Pseudo Historian David Barton (the next Senator from Texas?), and what you need to know about him
Peudo Historian David Barton may toss his hat into the Texas Senatorial ring next year, which has religious right wingnuts excited, but Right Wing Watch has compiled 15 of his completely whacked out statements.
Among the most glaring examples of either profound stupidity or frighteningly bad craziness:
1. God Is Rightfully Blocking A Cure For HIV/AIDS
Barton is delighted by the fact that God is preventing researchers from finding a cure or vaccine for HIV/AIDS. According to Barton, HIV/AIDS is a punishment for sin and therefore God will block a potential cure: “God says, ‘Hey you’re going to bear in your body the consequences of this homosexual behavior.’” He argues that HIV/AIDS is a divine “penalty” for gay people’s “shameful sexual acts.” On a similar note, Barton has called homosexuality “absolutely reprehensible and disgusting” and said that marriage equality means we “are going down as a nation.”
2. “We Had To Destroy Indian Tribes”
Barton justified the slaughter of Native Americans as a defensive war against tribes who “declared war on all the white guys.” “We had to go in and we had to destroy Indian tribes all over until they said ‘Oh, got the point,’” Barton said, claiming that the tactics were only necessary because Native Americans were resisting missionaries who were trying to “civilize” them.
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5. Founding Fathers Refuted The Theory of Evolution
While the nation’s founders lived long before Charles Darwin published his seminal works, Barton contends that the founders “already had the entire debate on creation and evolution” and sided with Creationism.
6. Evolution Should Be Banned In School Due To Separation Of Church And State
Barton maintains that evolution, secular humanism and atheism are all religions that should be banned in public school because of the separation of church and state. “Darwinism and evolution is a religion. Why don’t we say, ‘Hey, we can’t teach Darwinism in school. That affects the way people behave. I demand separation of church and state. Get Darwinism out of the classroom.’”
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11. Constitution Quotes The Bible ‘Verbatim’
Even though Barton can’t find a single actually verbatim quote from the Bible in the Constitution, he consistently claims that the Constitution quotes the Bible “verbatim.” It is no wonder that he also asserts that God established America’s system of elections. It is no surprise then that Barton advocates the theocratic Seven Mountains Dominionism.
More: 15 Things You Need to Know About David Barton, the Man Who Could Be Texas’s Next Senator