I’m remembering the 2007/2008 GOP Primary Season. It works well for those seeking a suitable method to self-castigate that leaves fewer marks than flagellation in a penitent’s closet. There was a long-shot candidate, Governor Huckabee from Arkansas, who had the vile audacity to mention his faith in an advertisement. There was a partial shot of a window in the spot that was designed to make us think of a cross. The Stephanopoulos Set reacted to this in the manner in which Gothic Fiction suggests any self-respecting Nosferatu would and reminded us all of how fascism would come to America wrapped in a cross and a flag.

If Senator Pryor were to occasionally open that Bible he holds up as a talisman athwart impending electoral doom, he would have to be struck by the verity of Ecclesiastes 1. Given the background story of Mike Huckabee’s rise in the Iowa Caucuses, it reminds me that indeed there is nothing new under the sun. Pryor reaches out to Jesus, in his moment of greatest need, as he comes to the existential realization that Media Matters just isn’t going to save him in his reelection race in Arkansas.

Now don’t get me wrong here. It’s good that Senator Mark Pryor likes Jesus. I’m partial towards him as well. If that makes you vote for Mark Pryor, I’ll be saddened if you wouldn’t vote for RMJ as well. It’s just that he holds that Bible up to obscure truth rather than preach it. Let he who is without sin cast the first angry vote against Senator Pryor. In fact, according to Ed Schultz, God loves Obamacare.

Indeed, Obamacare is being wrapped in both the cross and the flag. Somewhere Sinclair Lewis must be turning over in his grave. And meanwhile, back in Arkansas, Senator Pryor engages in a very clever sleight of hand. He asks for “forgiveness,” but what he really wants is your vote. You “forgive” the poor, Dear Senator by sending him back to WDC because “he gets it.” This, of course, begs the claim that people only vote against incumbents because they are angry. Once you stop being angry and hostile, you have no choice but to send Senator Mark back to his lucre-laden perch of power.

I don’t think the people of Arkansas should vote angry either. I think they should be happy when they vote for Tom Cotton as their next US Senator. I’d hate to see Mark Pryor go away sad. Let’s give him a gold watch and a nice pension. You should all like Mark Pryor. The question is whether he remains a viable representative of what the people of Arkansas want done by the Federal Government.

So, yes, Mark Pryor, Mike Huckabee and anyone else in politics should feel free to share their own favorite insights from The Good Book. But, no, holding up a Bible and saying you like Jesus does not make me have to vote for you. While Pryor’s invocation of The Prince of Peace is far less slimy than Former Presidential Candidate John Edwards’, it still remains very self-serving. The scriptures are clear as to what happens to people who serve two masters.

Forgive Mark Pryor and give him lots of spare time to work out his salvation. He’ll be too busy to get the whole Jeebus Thing straight while bearing the burdens of office. So send this Prodigal Son back home to Arkansas and support Tom Cotton for US Senate!

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