Trading a Friend for a Foe in the U.S. Senate

Sadly, long time Hawaii Senator, Daniel Inouye, died Monday. Elected in 1962, Inouye was the Senate's most senior member -- the longest current serving senator at the time of his death and the second longest in Senate history.

Inouye wasn't perfect on church state issues. He received a 67% rating from Americans United for Separation of Church and State in 2006, earning him a "mixed record" label. But more recently, Inouye earned an "A" grade on our own 2009 Senate Score Card.  

In the short term at least, we are losing a friend in the Senate and gaining a possible adversary.

Despite his best attempts, and an endorsement from Richard Dawkins, our own Herb Silverman didn't win South Carolina Governor, Nikki Haley's appointment to Jim DeMint's soon-to-be-vacant Senate seat. Instead she appointed Tea Party Republican Congressman, Tim Scott.

Even more unfortunate, Scott is known for his refusal to separate religion from government. Scott, however, takes it a step further-not only does he want religion inserted into government, but he believes Christians are literally under attack and incorrectly asserts that they are a minority in the U.S.

"The greatest minority under assault today are Christians. No doubt about it," Scott said in January of 2012. "[...]We are in desperate need of a compass, a moral compass that tells us the difference between right and wrong. And I believe that you can look no further than the word of God to find that compass."

As a member of the Charleston County Council in 1995, he placed the 10 Commandments outside the building because according to him, the display "would remind council members and speakers the moral absolutes they should follow.

Thankfully he was successfully sued by the ACLU and Americans United for Separation of Church and State. But Scott had no trouble using thousands, possibly millions of dollars in taxpayer funding to further his religious agenda. "Whatever it costs in the pursuit of this goal (of displaying the Commandments) is worth it," he said.

It seems we have a long row to hoe.