The Funeral Crashers
Mike Williams
February 16, 2006
Definition of a funeral.
funeral - noun
the ceremonies honoring a dead person, typically involving burial or cremation.
rare a sermon delivered at such a ceremony.
archaic or poetic/literary a procession of mourners at a burial.
PHRASES
it's (or that's) someone's funeral informal used to warn someone that an unwise act or decision is their responsibility : ?I won't discuss it.? ?Don't then? it's your funeral.?
As you can see from the definition above, a funeral is a ceremony honoring a dead person. The modern day Democrats seem to have forgotten what a funeral really is. A recent example of this would be the funeral of Martin Luther King Jr?s wife Coretta Scott King. The Democratic Party has become the party of ?funeral crashers.? It?s the same as ?wedding crashers? except there?s no rice.
Funeral crashing seems to be an epidemic. In my home state of Pennsylvania, we had an incident last year when Lt. Gov. Catherine Baker Knoll crashed the funeral of a soldier who died in Iraq. She was not invited. She passed out her business cards and told a family member that ?our government is against the war in Iraq.? Needless to say, the backlash was incredible. One writer said ?It was an outrageous and insulting action by an insensitive politician.? Protests were heard from as far away as Texas and Utah. The Lt. Governor later apologized for her actions. The family members belong to the Republican Party. Catherine Baker Knoll is a Democrat. It obviously made things worse.
Using a funeral or church to score political points is something that has been ?battle tested? and used time and time again. The only problem is; it doesn?t work. In October 2004, John F. Kerry addressed a congregation in Miami, Florida. He used the pulpit as an opportunity to campaign against President George Bush. Kerry said, ?This president has taken a 5.6 trillion dollar surplus and turned it into (sic) the biggest deficits in American history.? Kerry had two things going against him. First, he was stumping in a house of God. Second, we never actually had a 5.6 trillion dollar surplus. The number was cited from a 10 year forecast made during the Clinton administration. It was only on paper. Also worth noting is that congress prepares a budget every year and doesn?t operate on a 10 year plan. Nevertheless, it must have sounded good at the time.
While running for Governor of New Jersey, Senator Jon Corzine made a stop at the Shiloh Baptist Church in Trenton. He wasn?t there to simply worship in a house of God. He was there with Senator Barack Obama to make a political speech. The congregation gave Corzine a standing ovation after which Obama added, ?On every single issue that is important to the people of this church, he was on the right side.? In Matthew 21:12 the Bible says, ?And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves,?? According to the Bible, the purpose of a house of God isn?t very wide in scope. It?s God?s house. It?s not man?s house.
Democrat Senator Paul Wellstone died in 2002 when his plane went down in Eveleth, Minnesota. Shortly afterwards, a massive memorial was planned in his honor. Republican Senator Trent Lott attended the service and was ?booed.? It got so bad that Independent Governor Jesse Ventura walked out of the service in disgust. Ventura said, "The first part of it I thought was excellent. When Rick Kahn got up, I left the building halfway through what he was doing." He continues, ?I feel used. I feel violated and duped over the fact that that turned into nothing more than a political rally.?
Even Senator Hillary Clinton couldn?t help but jump on the church stomp when in a Harlem Baptist church she said, "When you look at the way the House of Representatives has been run, it has been run like a plantation, and you know what I'm talking about." Her congressional colleague from New York Rep. Peter King said the senator "should be ashamed." Additionally, King added, "It's definitely using the race card. It definitely has racist connotations. She knows it, she knew the audience. She knew what she was trying to say, and it was wrong. And she should be ashamed."
It made me wonder why I wasn?t hearing anything about similar stomp speeches in any other type of church. I could only see these stories taking place in Baptist churches. I?m not really sure if there is any relevance, however, my father has told me that my uncle (a Foursquare pastor) worries about politics interfering with the church?s ?tax free? status. Baptist churches that allow politicians to make speeches must have a way around it or simply don?t worry about it but that?s for another column.
The most recent example of ?funeral crashing? was in Atlanta, Georgia at Coretta Scott King?s service. Rev. Joseph Lowery, co-founder of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, couldn?t help but take a swipe at President George W. Bush who just happened to be in attendance. Lowery said, ?She extended Martin's message against poverty, racism and war. She deplored the terror inflicted by our smart bombs on missions way afar. We know now that there were no weapons of mass destruction over there.? What did smart bombs and weapons of mass destruction have to do with the death of a civil rights leader?s wife?
Former President Jimmy Carter couldn?t help but to discuss the NSA wiretapping issue. "It was difficult for them then personally with the civil liberties of both husband and wife violated as they became the target of secret government wiretaps." What he failed to mention was that his own political party conducted the wiretapping of which he spoke. Of course, Carter also felt the need to discuss Katrina. "Those who were most devastated by [Hurricane] Katrina know that there are not yet equal opportunities for all Americans. It is our responsibility to continue their crusade."
No matter how you look at the recent Democrat behavior whether it be behind a church podium on a Sunday morning or at the memorial service of someone dear, the definition I started this column with still eludes them. Stomping from the church pulpit has been something they?ve done for years and thanks to the alternative media, we can see, hear, and read about it almost as it happens.
As long as they think that mainstream America resides in the major cities around the country, they?ll never understand how bad they look when crashing a funeral or stomping from the pulpit. The way that ?real Americans? see them as nothing more then political opportunists. The real meaning of a funeral eludes them. I?ll attempt to summarize.
Hey Democrats! You see that person in the box? It?s about them. You are at the funeral for them. It?s not about you. Not now. Not this time.
Sheesh!
funeral - noun
the ceremonies honoring a dead person, typically involving burial or cremation.
rare a sermon delivered at such a ceremony.
archaic or poetic/literary a procession of mourners at a burial.
PHRASES
it's (or that's) someone's funeral informal used to warn someone that an unwise act or decision is their responsibility : ?I won't discuss it.? ?Don't then? it's your funeral.?
As you can see from the definition above, a funeral is a ceremony honoring a dead person. The modern day Democrats seem to have forgotten what a funeral really is. A recent example of this would be the funeral of Martin Luther King Jr?s wife Coretta Scott King. The Democratic Party has become the party of ?funeral crashers.? It?s the same as ?wedding crashers? except there?s no rice.
Funeral crashing seems to be an epidemic. In my home state of Pennsylvania, we had an incident last year when Lt. Gov. Catherine Baker Knoll crashed the funeral of a soldier who died in Iraq. She was not invited. She passed out her business cards and told a family member that ?our government is against the war in Iraq.? Needless to say, the backlash was incredible. One writer said ?It was an outrageous and insulting action by an insensitive politician.? Protests were heard from as far away as Texas and Utah. The Lt. Governor later apologized for her actions. The family members belong to the Republican Party. Catherine Baker Knoll is a Democrat. It obviously made things worse.
Using a funeral or church to score political points is something that has been ?battle tested? and used time and time again. The only problem is; it doesn?t work. In October 2004, John F. Kerry addressed a congregation in Miami, Florida. He used the pulpit as an opportunity to campaign against President George Bush. Kerry said, ?This president has taken a 5.6 trillion dollar surplus and turned it into (sic) the biggest deficits in American history.? Kerry had two things going against him. First, he was stumping in a house of God. Second, we never actually had a 5.6 trillion dollar surplus. The number was cited from a 10 year forecast made during the Clinton administration. It was only on paper. Also worth noting is that congress prepares a budget every year and doesn?t operate on a 10 year plan. Nevertheless, it must have sounded good at the time.
While running for Governor of New Jersey, Senator Jon Corzine made a stop at the Shiloh Baptist Church in Trenton. He wasn?t there to simply worship in a house of God. He was there with Senator Barack Obama to make a political speech. The congregation gave Corzine a standing ovation after which Obama added, ?On every single issue that is important to the people of this church, he was on the right side.? In Matthew 21:12 the Bible says, ?And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves,?? According to the Bible, the purpose of a house of God isn?t very wide in scope. It?s God?s house. It?s not man?s house.
Democrat Senator Paul Wellstone died in 2002 when his plane went down in Eveleth, Minnesota. Shortly afterwards, a massive memorial was planned in his honor. Republican Senator Trent Lott attended the service and was ?booed.? It got so bad that Independent Governor Jesse Ventura walked out of the service in disgust. Ventura said, "The first part of it I thought was excellent. When Rick Kahn got up, I left the building halfway through what he was doing." He continues, ?I feel used. I feel violated and duped over the fact that that turned into nothing more than a political rally.?
Even Senator Hillary Clinton couldn?t help but jump on the church stomp when in a Harlem Baptist church she said, "When you look at the way the House of Representatives has been run, it has been run like a plantation, and you know what I'm talking about." Her congressional colleague from New York Rep. Peter King said the senator "should be ashamed." Additionally, King added, "It's definitely using the race card. It definitely has racist connotations. She knows it, she knew the audience. She knew what she was trying to say, and it was wrong. And she should be ashamed."
It made me wonder why I wasn?t hearing anything about similar stomp speeches in any other type of church. I could only see these stories taking place in Baptist churches. I?m not really sure if there is any relevance, however, my father has told me that my uncle (a Foursquare pastor) worries about politics interfering with the church?s ?tax free? status. Baptist churches that allow politicians to make speeches must have a way around it or simply don?t worry about it but that?s for another column.
The most recent example of ?funeral crashing? was in Atlanta, Georgia at Coretta Scott King?s service. Rev. Joseph Lowery, co-founder of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, couldn?t help but take a swipe at President George W. Bush who just happened to be in attendance. Lowery said, ?She extended Martin's message against poverty, racism and war. She deplored the terror inflicted by our smart bombs on missions way afar. We know now that there were no weapons of mass destruction over there.? What did smart bombs and weapons of mass destruction have to do with the death of a civil rights leader?s wife?
Former President Jimmy Carter couldn?t help but to discuss the NSA wiretapping issue. "It was difficult for them then personally with the civil liberties of both husband and wife violated as they became the target of secret government wiretaps." What he failed to mention was that his own political party conducted the wiretapping of which he spoke. Of course, Carter also felt the need to discuss Katrina. "Those who were most devastated by [Hurricane] Katrina know that there are not yet equal opportunities for all Americans. It is our responsibility to continue their crusade."
No matter how you look at the recent Democrat behavior whether it be behind a church podium on a Sunday morning or at the memorial service of someone dear, the definition I started this column with still eludes them. Stomping from the church pulpit has been something they?ve done for years and thanks to the alternative media, we can see, hear, and read about it almost as it happens.
As long as they think that mainstream America resides in the major cities around the country, they?ll never understand how bad they look when crashing a funeral or stomping from the pulpit. The way that ?real Americans? see them as nothing more then political opportunists. The real meaning of a funeral eludes them. I?ll attempt to summarize.
Hey Democrats! You see that person in the box? It?s about them. You are at the funeral for them. It?s not about you. Not now. Not this time.
Sheesh!
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