On Tuesday, Republican voters in Florida's Eighth Congressional District chose Daniel Webster as their candidate to oppose Alan Grayson.
We're learning a lot about Webster this week. And, we're getting a sense of who he is and what he thinks from one of this top supporters, David Barton. From Ryan Grim:
Republican primary voters on Tuesday picked Daniel Webster to challenge freshman Rep. Alan Grayson in the Orlando swing district being watched nationally. Webster, in his Orlando Sentinel voter guide, lists David Barton among his prominent endorsers.They're going to have to answer questions at some point. Because the more research people do on Webster and Barton, the uglier it gets. Here's more from Unreasonable Faith:
Barton has twice addressed white-supremacist organization with ties to neo-Nazis, but both times has done so accidentally, he says. He has also been a leader in the movement to rewrite American history to remove Civil Rights leaders and knock down the wall separating church from state, arguing that it is a myth. He led the recent effort to rewrite Texas textbooks to describe America as a Christian nation.
Barton addressed the Rocky Mountain Bible Retreat of Pastor Pete Peters' Scriptures for America and Kingdom Covenant College in Grants Pass, Oregon, both associated with neo-Nazi ideology. "At the time we were contacted by Pete Peters, we had absolutely no idea that he was 'part of the Nazi movement,'" Barton's assistant wrote later in explaining the speaking gigs. Barton didn't return a HuffPost message left with his assistant and Websters campiagn didn't return calls, either.
Enter Christian Nationalist David Barton, a major player in the Texas Republican Party, and founder of WallBuilders, a Dominionist group hell bent on “restoring” theocracy. Time (2005) named him among the 25 most influential evangelists. He is on the advisory committee for National Council on Bible Curriculum in Public Schools, and for Providence Foundation, “training and networking leaders to transform nations.” Reconstuctionist groups like Providence ultimately aim to “reinstate” Old Testament law, including the stoning of homosexuals, witches, and disobedient children.Yes, you read that right. Stoning of homosexuals. It's not an exaggeration.
Webster's campaign has already accomplished one thing: It's exposed the very extreme views of David Barton. Webster touted Barton's support. So, they must share the same views. Webster really needs to explain that.
Webster does come from the far reaches of the religious right. He led the legislative effort to intervene in the case of Terri Schiavo, as verified by Florida Baptist Witness:
His greatest disappointment was the Legislature’s failure in 2005 to pass legislation saving Terri Schiavo, the severely brain-damaged Florida woman who was the subject of international attention and controversy. Schiavo died March 31, 2005, when nutrition and hydration were removed by court order in accordance with her husband’s wishes and over her parents’ objections.So, it's not surprising that Webster would be so tight with an extremist like Barton.
Recalling the vote with tears in his eyes, Webster told the Witness the experience was draining and difficult: “I stood as hard as I could against what I believe was a moving of the line between life and death in this state.”
In contrast to some politicians who have back-tracked on their support of Schiavo legislation, Webster said he has no regrets.
“Some have said it was the worst vote they made. ... I thought it was the best stand I made,” he said.
We love Alan Grayson. He needs to win for many reasons. But, he really needs to keep Daniel Webster out of Congress. Our ActBlue page for Grayson is here.
