Tom Delay as Jesus Christ?

I spent several hours listening to a Bill Moyers special on the dealings of lobbyist and lawbreaker, Jack Abramoff. What I heard should send all true believers into a holy rage, if there is such a thing. Abramoff, an opportunist who used political position to gain financially, has left behind a trail of horrifying manipulation and misdeeds. Noted in the report, he milked millions from a Louisiana Indian tribe to help them maintain their gambling monopoly by using his political muscle to defeat a gambling bill in Texas. What the tribe didn't know is that gambling in Texas was never going to happen anyway. The Texas Attorney General had already defeated it.

At the same time, Abramoff went to a tribe in Texas who wanted desperately to reopen their casinos and promised them he'd help get their operation up and running again. While he was making millions, he worked behind the scenes to do exactly the opposite.

I guess that's what you'd expect from a crook.

But what about the two famous "Christians" involved in this. Two names: Tom Delay and Ralph Reed. Reed motivated Christians to campaign against Texas gambling in order to help Abramoff protect Louisiana tribe's monopoly on gambling. Reed manipulated Christians to campaign against gambling in order to protect the gambling that would make him a small fortune.

Then there's Delay. Delay helped Abramoff deceive the congress into believing that working conditions in the American Territory of Saipan were helping immigrants achieve the American Dream. It was a lie he told to protect Chinese textile tycoons (who were paying Abramoff handsomely) from having to submit to U.S. labor laws. The reality was, thousands of Chinese workers had been lured to the island in hopes of achieving the American dream. After turning over their life's savings, signing lengthy labor contracts, and living in slums, they were paid half of the American minimum wage. Delay killed the bill in congress while Abramoff was funneling cash into Delay's campaign groups.

When Delay was finally arrested for his illegal actions, he lined up for his famous mug shot. As he lined up for the photo, he reports that he prayed that people "would see Jesus in the mug shot. " It's sad when people who have told lies, committed fraud, and manipulated against others do so under the guise of holiness and a Jesus-like sacrifice. They take a public stage, cry the tears, put on a persona, and carry a cross simply to deceive those who would give them what they want.

Delay has since spent many hours speaking to religious groups across the country. I wonder how many well-meaning believers have bought into the lie that politicians are our next Messiah, that if we just rally around these wholesome causes in the name of religion, we'll turn this country back to God. Meanwhile, the only praying the movement leaders do is to prey on fears of well meaning Christians.