Republican Congressman Todd Akin of Missouri may have damaged his hopes to become the Republican Party’s nominee for United States Senate in 2012 during an interview last Friday, June 24th. In the interview with Family Research Council President Tony Perkins, Akin slammed the left-thinking political ideology, while all-but claiming liberals are godless atheists. The interview was in response to NBC’s decision to omit the phrase “under God” from the Pledge of Allegiance beginning Sunday’s Final Round of the U.S. Open Championship.
Akin said, “At the heart of liberalism really is a hatred for God and a belief that government should replace God.”
In response to criticisms regarding the statement, Congressman Akin’s Communications Director Steve Taylor said Akin was simply characterizing ideological differences between liberalism and conservatism. He said the Congressman believes conservatives argue that a person’s rights are inherent from God, whereas liberals argue that a person’s rights are derived from government.
In spite of claims that the phrase “under God” is proper in the Pledge of Allegiance in order to channel the beliefs that founded this country, a simple history check on the Pledge will show that the words were a fairly recent addition. The original version written in 1892 by Baptist Minister Francis Bellamy did not include the phrase. The controversial addition was made by a joint resolution of Congress and signed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower on Flag Day, June 14, 1954.
Interestingly, Akin failed to address the other phrase left out of the Pledge. NBC also skipped the word “indivisible” in its rendition. Does Congressman Akin believe liberals are responsible for encouraging secessionist movements in the United States? This notion is in contrast to those most recently considering the idea, including Republican Governor of Texas Rick Perry and Republican former U.S. Congressman and 2010 gubernatorial candidate Zack Wamp of Tennessee. Wamp failed to secure his party’s nomination for governor, while Perry is now the country’s longest-serving current Governor. What will be Akin’s fate? A coin toss may be needed to decide his future success in winning the 2012 Missouri Senate race.
