating likes, or is it the case that the poor baby has delusions of grandeur? It’s hard to say, of course, since her advice seems to consist of just about the same drivel he’d get from any random Tea Party celebrant.

*Last sentence edited for grammar.

Will Paul Curtman continue to waste legislative time with his Anti-Sharia bill?

11 Wednesday Jan 2012

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Ever since I witnessed State Rep. Paul Curtman (R-105) (then just Citizen Paul Curtman) strutting his constitutional defender stuff at a constituent meeting with Claire McCaskill’s staff early in 2009, I’ve taken an interest in his charmingly comic tendency towards bombast and self-glorification, usually centering on discredited right-wing claims about the Constitution. Consequently, I’ve been working on and off on a post dealing with some of the tricky constitutional issues involved in his recent list of legislative priorities for the current session.

One of those priorities, though, did not merit much effort; it was pretty easy to dismiss his anti-Sharia bill out-of-hand, although it’s difficult to say if that will be the case in the lege given some of their recent antics. I wrote a short paragraph:

Curtman’s ongoing effort to combat the nonexistent threat of Sharia law – disguised as a quest to ban foreign law from Missouri Courts – has garnered the most attention. Such a law would not only incorrectly define Sharia as foreign rather than religious law, institutionalize religious and ethnic bigotry, and potentially drive away foreign companies that might otherwise do business in Missouri, but would arguably be in violation of the 1st amendment’s freedom of religion clause. Additionally, the American Constitution Society (ACS) points out that:

…the domestic law of the United States recognizes law of nations. […] Legislation that forbids courts from considering international or foreign law raise serious questions about the separation of powers and the independence of courts and judges […] If supporters of these measures genuinely wish to protect the Constitution, they would do well to trust the framers’ respect for international law and religious freedom …

It would be interesting to see Curtman put real, careful arguments such as those made by the ACS into his constitutional pipe and smoke them. The result couldn’t be worse than whatever pseudo-constitutional blend he’s smoking right now.

Before I could finish my foray into Curtman’s constitutional misreadings, however, the courts spoke, issuing a ruling that should, if we could only rely on the intelligence of our legislators, put finis to anti-Sharia initiatives in Missouri. The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Oklahoma’s recently passed anti-Sharia law doesn’t meet constitutional muster:

Given the lack of evidence of any concrete problem, any harm Appellants seek to remedy with the proposed amendment is speculative at best and cannot support a compelling interest.15 “To sacrifice First Amendment protections for so speculative a gain is not warranted . . . .” Columbia Broad. Sys., Inc. v. Democratic Nat’l Co., 412 U.S. 94, 127 (1973).

Anti-Sharia legislation introduced by Curtman last year was similar to the Oklahoma law which, I assume, is the case with the bill he is pushing this session.  Consequently, it’s hard to avoid the conclusion that the 10th Circuit ruling has implications for Curtman’s Missouri effort. Oklahoma may indeed decide to take this to the Supreme Court, but as Think Progress‘ Scott Keyes’ notes:

Today’s decision is a seminal moment in the ongoing battle against Islamophobia. As anti-Muslim individuals continue to push Sharia hysteria in other states, many legislators may think twice before passing a law deemed unconstitutional by the 10th Circuit.

The question is whether or not Missouri legislators will have the will to think twice. They should; they certainly have more important things to worry about than placating the anti-Sharia hysteria of an ignorant and bigoted minority – like maybe finally getting serious about a $5 million deficit that is threatening a state already ranked last or near last in almost every measure of quality of life.

Paul Curtman's forray into Islamophobia

07 Monday Mar 2011

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Today’s St. Louis Post Dispatch suggests that new lawmakers, voted into office after term-limits removed more experienced legislators, are being taken advantage of by lobbyists. The example that is given is a bill introduced by Rep. Ellen Brandom (R-160) that targets extra large marijuana cigarettes – and that was, it turns out, submitted “verbatim” as written by a “friend” who was, unbeknownst to Brandom, a lobbyist for the cigar industry, which wanted to “throw an elbow at rivals in the rolling paper business that could cut into its sales.”

This story of legislative credulity makes me wonder about  HB708,  introduced by Rep. Paul Curtman (R-105). The bill seeks to ban foreign laws from Missouri courts. Although it specifies international law systems, its focus is, admittedly, Muslim Sharia law – since you never know when those sneaky Muslims will try to take over the legal system.

According to the Turner Report, Curtman’s bill was based almost word for word on a model prepared by a well-known Islamophobe and white supremacist, David Yerushalmi. To give you an idea about how bad Yerushalmi is, Mother Jones, the source of this information, quotes him as saying that “there’s a reason the founding fathers did not give women or black slaves the right to vote.”

So is Curtman sympathetic to Yerushalmi’s views in general? Or is he just naive, poorly informed, and easily misled by by others who have taken advantage of his fantasies of heroically riding the constitution onto the legislative stage? His rhetoric on the issue certainly combines what I have come to think of as that special Curtman mixture of self-congratulation and grandiosity:

I think this is another important step in defending the rights and liberties of our citizens, … Our heritage is grounded in the idea that our government must protect those rights and liberties. This legislation will help make it clear the constitution and laws of our country are the only laws that should be considered when governing our citizens in our country.

However, he also seems more than a little befuddled, since he is unable to offer any substantive examples of creeping Sharia – which might suggest all by itself that his actions are really just motivated by run-of-the-mill xenophobia,

Certainly, those, like Curtman, who seek to thwart Sharia law by banning the intrusion of foreign legal systems don’t always seem to understand all the implications. For instance, there are corporations based in Missouri that do considerable international business. It’s reasonable to suppose that they might need to make contracts based on international arbitration standards that will be honored in Missouri.  

Nor, contrary to Rep. Curtman’s patriotic preening, are there any real constitutional issues to be settled, since, as has frequently been pointed out when the topic of Sharia law arises, the 1st amendment insures that there will be no religious encroachment on our legal system by Muslims, Hindus, or even – gasp – Christians:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

It’s worth noting that this amendment also protects Muslims, Jews, Mormons and others who wish to conform to the legal dictates of their religion in their personal and communal religious lives, as long as they do not violate federal or state statutes. As critics of the Christian nation types have been saying all along, separation of church and state isn’t really about whether or not one says “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Holidays,” but is a necessary principle that serves to protect all religions by protecting our diverse population from overreach on the part of any particular religion.

So when we weigh the evidence, what we have is a proposed law that answers no real present need, could interfere with international commerce, and which is precluded by the actual constitution. It does, however, help exacerbate the current climate of virulent Muslim bashing on the part of the right wing.

Consequently, it seems clear that although Rep. Curtman may indeed be naive, he is not at all adverse to demagoguing anti-Muslim sentiment. Nor does one necessarily have any confidence that he would repudiate the more overt racism of his bill’s original fabricator, Mr. Yerushalmi. No matter how much one is tempted to give him the same pass one might grant the over-wrought adolescent he so resembles, unlike the gullible Rep. Brandom, it’s hard to think of any way he can honestly disavow the obvious goals of HB708.