Shortly after the attacks of 9/11, Ann Coulter argued, in a syndicated column, that the only effective way to respond to Middle Eastern terrorists is to “invade their countries, kill their leaders and convert them to Christianity.” It sparked an outrage that led National Review to fire Coulter as a columnist.
Of course, Coulter is a professional lunatic; she writes indefensible columns in order to offend people. Everyone expects idiocy from Coulter, in large part because she’s responsible to no one but herself. Others, say, members of Congress, are held to a slightly higher standard.
Which is why this is so breathtaking (via Atrios).
Having won the election by only a hair’s width and almost getting himself kicked out of Congress seems to have had some profound psychological effects on poor Mr. Hayes. A speech that flip-floppin’ Robin gave last week at the Concord Rotary Club seems to prove he has finally gone off the deep end.
Our local weekly newspaper the “Concord Standard and Mount Pleasant Times” reported on Mr. Hayes speech in his hometown:
[Hayes said,] “Stability in Iraq ultimately depends on spreading the message of Jesus Christ, the message of peace on earth, good will towards men. Everything depends on everyone learning about the birth of the Savior.”
Now, I’m not at all familiar with the Concord Standard and Mount Pleasant Times, and can’t speak to its credibility. It appears to be just a community weekly newspaper, common in many parts of the country. Moreover, Hayes’ comments have not been reported in any other source.
But if this local report is accurate, and Hayes actually said that Christian evangelism is necessary for peace in Iraq, he has quite a bit of explaining to do.