The anti-gay, anti-Muslim, anti-Wendy Davis, anti-abortion, anti-Obama, anti-everything, Dr. Gordon Klingenschmitt, (Dr. Chaps), recently announced that he is running for the Colorado State House, by releasing a nearly 9-minute video, detailing his many qualifications for state office. In this campaign video, Klingenschmitt claimed he was the most qualified candidate running for the primary, stating that the others were “…young, full of vinegar (he meant vigor)…,” and, well, not as experienced as he was.
Dr. Chaps introduced himself and told the audience that he was asking them to hire him. This video was a job interview. Chaps listed the following qualifications:
- He was a proven leader
- He had graduated in the top 20% of his class (Whenever someone gives a range that far from 100%, they reveal that they were closer to the bottom of the range than the top – or, they are just extra humble. Essentially, Chaps was a B student.)
- He has a degree in Political Science – “I know politics. I studied it!”
- PhD in Theology (This was an overt pandering to his religious constituents who have no idea that religion has no place in the Colorado State House)
- Served as a chaplain in the military
Dr. Chaps then looks straight into the camera and tells the voters why he is most qualified to be their leader. Only, it’s all a lie:
“[While a chaplain],?I was forced to defend the Constitution. I took the oath to defend the Constitution very seriously. Even against the Secretary of the Navy when the Secretary began censoring the prayers of the chaplains saying, ‘You can’t pray in Jesus’ name’. I took a stand. My stand actually cost my career, but, the good news is, I was vindicated by the U.S. Congress. And I helped change the law to defend the First Amendment of the Constitution….to restore freedom for all chaplains and people of all faiths.”
Klingenschmitt was not discharged from the military because he took a stand. He was discharged for insubordination. For blatantly and purposefully disobeying an order to not wear his military uniform at a protest on the White House lawn in March 2006. His discharge had nothing to do with his false accusations of military discrimination. In fact, his own superior officer, Norm Holcomb, said the following about Dr. Chaps:
“I sent him out in uniform every week to pray at various ceremonies and functions. He always prayed in uniform and in Jesus? name. He was never told that he could not pray in Jesus? name. In fact, the issue of prayer had nothing at all to do with his dismissal from the Navy. He disobeyed the lawful order of a senior officer. I am sure that you understand that Navy Regulations forbid any of us, regardless of rank or position, to appear in uniform in support of any political or partisan event.He appeared in direct support of a political event, demonstrating contempt for the order of his Commanding Officer and Naval Regulations that we all swear that we will abide by?. The ex-chaplain is a man without honor and you have accepted his story and in doing so you have had ?the wool pulled over your eyes.”
But dishonesty isn’t the worst of Dr. Chaps’ qualities.?Right Wing Watch has compiled web pages full of his statements, speeches, videos, and writings, displaying all of his extreme right wing positions. And even his positions aren’t the worst of it. Dr. Chaps is a known conspiracy theorist, spouting all sorts of stories about Obama planning to kill all Christians, telling Christians to sell their clothes and buy guns to ward off government attackers, prays for the deaths of those he disagrees with, and even repeats lies that the Religious Right has reported, which were later debunked.
You would think that a man of such integrity would fit right into politics, but as you peruse through Dr. Gordon Klingenschmitt’s own words, you will see that this man is much more than a dishonest peddler of revisionist history about himself, he is also a dangerous man to be given any kind of power at the state level, let alone his own Christian ministry.
Edited by SS
