Former Southern Baptist Convention officer prays for Obama to die

As we ponder the fringe right's murderous actions in the news, let's turn to these soothing words from a man of God. Alan Colmes (Faux News Radio) recently interviewed Wiley Drake, pastor of First Southern Baptist Church in Buena Park, CA. Drake was also the running mate of failed presidential candidate Alan Keyes. Anyway, Colmes, who was discussing the pastor's remarks calling the assassination of Dr. George Tiller "an answer to prayer" probably couldn't believe his ears when this tumbled out of the pastor's piehole.

Imprecatory prayer is agreeing with God, and if people don't like that, they need to talk to God," Drake told syndicated talk-show host Alan Colmes. "God said it, I didn't. I was just agreeing with God."

Asked if there are others for whom Drake is praying "imprecatory prayer," Drake hesitated before answering that there are several. "The usurper that is in the White House is one, B. Hussein Obama," he said.

Later in the interview, Colmes returned to Drake's answer to make sure he heard him right.

"Are you praying for his death?" Colmes asked.

"Yes," Drake replied.

"So you're praying for the death of the president of the United States?"

"Yes."

..."You would like for the president of the United States to die?" Colmes asked once more.

"If he does not turn to God and does not turn his life around, I am asking God to enforce imprecatory prayers that are throughout the Scripture that would cause him death, that's correct."

As we let that sink in, imagine if Drake was a Muslim cleric uttering this garbage. Do you think the Secret Service, the FBI and Homeland Security would be all over his *ss in a hot minute, bugging the mosque, rounding up his flock for questioning?

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I think People for the American Way's call for the Department of Homeland Security to release its "Rightwing Extremism" report is spot-on.

In the wake of the murder of Dr. George Tiller in Kansas and Stephen T. Johns at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum, People For the American Way President Michael B. Keegan called for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to finalize and publish its "Rightwing Extremism" report. The report was released by DHS earlier this year, but retracted after its content became the subject of manufactured controversy from Religious Right groups.

"DHS is charged with protecting the security of all Americans," said Keegan. "And in order to do that it needs to be working with the best available information and analysis. When the ‘Rightwing Extremism’ report was released earlier this year, rightwing groups found it politically convenient to feign outrage. Since then, the essential findings of the report have been tragically confirmed. The killings of Dr. Tiller and Mr. Johns are domestic terrorism, and they should underscore the urgency of addressing the threat of politically motivated violence. Secretary Napolitano should publicly announce the current status of the report and expedite its final release."

Read Keegan's letter below the fold.

June 11, 2009

Secretary Janet Napolitano

Department of Homeland Security

U.S. Department of Homeland Security

Washington, DC 20528

Dear Secretary Napolitano:

In the past two weeks, our nation has experienced two significant instances of domestic terrorism. The murders of Dr. George Tiller, an abortion provider, and Stephen T. Johns, a security guard at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, were intended not only as horrific acts of violence directed at innocent individuals, but as efforts to terrorize and intimidate specific groups of Americans.

In April, the Department of Homeland Security released a valuable report entitled “Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment.” The report was met with outrage from right wing groups, many of whose activities were not mentioned or alluded to in the report, but who found protesting the report to be a convenient political stunt. With the support of sympathetic media outlets, these groups managed to exaggerate and distort the report’s findings.

Although the report was withdrawn with the intent of being rewritten, the events of the last two weeks show that its core findings are fundamentally correct: “The economic downturn and the election of the first African American president present unique drivers for rightwing radicalization and recruitment.” The Department of Homeland Security is charged with protecting the security of all Americans, and it is essential for the American public to have the unvarnished truth about the rise of dangerous extremism in this country.

I urge you to expedite the approval of the “Rightwing Extremism” report and release a final version as soon as possible. Moreover, the report should offer the best available assessment of possible threats from far-right groups and individuals, no matter how politically inconvenient the findings might be to some groups. If the report can not be released immediately, please announce publicly the current status of the report and when you expect it to be published.

Ensuring that law enforcement agents and the public have the best possible information about the threat posed by the far right is a crucial step in helping to contain the violence we are now experiencing.

Sincerely,

Michael B. Keegan

President

People For the American Way