Friday was the first day of the new Congress. Every Senator and House member gets sworn in and both parties elect their party leaders. It was a little more dramatic than usual for the House Republicans but Mike Johnson kept the worst job in Washington: House Speaker with a tiny majority. He and President-elect Trump had to twist some Republican arms to make that happen. They don't all like him. The rest of the day is devoted to receptions for constituents and supporters. A day like that can be a real lobby-fest; Members of Congress holding receptions you don’t have to pay your way into for once. Washington’s government affairs professionals were out in force.
I went by the offices of four just-elected House members to introduce myself to someone on the staff and meet the new member if they were in the office. These are House members we could work with based on their response when asked about their religion. Representative Emily Randall of Washington is listed as None and Yassamin Ansari is down as agnostic. Good for them. Like all House first-termers they had modest first-day parties going on in their three-room offices. It was just a good opportunity to get to know them or a staff member a little so I can follow up when things are more settled in those offices.
I also went by a few offices of more senior members where they passed on having a reception, but kudos to Congressman Dan Goldman of Brooklyn for the open bagel bar. I definitely wanted to go by Congressman Raskin’s event across the street at the Library of Congress. He is one of our biggest allies and he co-founded the Congressional Freethought Caucus which organizes more allies. He also spoke at our lobby day last March.
Congressman Raskin needed a big room for his reception because his Maryland district borders Washington DC, so his constituents are just a subway ride away from Capitol Hill. Congressman Raskin is a former constitutional law professor and just became the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee. Here’s 30 amusing seconds of Raskin and Marjorie Taylor Greene in a committee hearing.
At his reception Raskin gave the 200 or so people a combination history lesson and pep talk. He quoted a letter by Thomas Jefferson in reference to the current situation in Washington: “A little patience, and we shall see the reign of witches pass over, their spells dissolve, and the people, recovering their true sight, restore their government to its true principles.”
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Ron Millar of our coalition member the American Humanist Association, Congressman Raskin, and AHA CEO Fish Stark at the Raskin reception. PHOTO BY ME.
During the same afternoon Raskin was quoting Thomas Jefferson, Speaker Johnson, the top Christian nationalist on Capitol Hill, offered “a prayer for the nation” on the House floor that he said Jefferson had written and said every day. This false claim has been made so often that the Thomas Jefferson Foundation has a page debunking it. Rewriting history to make the founding fathers more Christian than they really were is an ongoing effort to justify efforts to make the government today more Christian than it was ever intended to be.
You can read more here on the religious beliefs of the founding fathers in our last contribution from Chris the Intern.
Raskin also quoted Frederick Douglass: “If there is no struggle, there is no progress.” Raskin said if someone needs to take a weekend off, that’s fine, but everyone needs to stay engaged, stay involved, and stay vocal. And that’s what we at SCA will need from everyone who believes in the separation of church and state in every corner of the government. The receptions are over and the wave of challenges will start immediately. I’ll let you know when you can help.
Anyone who made a New Year's resolution to send the Secular Coalition a donation, you can keep that resolution right here! For everyone who already did, we sincerely appreciate it.
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Your advocate,
Scott MacConomy
Director of Policy and Government Affairs
Secular Coalition for America
[email protected] |
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The Secular Coalition for America works every day to defend the separation of religion and government and to fight anti-democratic ideologies like Christian nationalism. Your support for this work is vital.
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