Craziest Republican of the Day: Ron Ramsey

By Michael J.W. Stickings

Ron Ramsey is afraid of Muslims. Ron Ramsey probably hates Muslims. Ron Ramsey is ignorant of Islam. Like so many Republicans these days, Ron Ramsey is a fearmongering bigot:

Tennessee Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey, currently running third in the state's Republican gubernatorial primary race, says he's not sure if Constitutional guarantees of freedom of religion apply to the followers of the world's second-largest faith, Islam.

At a recent event in Hamilton County, Ramsey was asked by a man in the audience about the "threat that's invading our country from the Muslims." Ramsey proclaimed his support for the Constitution and the whole "Congress shall make no law" thing when it comes to religion. But he also said that Islam, arguably, is less a faith than it is a "cult."

"Now, you could even argue whether being a Muslim is actually a religion, or is it a nationality, way of life, cult whatever you want to call it," Ramsey said. "Now certainly we do protect our religions, but at the same time this is something we are going to have to face."

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"Now, you know, I'm all about freedom of religion. I value the First Amendment as much as I value the Second Amendment as much as I value the Tenth Amendment and on and on and on," he said. "But you cross the line when they try to start bringing Sharia Law here to the state of Tennessee -- to the United States. We live under our Constitution and they live under our Constitution." 

Ron Ramsey obviously isn't "all about freedom of religion" and doesn't "value the First Amendment" at all. For him, religion is only free if it's a religion of which he approves. It is startlingly ignorant to call Islam a "cult," this one of the largest religions in the world, but nothing coming from the mouth of a Republican should startle.

Muslims are obviously not trying to impose Sharia law on America, nor even in their own communities, and it is similarly ignorant to suggest that all Muslims practice it, and particularly American Muslims, the vast majority of whom are proud and loyal Americans and just as capable of separating their faith from secular law as any Christian or Jew. (Actually, if you want to find Americans who wish to impose intolerant and bloodthirsty religious law on America, look no further than the theocratic-fundamentalist Christian Right. There is the real danger to the Constitution and to the American way of life, not Muslims, a distinct minority that, made up mostly of new Americans, wants only to fit in and live the American Dream.)

But Ron Ramsey is playing directly to the bigotry and irrational fears of Tennesseeans:

The question, Ramsey mused, was related to the simmering topic of a new Muslim community center scheduled to be built in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Ramsey, like many conservatives weighing in on the debate, mistakenly confused the center with a mosque -- which Murfreesboro already has -- and then proceeded to foment fears that Sharia saw would be practiced by Muslims there.

Ron Ramsey, in addition to being a hateful bigot, is an idiot. It's probably too kind to call him crazy. But he gets our nod today, along with our disgust.

Tennessee deserves better, as does America, supposedly a land of liberty. But neither will get what it deserves from the Republican Party, which these days is all about dividing the country, and the world, into us and them, and scapegoating the Other -- whatever it does not like, whatever it does not understand -- as the enemy.