War in Iraq, war against terrorism, war in Afghanistan, move over -- today, House GOP leaders have decided there is a more pressing war to attend to: the fictional war against Christmas, which apparently requires protection for Christmas symbols. And what happened when Democrats asked that the symbols of Chanukah be protected along with the symbols of Christmas? The House GOP simply said "no."
This afternoon, 26 House Republicans -- together with the GOP leadership -- will be forcing the full House to vote on whether House members support the "symbols and traditions" of Christmas, and whether they disapprove of the utterly mythical "attempts to ban references to Christmas." Today's roll call vote comes on the heels of a House floor debate held last night regarding H. Res. 579, a resolution "Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the symbols and traditions of Christmas should be protected." During the debate, Democratic members asked the Republican author of the resolution, Rep. Jo Ann Davis (R-VA), if she would permit the symbols of Chanukah and other holidays to be included in the protection of the resolution -- and she refused.
"Yes, Virginia... and North Carolina, Oklahoma, New Jersey and others... your GOP representatives believe in the imaginary 'war on Christmas,' and apparently they think this is the best use of Congress' time," National Jewish Democratic Council Executive Director Ira N. Forman said earlier today. "And apparently they think nothing of pressing their Jewish House colleagues to actually cast a congressional vote in favor of Christian 'symbols and traditions,' and they refuse to offer the same supposed protections to the symbols of Chanukah. The House GOP will go to any length to erect a straw man for the sole purpose of knocking it down -- anything to avoid dealing with our country's all-too-real problems.
"In this case, House Republicans are adopting the talking points of the most extreme, most divisive far-right elements in today's society -- and making that agenda the work of the people's House. Aside from being a colossal waste of time, it's divisive, it excludes other practices and faiths, and it buys into the conservative fantasy that there's some war against the 95 percent of Americans (according to Gallup) who celebrate Christmas," Forman added.
Below, please find several statements made by House Democrats during last night's debate -- including a humorous poem read on the House floor by the longest-serving member of the House, Rep. John Dingell of Michigan.
Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-NY):
"There are people around who need an enemy at all times to try to separate us one from the other as Americans in order to advance their own agenda. I do not think we should be playing into their hands. Nobody is attacking Christmas or its symbols.... I am really very saddened by the fact that when given the opportunity to expand this resolution that the sponsor demurred. I am not sure why. If you do not know and you are saying that you want this to be what this is because yours is the religion that has its symbols under attack, when was the last time you walked into Wal-Mart and saw it saying 'Happy Chanukah?' When did you walk into Toys 'R Us and see it saying 'Happy Kwanzaa?' Does that give me the right to say that my religion is under attack, the symbols of my faith or the holiday I wish to celebrate are under attack? It is not, and I am not going to be a crybaby and say that it is. To tell the truth, it is slightly offensive to see people trying to create a war and claiming they are attacked just so that they go on the offense instead of the defense. This is a prefabricated issue that has no merit. Nobody is attacking the symbols of Christmas. Are you objecting to our wanting to be included because the symbols of your religion are more important than the symbols of anybody else's religion in America? Or is it because you think that the symbols of your religion are more official? That is the danger in what we are doing."
Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA):
"Madam Speaker, this resolution purports to protect the symbols of Christmas, but what really needs to be protected are not the symbols of Christmas, but rather the spirit of Christmas. The spirit of Christmas demands generosity and goodwill towards others. Instead of legislation that respects the spirit of Christmas, Congress in just these past few weeks has passed a budget that includes mean-spirited attacks on the least of us. For those who are hungry, we are cutting food stamps. For those who are sick, we are cutting Medicaid. For those who are in prison, we are imposing senseless mandatory minimums. For others we are ignoring increases in heating costs and cutting student loans. At the same time we are cutting those programs to help the least of us, we are cutting taxes for the wealthiest in society. Madam Speaker, we ought to express our passion for Christmas through deeds, not words; and we should not be distracted from our responsibility to uphold the spirit of Christmas as we consider the effects our actions on the Federal budget will have on the least of us during this holiday season. For these reasons I oppose this resolution."
Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY):
"The bottom line is there was a good-faith effort made by to change 'recognizes the importance of the symbols and traditions of Christmas' to 'the symbols of Christmas and Chanukah,' and you said no. It was an attempt to change 'strongly disapproves of attempts to ban references to Christmas' to 'ban references to Christmas and Kwanzaa,' and you said no. It was a chance to take this and put it into the words that... says that she intends. The question must be, why? For someone who does not celebrate Christmas, the question looms: Why? Why not say to someone who wants to make this inclusive that, indeed, we are going to make it inclusive? The symbols of Chanukah are not valuable? Sure, they are, I think. The symbols of Kwanzaa are not valuable to some? Sure, they are. I cannot imagine why the gentlewoman who is the sponsor of this, who says that she speaks from a sense of inclusion, would not want to include those. Are those not worthy of being protected? What is the message that is being sent?"
Rep. John Dingell (D-MI):
"Madam Speaker, I have a little poem.
'Twas the week before Christmas and all through the House,
no bills were passed `bout which Fox News could grouse.
Tax cuts for the wealthy were passed with great cheer,
so vacations in St. Barts soon should be near.
Katrina kids were all nestled snug in motel beds,
while visions of school and home danced in their heads.
In Iraq, our soldiers need supplies and a plan,
and nuclear weapons are being built in Iran.
Gas prices shot up, consumer confidence fell.
Americans feared we were in a fast track to ..... well.
Wait, we need a distraction, something divisive and wily,
a fabrication straight from the mouth of O'Reilly.
We will pretend Christmas is under attack,
hold a vote to save it, then pat ourselves on the back.
Silent Night, First Noel, Away in the Manger,
Wake up Congress, they're in no danger.
This time of year, we see Christmas everywhere we go,
From churches to homes to schools and, yes, even Costco.
What we have is an attempt to divide and destroy
when this is the season to unite us with joy.
At Christmastime, we're taught to unite.
We don't need a made-up reason to fight.
So on O'Reilly, on Hannity, on Coulter and those right-wing blogs.
You should sit back and relax, have a few egg nogs.
'Tis the holiday season; enjoy it a pinch.
With all our real problems, do we really need another Grinch?
So to my friends and my colleagues, I say with delight,
a Merry Christmas to all, and to Bill O'Reilly, happy holidays.
Ho, ho, ho. Merry Christmas."
-------------------------------------------------------
Some Gems from Congresswoman Davis:<
>
Protecting the Symbols and Traditions of Christmas
Congresswoman Jo Ann Davis introduces sense of Congress supporting references to Christmas
Congresswoman Jo Ann Davis today introduced H. Res. 579, a resolution expressing the sense of Congress that the symbols and traditions of Christmas should be protected, and that references to Christmas should be supported. This measure, which is non-binding and does not carry the force of law, simply states Congressional support for traditional references to Christmas that are being eradicated from the public dialogue.
"There has been an ongoing effort by retailers and many media outlets to slowly eradicate references to Christmas and the symbols and traditions that come along with it from public dialogue," said Congresswoman Jo Ann Davis. "Common sense has been hijacked by political correctness, and the Christmas Season has become a vague, generic ‘holiday season’ spanning from Thanksgiving to New Year's Day, representing nothing and celebrating anything. December 25th is the federally recognized day known as Christmas, but retail chains across the country have banned their employees from wishing people a Merry Christmas. As if it could not get more ridiculous, the Christmas tree has now become a holiday tree. This is political correctness run amok. No one should feel like they have done something wrong for wishing someone a Merry Christmas," added Davis.
"My resolution is a simple sense of Congress defending Christmas and its symbol and traditions. It is a unified statement supporting references to Christmas, and disapproving of attempts to ban these references. The traditions, symbols and heritage of Christmas cannot be the next victim of political correctness," said Davis. "This is a selective assault on religious free speech, which is a fundamental right. Celebrating Christmas is not a violation of separation of church and state. The Framers intended that the First Amendment to the Constitution would prohibit the establishment of religion, not prohibit any mention of religion or reference to God in civic dialog. Who would have thought that we would live in a society where the display of Santa Claus and the mentioning of a Christmas tree would bring out the speech police?" added Davis.
"Efforts to morph Christmas into this generic 'winter celebration' go beyond the secularization of the day," said Davis. "Santa effectively took the Christ out of Christmas years ago, but this new effort looks to replace Christmas and even its secular symbols with the celebration of nothing. Christmas symbols symbolize Christmas, and Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Christ. Therefore, the purge of Christmas is the goal. This resolution supports Christmas and defends the heritage and symbols that represent it," added Davis.
Protecting the Symbols and Traditions of Christmasand
Davis Introduces Congressional Resolution Supporting ‘In God We Trust’
National motto comes under fire by atheist suing for its removal from US currency
Citing recent efforts to remove the national motto ‘In God We Trust’ from US currency, Congresswoman Jo Ann Davis has introduced H. Con Res. 302, a congressional resolution affirming Congress’ support of our national motto. Michael Newdow, known for his lawsuit to remove the words “under God” from the U.S. Pledge of Allegiance, has announced that he will file another anti-American lawsuit aimed at stripping “In God We Trust’ from our currency. If passed, the Davis resolution will send a clear signal that Congress and the American people reject these efforts to erase America’s religious heritage.
“In God We Trust is as old as the Republic itself, and has always been an integral part of the first amendment,” said Congresswoman Jo Ann Davis. “Our national motto is under attack by a political agenda, and this resolution affirms the support of the United States Congress and the American people for our national motto. ‘In God We Trust’ is an expression of confidence in the future, and an ideological framework for our nation,” added Davis.
Specifically, the resolution re-affirms the Constitution’s support for acknowledgement of a Creator, and recognizes this acknowledgement within American tradition and culture. The resolution also rejects the notion that the Constitution and laws require the exclusion of God from matters of public life. Finally, the resolution supports the public display of the national motto in all public buildings, public schools, and other Government institutions established or maintained at taxpayer expense, and supports the inscription of the national motto on the United States currency.
“As evidenced by their writings in the Mayflower Compact to the Constitution itself, the Founding Fathers believed devoutly that their was a God and that the unalienable rights of man were rooted in Him,” said Davis. “The national motto reflects this traditional sentiment, and should not fall victim to political correctness,” added Davis.
The measure has been referred to the House Judiciary Committee.