Late Friday, Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam vetoed a bill that would have declared the Bible the official state book of the Volunteer State. While there is no doubt this caused a lot of heads to explode on the religious right, no reaction has been nearly as wingnutty as that of American Family Radio afternoon host Bryan Fischer. As he sees it, Haslam allowed himself to be played by the devil.
Friday’s edition of Fischer’s show, “Focal Point,” went to air just hours after Haslam shot down this misguided bill. Watch the opening segment here.
Watch "Why Satan does not want the Bible in schools" on @Vimeo https://t.co/m4R7mbeX7G
— Bryan Fischer (@BryanJFischer) April 15, 2016
Fischer read from Psalm 119 as part of a month-long prayer campaign sponsored by his bosses, the American Family Association. He particularly hammered on verse 130, which says that the Bible “imparts understanding to the simple.” He argued that this is the biggest reason the devil fights so hard to keep the Bible out of public schools. After all, he argued, elementary school kids are “simple” because “their minds are in a position where they’re moldable.”
That led Fischer to blast Haslam’s veto, saying that Haslam was “cooperating with the agenda of Satan.” He also slammed Idaho Governor Butch Otter for spiking a bill that would have allowed the Bible’s use in the Idaho public school curriculum. As far as Fischer was concerned, Otter was “doing the devil’s work” with that veto.
Never mind that both Republican-dominated legislatures pressed on with these bills despite strongly-worded warnings from both states’ attorneys general–both Republicans, mind you–that they were blatantly unconstitutional. And never mind that Haslam–who is himself an evangelical Christian–claimed that elevating the Bible to state book status would trivialize the Bible’s value as a sacred text. But then again, such little things as facts never got in the way of a religious right talk show host spewing hot air.
Looking back, though, this sort of talk is par for the course for Fischer. After all, in the past he has argued that the First Amendment was only intended to protect Christians. In his world, the rights of non-Christians should be a state matter, and there is nothing barring a state from designating an official state church. He also thinks Sandy Hook would have never happened if we still forced public school kids to pray and read the Bible.
Fischer likes to tout himself as the voice of “muscular Christianity.” Apparently in Fischer’s eyes, “muscular Christianity” means that an elected official is required to cram Christianity down the throats of his constituents–and such minor details as separation of church and state be hanged.
Having listened to this sort of talk for the better part of two decades, I know that Fischer was speaking in code to Tennessee’s large fundie base. Haslam is barred from a third term in 2018. If Bob Corker decides against a third term in the Senate in 2018, the Republican nomination would likely be Haslam’s for the taking. Then again, if Haslam wants to jump to the Senate, he might opt to wait until 2020, given that Lamar Alexander is likely to retire. If Haslam were to take the plunge, you can bet that the fundies will tie this veto around him–especially if that candidate is Congress(wo)man Marsha Blackburn.
This latest screed by Fischer is a sad commentary on the state of our politics. After all, he is now on record as saying that by doing their jobs and fulfilling their oaths to represent ALL of the people of Tennessee and Idaho, Haslam and Otter were “doing the work of the devil.” When a wingnut radio host can get away with attacking Republican governors for–horrors!–remembering that they doesn’t just represent Christians, it says a lot about the level of civility in this country–and it isn’t good.
