Like most left-leaning evangelical Christians, I believe that Christians in public office should be setting the standard, not trying to do an end run around it. Sadly, a state representative in Minnesota is the latest to think that her faith gives her license to avoid being accountable for her votes.
Abigail Whelan represents District 35A in the Minnesota House of Representatives, comprising much of southwestern Anoka County in the northern portion of the Twin Cities. She’s in her second term in the House, but has already made a name for herself as a no-questions-asked social conservative. She was the co-author of Minnesota’s attempt at a bathroom bill, and claimed that the fight against “gender fluidity” was “spiritual” in nature. That bill failed.
She also authored bill that would have yanked state money from the University of Minnesota unless it ended its fetal tissue research program. It also failed, but the fact it even came up for debate led the U of M’s top choice to lead its research into the causes of addiction to decline the position, citing the “many risks inherent in moving our family.”
But those moments pale in comparison to something that happened in the wee hours of Wednesday morning, when the state house considered an important tax bill. During debate on a Democratic-supported amendment that would have closed loopholes for offshore tax havens, Paul Thissen, a Democrat from Minneapolis, tried to get Whelan to clarify why she opposed the bill. Watch the ensuing exchange here.
Thissen wondered if Whelan had any problem with raising taxes on her constituents to protect “people who are hiding money in Liberia.” Whelan did a Mexican hat dance around the question, instead choosing to reflect on “the games that we play here.”
After taking the time to forgive Thissen and the other members of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL, as the Democrats are known in Minnesota) caucus, Whelan decided to share her “eternal perspective” on her two terms in the legislature.
“At the end of the day, when we try to reach an agreement with divided government, we win some, we lose some. Nobody is really happy. But you know what? Happiness and circumstances–not what it’s about. There is actual joy to be found in Jesus Christ. Jesus loves you all. If you would like to get to know him, (if) you’re listening at home, here in this room, please email, call me, would love to talk to you about Jesus, he is the hope of this state and this country.”
Wow. So instead of answering the question, Whelan saw fit to preach on the state house floor. She may have thought she was being a witness for Jesus. But she couldn’t have made herself or her faith look worse. You would think that a born-again Christian legislator would want more than anything to think about the issues and be willing to give coherent arguments about their votes, not look for opportunities to preach at people at every turn.
Listening to this, I couldn’t help but wonder if this was how Minnesota’s most famous Christianist elected official, Michele Bachmann, sounded during her days in the state senate. Ironically, Whelan’s state house district is located almost entirely within the borders of Bachmann’s old congressional district.
After the state house DFLers posted this video on YouTube, Whelan was deservedly slammed up and down on Twitter.
@AbigailWhelan Umm….separation of Church and State exists. Keep it out of your Gov. job. You know, working for all, not just Christians?
— QH (@Heartart10) May 25, 2017
Note to @AbigailWhelan: your job is policy, not being a two bit Protestant missionary. Our Savior doesn't need help from you.
— Emma needs ☕️ (@triagegirl) May 25, 2017
@AbigailWhelan How dare you invoke the name of Jesus Christ to get out of answering questions! I suggest you read Sermon on the Mount.
— globalnurse (@globalnurse) May 26, 2017
You "forgive" Democrats for basically wanting to help the poor? @AbigailWhelan Wow. Perhaps you should rethink your version of Christianity
— ?Jerzygirl45? (@jerzygirl45) May 25, 2017
.@AbigailWhelan just a gentle reminder that it's completely inappropriate for you, an elected official, to proselytize on the house floor.
— Lucipurr (@apocalypsemeeow) May 25, 2017
If your response to legislative Qs is "lets talk about Jesus" you're clearly unfit for your position/are doing a disservice to constituents.
— Lucipurr (@apocalypsemeeow) May 25, 2017
Ultimately, Whelan let her vote do the talking. She joined the other Republicans in the chamber in killing the amendment.
In just a little over a minute, Whelan became the embodiment of every stereotype out there about born-agains who are either in elected office or have an interest in politics. As one person who wants to bust that stereotype, this video has me shaking my head. Surely the people of her district deserve better. And there’s an outside chance that they may have a chance to get better. Although this district has a distinct Republican lean, it only gave Donald Trump 53 percent of the vote–meaning that it is very winnable on paper.
If you need a reason to get out and vote next year, here’s another one. When Republicans control legislatures, people like Abigail Whelan are empowered.
(featured image courtesy Whelan’s Facebook)