No, really. I've spent the better part of four years now trying to convince my progressive friends that not all Christians are total right-wing loons. In just a few minutes on Hardball, you managed to undo a good bit of that work.
Oh, you've had help on that score, to be sure. Jerry Falwell hasn't been gone for that long, and Pat Robertson, James Dobson, John Hagee, Rod Parsley and too many other little creeps to mention are still on the airwaves. But you've done your share. You belong to a church that believes the Pope is the AntiChrist, and you helped put another congregation's tax status in jeopardy when their pastor endorsed you from the pulpit.
You also declared at that same event that God had called you to be a "fool for Christ" by running for Congress, thereby putting a divine stamp on your political campaign. It was a total misinterpretation of scripture, but a neat trick anyway.
I have been trying and trying to tell people that not all Christians are like you, Rep. Bachmann. I have been trying to tell them that there are relatively sane, moderate Christians out there. Christians like your opponent, actually.
And with a single stroke, you have demonstrated the importance of that point.
I don't know whether or not people believe me when I say there's more than one kind of Christian. I don't know whether they believe me when I say that some of us aren't actually paranoid hate-mongers.
But you have shown them beyond a doubt - as if they needed any more proof - why it's so important to push you and people like you out of power. Because while you and I may share the same faith, at least nominally, we sure don't share the same values, and we definitely don't share the same goals for our country.
And for making that clear beyond the shadow of a doubt, really, thank you.