Sen. Ken Salazar (D-Colo.), in response to a series of ugly attacks, recently criticized James Dobson’s Focus on the Family as acting in a way that “will threaten the basic cornerstone of our freedom.” It’s generated several colorful responses from far-right figures, but I was particularly fond of the reaction from Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, which struggles for relevancy against its better known religious right allies.
“This is a way of Salazar and these people on the left of trying to silence debate,” Donohue said. “When you use, ‘theocracy,’ that’s saying we’re like a bunch of ayatollahs, (that) we’re radicals. Who’s using the incendiary language? He is.” (emphasis added)
For those of you who are familiar with Donohue, the very idea that he’d criticize someone for using “incendiary language” is breathtaking. But for those who haven’t enjoyed Donohue’s hysterical outbursts, here are a few of my recent favorites, from just the last few months:
* “Hollywood is controlled by secular Jews who hate Christianity in general and Catholicism in particular. It’s not a secret, OK? And I’m not afraid to say it. That’s why they hate [The Passion of the Christ]. It’s about Jesus Christ, and it’s about truth. It’s about the messiah. Hollywood likes anal sex…I like families. I like children. They like abortions. I believe in traditional values and restraint. They believe in libertinism. We have nothing in common.” — Donahue discussing the Academy Awards on MSNBC, 12/8/04
* “The gay community has yet to apologize to straight people for all the damage that they have done — for contaminating the blood supply in New York City and around the country.” — Donahue discussing the AIDS crisis on MSNBC, 4/11/05
* “In one strange sense, then, what’s happening to these poor Asian people is their gift to the world.” — Donahue discussing the Asian tsunami devastation on MSNBC, 1/6/05
And this guy has the gall to accuse anyone of using “incendiary language”? Please.