ADL blasts Santorum’s ‘Jesus candidate’ comment
Not satisfied with being booed over anti-gay bigotry, Frothy the Ungoogleable now succeeds in pissing off Jews as well…
ADL to Santorum: Religious appeals to voters unacceptable, anti-American
Washington- In response to his comment on a radio show that “we always need a Jesus candidate,” the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) on Friday called on Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum to refrain from overt expressions of religious preferences and beliefs on the campaign trail, stating that “religious appeals to voters are simply unacceptable and un-American.”
“Senator Santorum’s remark comparing himself to a ‘Jesus candidate’ was inappropriate and exclusionary. It essentially says that those of other faiths or of no faith – whether Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, non-believers or others – do not belong,” said ADL National Director Abraham Foxman.
“Religious appeals to voters are simply unacceptable and un-American. Voters should be encouraged to make their decisions based upon their assessment of the qualifications, integrity and political positions of candidates, not the intensity of their religious beliefs,” he said.
The ADL said it has “long maintained that candidates should feel comfortable explaining their religious convictions to voters, but that there is a point at which an emphasis on religion in a political campaign becomes inappropriate and even unsettling.”
In response to a question from a caller on a radio show, Santorum said Thursday he disagreed the economy was the main issue of the campaign. The caller commented, “We don’t need a Jesus candidate; we need an economic candidate,” to which Sen. Santorum replied: “My answer to that was, we always need a Jesus candidate. We need someone who believes in something more than themselves and not just the economy. … When we say, “God bless America,” do we mean it or do we just say it?”