The heavy metal evangelist Bradlee Dean, whose opening prayer Friday at the Minnesota House of Representatives has sparked a firestorm, does not much like Islam, a religion he believes is at war with the United States.
Dean has long believed that President Obama is a Muslim, and he often insists that Obama has declared America a Muslim nation. So it wasn’t terribly surprising when he snuck a slur against the president into his prayer. The Minnesota House of Representatives, he acknowledged, is a nondenominational chamber, which he takes to mean that all kinds of Christians are welcome. “[I]t’s not about the Baptists and it’s not about the Catholics alone or the Lutherans or the Wesleyans, or the Presbyterians the evangelicals or any other denomination,” he said. The only head of the denomination—i.e., of the government —“is Jesus, as every president up until 2008 has acknowledged.”
Rep. Terry Morrow was so angry he shook. He responded:
“Mr. Speaker, I do trust and I do hope that every member of this chamber understands the gravity and the severity of the offense that had been given to many people within this chamber and out,” he said. “It has been my understanding that part of the justification, part of the explanation for starting our sessions with a prayer was that those prayers would never exclude, never marginalize a Minnesotan on the basis of their faith, on the basis of their beliefs, on the basis of who they are, and those expectations have been crushed today.”
Bradlee Dean has also been very outspoken about Muslims and homosexuals. He has suggested that they be put to death. He has claimed that President Obama is more dangerous to America than Osama bin Laden. This guy is an extremist. So why was he giving an opening prayer in the Minnesota House of Representatives? Why does he have so many Republican friends, amongst who are Michele Bachmann. In fact:
Michele Bachmann, who keynoted a fundraising gala for his ministry, “You Can Run but You Cannot Hide.” Tim Pawlenty appeared on his radio show in January. And on Friday, he was invited to give the Minnesota House’s opening prayer.
Perhaps some of these folks need to stop dwelling on Reverend Wright and start looking at whom they are rubbing elbows with. Keith Ellison has been targeted in the past by Dean. The Republican Speaker of the House, Kurt Zellars, has issued an apology:
Amid the uproar over Dean’s remarks, Republican House Speaker Kurt Zellers issued an apologyfor the whole debacle. “As speaker of the House, I take responsibility for this mistake,” he wrote. “I am offended at the presence of Bradlee Dean on the floor of the Minnesota House of Representatives. I denounce him, his actions and his words. He does not represent my values or the values of this state.”
Minnesota has some explaining to do.
I applaud the comments of Terry Morrow and Speaker Kurt Zellers. If any good came out of this circus, this chump was rebuked publicly.
But the question remains: how does a guy like this get to address the MHR? Who invited him?
Oh, just think of him as a religious rapper, and all will be fine!
SA, this was in front of the governing body of Minnesota.
Actually Dean is heavy metal. He isn’t fine.
He’s the conservative doppleganger of Rev. Wright, with a dash of Common. So what’s the problem?
If you think about what he said is it a falsehood, or is it closer to the truth than many would like to admit. I do believe it was Obama that stated the US wasn’t a Christian nation. I could be wrong. So when are we grinding off ‘In God We Trust’ from our nation’s coinage?
He has a right to exist. He has a right to have a church. He shouldn’t be offering up opening prayers for any legislative body. I am not even sure why they need to have a group prayer before legislation. Its that old church /state thing.
We aren’t a Christian Nation. We are a nation that was founded mostly by Christians. Big difference. As for the coins, many folks would like to see ‘In God We Trust’ not on coins.
I’ve never understood the need for prayer openings.
A moment of silence wouldn’t hurt, so the attendants could contemplate what the session about and what they plan to say.
Wow, what an embarrassment to Minnesota.