If Danny Davis wants to replace Obama in the Senate, he has some Moonie questions to answer
By David Neiwert Saturday Nov 29, 2008 5:00pm
Teddy at FDL reports that Rep. Danny Davis is in line to replace Barack Obama in the U.S. Senate.
But if Davis really wants that seat, then he really needs to finally answer exactly why he took part in that bizarre coronation ceremony for the Rev. Sun Myung Moon back in 2002.
Davis not only took a leading part in the ceremony, he's been unapologetic about it since. All of which raises serious questions about Davis' judgment: If he so readily succumbs to the ministrations of one of the world's craziest right-wing ideologues, who else will he sucker for?
Eric Zorn at the Chicago Tribune is wondering the same thing. Back when this story first emerged, Zorn contacted Davis and asked if he had made a mistake.
"A mistake?" he asked, chuckling in that distinctive, friendly baritone. "No, not a mistake. This was about the promotion of peace. That's all. We were recognizing Rev. and Mrs. Moon as parents. I find it difficult to see that as far out in any way."
Yeah, except that Rev. and Mrs. Moon see themselves as the parents of the entire world. That ceremony was about crowning them as the world's rulers. Read John Gorenfeld's book, Bad Moon Rising, for the complete details.
Surely Illinois can do better than this.
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I almost went to visit a Moonie farm after they fed me dinner once when I was in San Francisco. Then some other people who were there said the farm was 100 miles away and they probably wouldn't want to bring me back. The dinner was alright tho.
He sees them as "Parents"? Davis is a Moonie - only members of his church refer to him as that.
he has no business being in congress.
which violates the Constitution and is against the regulations regarding holding religious ceremonies in the Congressional offices or on Congressional property.
And Davis lied about his participation until YouTube posted a video.
If he can't distinguish in separation of Church and State, he needs to resign from Congress and allow someone else to campaign for his Congressional seat. Obama deserves a much more worthy successor than Danny Davis.
The Davises are a widely-spread racketeering family, with two or more RICO defense lawyers to keep them out of trouble. When Marvin Davis was head of 20th Century Fox, his various relatives established stock accounts and sold Fox creative ideas and properties, often stolen, wiretapped, or in one case acquired by a contract of adhesion on a pair of children, via a drug-addicted cousin. They utilize wiretaps, strings of informants, and reputedly are heavily involved in studies of cults and occultism to further enable their predations. This guy sounds like a good candidate for UEC, not Congress.
The Washington Times, a Moonie newspaper, is a big supporter of the Iraq occupation.
Davis had better walk away from this one. He's being suckered. Or, he's just ignorant of the facts.
"When one man is delusional, they call him crazy.
When a group of people are delusional, they call it a religion."
Well well well, look which liberal blog is taking a play out of the Republican playbook. It's a simple formula; call somebody a Muslim, err Moonie and declare that person ineligible. It sucked when the GOP did it, and it still sucks when liberal bigots do it too.
If you have a problem with the Illinois selection, critique that choice on the strength or weakness of the person's positions on the issues, not on religious affiliation. Religious intolerance from one side of the political spectrum is bad enough (Republicans calling Obama a Muslim), but having it from the left side is even worse.
Right On! how many times have I read comments on this site that say a persons religion should have now place in politics. I can think of Obama and the Muslim religion-It doesn't matter even if it was true, I read over and over. Now we have a politician that is affiliated with the Reverend Moon. It shouldn't matter according to C&L readers. Whats good for the goose is good for the gander.
Considering the Constitution forbids the bestowal of foreign titles and such, being involved in a coronation on American soil is problematic. It's not the religion or the spirituality, it's the presumption of emporial power beyond the sovereign Nation.
No. Davis took part in a coronation in the US Senate (Dirksen Building).
From the Washington Post:
That was wrong. America has no Monarch. Period.
I suggest that you do a bit of research on the Rev. Sun Myung Moon. You might want to start with his conviction for tax evasion
From The RAW Story
temporal power, I was typing drunk again.
A cult member has to be better than all of these Corporate-lackeys that give away trillions of dollars to all these shady Wall Street scumbags.
So you'd rather give trillions of dollars to heretic scumbags?
A group of whackaloons are heretical because they don't believe the same made-up garbage as another group of whackaloons? To me they're all just nutjobs.
Danny Davis moons people?
Uh oh...there goes my shot at Drug Czar.
You mean it makes a difference WHICH crazy made up belief system people belong to? I gotta differentiate between which belief in an invisible old man in the sky is reasonable and which one seems *gag* silly?
What about invisible women?
Kind of defeats the purpose, don't it?
Invisible women made up most of my girlfriends though my teen years until I could con a real one into thinking I was an ok guy. Don't knock it!
You ever seen Ghost in an Invisible Bikini?
Talk about the height of frustration.
You mean to say C&L is going to take a stand and say that, for example, christian politicians are ok but others, such as moonies are not? Whats wrong with you people? They're ALL crazy!
Not all xian people
Like
sarah palin, mike huckabee, or mitt romney.
This isn't about which religion the Moons espoused. It was about using taxpayer-paid legislators on taxpayer-owned federal property to literally crown a pair of civilians and describe them as "sent to accomplish his command to save the world's 6 billion people, restoring them to heaven" This is the same guy who said essentially that Hitler finished Jesus' work for him, and frequently verbalizes hate-filled diatribes about homosexuality, based on his religious fervor (ironically while he positions himself as the "true" King of Peace).
That's not okay. For our government to essentially endorse a religious leader with delusions of grandeur is bad, bad practice. I'd say the same thing if it had been that rabbi in New York who believed he was the Messiah and I'd say it about Obama's favorite pastor. Religion and government are not meant to mix, period.
I wish they'd abolish the prayer at the inauguration, too.
But it no more wrong than all the other crap that gets done in govt in the name of religion.
You're right, anything our government does in the name of religion is wrong. Which is the usual stance of this blog. So what exactly are you taking issue with?
But they don't usually call out individual politicians for the silliness of their beliefs.
whereas any whack-job who proclaims belief in the invisible, impossible, unlikely, and ridiculous gets a free pass...
Please follow (very short):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGv9NUYX3Jg
Jan Schakowsky.
on Congresscritter Schakowsky.
FEH.
Jesse Jackson Jr.
He is an unregistered alien agent in the employ of foreign government. Nab, tuck into plane, and send back to Korea.
But then where would you get your sushi?
Think of the tekka maki!!
A friend from high school got sucked in to this cult in Vancouver. His parents finally paid to get him nabbed and deprogrammed. Afterwards he still wasn't all there and ended up hanging himself. A tragic story of a nice guy and friend basically having his personality wiped and a empty shell left. They prey on the empathic and naive using sleep deprivation, diet restriction and group control. They go to great lengths to cover their actions under the guise of a religion but need to be exposed for what they are.
Too bad they couldn't have a three way cage match with End Timers, Scientologists and Moonies. We'd all be better off.
If they'd left him alone where he was happy instead of kidnapping him and 'deprogramming' him, he'd still be alive.
Really? Brainwashed dogma-spouting and happiness based on lies is preferable to the more painful truth? Chances are this guy was unhappy to begin with. These people didn't heal him, they preyed on him. Without their constant supervision and their own brand of "support", he would have been back where he started.
Obviously this tragic story isn't how that kind of situation is supposed to end. Perhaps the parents could have done more to help him recover. Perhaps his therapists could have identified the problems that made him turn to a band-aid like a cult in the first place. Leaving him there with the people who manipulated him so he could turn a penny for them in support of Moon's totalitarian agenda doesn't seem like a kindness to me.
Is it normal for a person to eschew friends, family, any contact outside of a secret and controlling group.
After the Moonies were done with him the person we knew and liked was gone.
The North Koreans perfected brainwashing and now the old fraud Sunny boy has brought it to North America.
Sorry buster, your BS just don't cut any mustard here.
Take a hike :)
"Is it normal for a person to eschew friends, family, any contact outside of a secret and controlling group." So people who don't behave normally should be kidnapped and brainwashed?
"...the person we knew and liked was gone." He was never yours to begin with.
Luke 14:25-26
25 And there went great multitudes with him (Jesus): and he turned, and said unto them,
26 If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.
I'd much rather see Tammy Duckworth in the Senate.
Duckworth heading up the VA.
Thanks for the headsup. I missed that announcement. She'll do an outstanding job there as well.
Just a consideration. But I think she would be a good fit.
So do I. I voted for her in 2006 since I live in DuPage County, IL.
[Deleted-Sitemonitor]
Neiwert is the best addition to this blog. His writings are top notch. Exceptional, even.
I'm floored you could even write that rubbish.
If you knew dick about Sun Myung Moon, you wouldn't call what he practices religion. It's not. It's a cult, dedicated to the exaltation and glorification of one guy, Sun Myung Moon.
Ergo, his religion hasn't been attacked. Since you state you can't stand David Niewert, it's obvious you are employing hyperbole in a sad failed attempt to discredit him.
Have most of you noticed in the last year or two there is a 'war room' reaction to negative comments about certain predatory groups.
The internets is now recognized of having powers of exposure that old media never could. Trolls come out of the woodwork to try and negate any bad PR of some of the most toxic entities in society.
The wool coat is soon shed and the fangs come out to stifle the truth. Posters beware but don't be put off.
Their job is to obfuscate and deny, ours is to mock and reveal.
Funny old world, isn't it.
"It's not. It's a cult, dedicated to the exaltation and glorification of one guy, Sun Myung Moon"
I fail to see the difference.
are you being purposefully obtuse? Oh yeah I forgot. You're High.
I fail to see the difference between moonies and any other major religion.
or you're not clever enough to compare and contrast. And full disclosure -- I am VERY anti-religion. While there are similarities, there are also stunning differences.
The differences while seemingly stunning are actually quite minuscule compared to the similarities. The primary differences are the level of acceptance achieved in the mainstream, not in the actual fundamentals of the beliefs.
you're high.
FWIW, John not only reads my work, we often discuss it. We're both very much on the same page.
This commenter is obviously the same Paulbot who came here a few weeks ago and threatened and screamed and shouted at us for reporting the truth about Paul. He claims I don't present evidence when all he has to do is click a few hyperlinks to discover that I have in fact gathered voluminous evidence that backs up everything I write.
And yes, I have substantial and substantive credentials behind my 30 years of journalism, including a National Press Club award. I won't trot them all out here, but suggesting I'm some kind of lightweight frankly just makes him look silly.
He also obviously is quite unfamiliar with my work to be claiming that I'm not a progressive. I guess the liberal blogosphere voted those two Koufaxes for a closed right-winger.
Dude, ya need to get a life.
Oh, and thanks much, MsJoanne and misskitty.
While you are most welcome, I assure you that thanks are not needed. You have earned it, my friend. I do not praise lightly and your work is phenomenal. You, along with the other people here, do some killer work. We often cover the same content at our blog, but it is often not as flushed out as it is here, or over at Digby's place.
I love the varying perspectives with the different twists that each blogger adds.
Your work is outstanding and don't ever let someone, anyone, tell you otherwise.
[It's not because you are a Moon apologist that this is being removed. It's because you're incredibly rude-Sitemonitor]
Your point, for what it's worth is taken, but you ought to spend some time checking out Dave's work. He's good, very good at what he does. You have been reading things he didn't write into his article. It's not about religion bashing, it's about judgment.
Sigh. I know I shouldn't feed the troll, but it's not in my nature to let this kind of nonsense go unanswered.
Since you seem averse to even clicking through the links to see that I've raised substantive issues, let me quote what I wrote at Firedoglake:
So the question raised by all this, of course, is: What the hell is Democrat Danny Davis doing by lending the good name of his office to helping legitimize an organization devoted to destroying Democrats and installing Republican rule?
"When one man is delusional, they call him crazy.
When a group of people are delusional, they call it a religion."
THAT'S worse. Religion-bashing only costs progressives support from fellow progressives, like me. And it gets soooooo tiresome.
And yeah, Tammy Duckworth would be a great choice.
YES WE CAN!!!
Rod Blagojevich, who is the Democrat governor here, has the not so stellar distinction of being more unpopular in our state than GWB. In a red state like Illinois where the Repubs are still reeling because of ex Governor George Ryan going to prison, that really takes some effort. But he pulled it off anyway because of his massive ego, unbridled ambition, and inability to admit he was wrong at anything. You would think this political klutz would have learned something from the Neocon example, but obviously not.
If Blago were smart (don't count on it), he would appoint Jan Schaikowsky, who has excellent progressive credentials and could easily win in two years. Davis also has good progressive credentials but is not as well known and personally, I find his unapologetic association with Moon a problem. Perhaps we should take him at his word that it was well intended, but as David rightly suggests it does raise a question about his political discretion.
I have my money on Madigan who is said to go against him in his next run for Gov (how on earth he can run again...what a corrupt shit he is).
Indeed Blago will do what's good for him---the original fear was that he might appoint HIMSELF. If you think that sounds outrageous you sure don't know Blago very well. One of the other names thrown out there initially for Obama's replacement was Lisa Madigan, Mike's daughter and current Attorney General. That would be fine with me, I have met her and she is really good. But I doubt if Mike would run for gov.---but Lisa might. We shall see.
is loved in IL. If Lisa goes against Blogo he will probably go down. I don't know who else might go against him or what their odds are, but she has the smarts, is respected AND she has a good name. She could be deadly to Blago should he opt to run again (which would truly amaze me).
Lisa is well respected here as you say and Mike is more feared than respected. Blago states he will run again and generally the reaction from everyone after hearing that is laughter and derision. I guarantee you he will get virtually zero backing from his own party because now he is little more than a political skunk that everybody wants to avoid. Mike, Blago, and Emil Jones were the bullhead troika that ground our state government virtually to a halt because of the political stalemate it created. Personally, I think Lisa will run for Gov. as Mike's way to retaliate against and remove a political obstacle.
I would definately vote for her. Blogo has to go.
Blago almost makes his predecessor George Ryan look competent by comparison. Lisa would be great either as Gov. or US Senator. She has my vote for either.
...LIKE DUBYA, DALEY, etc. Duckworth would be a much better choice sending a message to the troops, war veterans, progressive women, minority women, etc.
...we've all should have learned our lessons(forever!) concerning nepatism hirings from our current Commander Dumb-ass in Chief.
No to Jackson, Madigan, and any other asshole whose "powerful daddy" is making calls in the middle of the night.
...OF CHICAGO.
Davis is a worthless piece of shit! In three decades Davis hasn't ever done jack-shit for his constituents!
I had a sad personal experience with Congressman Davis in 1987. I lived on a busy street on the west-side, and there was a large billboard next to my family's home. It was election time so candidates for various offices had signs all over that highly visible billboard. On that Saturday night before the Tuesday election, I woke up hearing loud noises next door. When I checked outside I saw a group of five or six men with hammers pulling off the election signs of Davis' opponent, Marlene Carter, and nailing up Davis' posters everywhere. One of the people in the group doing this despicable act was a middle aged man in a skull cap and an army fatigue jacket...Danny Davis! I shouted to Davis "sir, your record should be enough, don't you think?" As a west-side community organizer, I've had many subsequent dealings with "Do nothing Danny". We here in Chicago are well aware of the well spoken, do absolutely nothing Danny Davis....Obama is too, and would never vouch for this opportunistic empty suit.
I hope Obama/the Governor selects double amputee Iraqi War veteran Tammy Duckworth to replace him.
It isn't about a particular religion. It's about violating the law. Moon finagled a ceremony in the Dirkson Bldg, where he had himself coronated as king of the world. This is a title he claims and has bestowed upon himself, because he views himself as the second coming. It also doesn't matter that the Unification Church is as much a criminal enterprise that spends a lot of money trying to influence politicians as it is a cult religion. At face value, it poses as a religion. The Government cannot lend its offices to the promotion of religion - how much less a particular religion, and the US is not in the business of bestowing crowns. Regardless of whether or not Davis is a Moonie, he demonstrated appallingly bad judgment by participating in this. All Congressional participants in this should have been censured by their respective bodies.
It would have been just as wrong if it were the Pope, The Dali Lama, the head rabbi of Jeruselum, the head Ayatollah of Iran or the pastor down the street.
Is Davis being appointed to Obama's seat? If so, it looks more to me like a maneuver to put an asshat in a position of being able to fuck things up so that the seat might be in play for the GOPers, come the next senate election.
I'd also be interested in seeing what kind of money, if any, Davis has taken from the Unification Church.
In fact, it is a criminal enterprise operated in large part by slave labor. Moon should face enslavement charges and manslaughter charges for all the suicides the enterprise has provoked. Then he should be stuffed into a wedding dress and delivered to a supermax prison for a 100 year stretch where he can spend his last days playing bride to neo-nazi serial killers.
Davis is not such a bad person. Yep, he's got some baggage with the moonies. But you know, SO FREAKING WHAT? Blago could do a lot worse. We have quite a cast of characters in Illinois to choose from. Personally, I would prefer Congressman Bobby Rush. Don't like people who associate with religious groups you don't like? How about a former Black Panther?
Jeez, people, the election is over. Relax a bit. And let Blago make a bigger buffoon out of himself. If President Elect Obama was a Muslim...once again, So Freaking What?
okay...the guy seems very unapologetic about it, so what else do you want to be done?
If this - guilt by association card - is the worst C&L and other liberal writers have on Danny Davis, then he'll be a good replacement for Obama in the Senate, though I'm hoping someone else gets chosen, like Jesse Jackson Jr. or Jan Schakowsky, unless they've done REALLY controversial things. Back to Davis, he, along with Republican Sen. Dick Lugar (not a right-winger by any means), were promoting peace and Bush's faith-based initiatives program back in 2002, and were probably not aware of the many bizarre (and anti-gay) beliefs Rev. Moon has had over the years at the time of the ceremony. (This isn't Joe Lieberman, who had plenty of time to denounce and disassociate himself from Rev. Hagee and his annual Christians-For-Israel Summit this past summer but chose not to and even defended Hagee)
Should they have been aware of them? Probably, but let's not say Davis, or anyone else who attended that event is necessarily a "Moonie," not yet anyway. Does Davis believe the Holocaust was revenge for the crucifixion of Jesus or have a record of anti-gay views? I doubt it, but until then, guilt by association at one event just doesn't disqualify someone of this caliber to seek a high and very important office.
What happened to the Moonism controversy? I remember it being almost daily in the late 70's.
But since there was no mass suicide like Jonestown, or those Heaven's Gate people, maybe it appears mainline to some people now.
Sociologists have studied the Unification Church as a new religion for many years now. I have attended conferences all over the world and worked with one of their many branches in intereligious work for over 20 years. They are extremely complex believers and comments here seem very shallow and reactionary with no basis for understanding these followers and their beliefs. I am NOT a believer of Moon's diatribes and claims. However, I have yet to find a follower whose life I could fault - they live to serve others and to bring peace and harmony thru "God-Center families". In his personal talks to devotees - Moon claims not that he is the "Messiah" - but that each one of them are messiahs who must work to bring peace and harmony and love to the world. The quote from Jesus was appropriate - true believers put the mission above all else. Again, I am a skeptic of all "true believers", but I have yet to have anything but admiration for the members I have worked with around the world.
How about they look at the politics of Southern Illinois and choose someone from here? You know, to give balance to the state and represent everyone, and not just Chicago. It won't happen though.
it's not about his religion -- we're not debating dogmas here -- it's about whether the guy holds ideas and has agendas incompatible with his duty to serve the people of illinois (as well as the rest of us).
the implications (if not the very tenets) of moon's church are explicitly political, and thus are relevant. all the more so to those of us with a general distrust of religions.
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