Salazar Says "Read the [Catholic] 8th Commandment"

Lots has already been said about Ken Salazar's latest counterattack on Focus on the Family, which ran a full page ad in the Rocky attacking him for failing to support the Alito nomination.  (See Soapblox Colorado, 5280 and DemNotes, for example.)  But nothing I've seen has really focused in on the subtle brilliance of this aspect of Salazar's remarks:

Sen. Ken Salazar attacked Focus on the Family at a luncheon in Denver on Tuesday after the nonprofit group took out newspaper ads labeling him a flip-flopper in regard to the nomination of Samuel Alito to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Salazar, in turn, suggested the group go back to the Bible and look at the Eighth Commandment.

"Thou shall not bear false witness against your neighbor," he told a crowd of about 200 at the Brown Palace Hotel. In some religions that's the Ninth Commandment, but the Catholic Church, of which Salazar is a member, counts it as the eighth.

The last time Salazar went toe to toe with James Dobson and FoF, he pointed out anti-Catholic remarks that had been made by a member of the FoF board, and I observed at the time that Salazar was driving a wedge between Protestant fundies and the Catholics they are trying to unite under a right wing Christian banner.  Today's "Eighth Commandment" reference -- which had to be explained by the Rocky's reporter for the Protestant readers -- is a return to that theme.  Salazar is sending a message to his fellow Catholics that his attackers are a bunch of Protestant fundies.  This won't help Focus one bit, and it probably will help give Salazar a little political cover the next time the archbishop goes after him.

Comments

[Carol]

Since when are Protestantism and Catholicism or the various Orthodoxies different religions? From the outside, they are all sort of Christian.

Just like Muslims all look Muslim, although they have the Shi'a and Sunni factions or belief set.

I suppose the groups are too big to call sects, but that is really what they are.

[Christy New]

I hope you search your consciencious well, and come to the conclusion to vote for Samuel Alito. He is an exceptional candidate for the position of Supreme Cout Justice and as a Colorado resident I will be watching how you vote.