Blame greed, not God for problems

Any time a socially conservative political candidate jumps on their bully pulpit to preach about God’s displeasure with America because of matters such as gay marriage and abortion, it reminds me there is still an abundance of backward-thinking within the ranks of the Republican Party.

From the statements made in the Jan. 27 post, “Remarks about God were misconstrued” one might surmise that Susanne Atanus, GOP candidate for Congress in the 9th District, aspires to see the United States transformed into a theocratic, Christian version of Iran by espousing intolerance of anyone who doesn’t believe in her particular brand of Christianity.

Incredibly, her unsubstantiated opinion that “gay marriage, civil unions and gay rights and abortion anger and provoke God” portrays her God as a vindictive, tantrum-prone deity. It’s no wonder with her views being so far out in right field that the Illinois GOP is scrambling to distance itself from her.

Atanus goes on to suggest that 24 tornadoes in one day this past November, record-breaking cold and snowfall, floods and droughts are evidence that God has been provoked into inflicting these plagues upon the citizens of Illinois. An overwhelming majority of credible scientists support that these events have much to do with climate change, but of course too many within the conservative ranks still dismiss this as hooey.

Atanus chooses to demonize a minority group rather than lay blame where the real guilt should be placed. Perhaps she should consider relocating to Texas where she would be more apt to find like-minded supporters. I’m not sure who is bankrolling her local candidacy, but it seems clear the Illinois GOP establishment hasn’t climbed aboard her reckless bandwagon. For that, you have to give them credit.

Patrick Carle

Gurnee