I can haz health care co-op?
Sometimes the skeptic in a person just has to make itself known.
Rep. Pete Stark of California is the only openly atheistic member of Congress...ever. He revealed his lack of belief in a supreme being on a survey issued by the Secular Coalition for America in 2007, and became the highest-ranking public official ever to admit to nonbelief.
But since then, Stark's irreligion hasn't been exactly apparent.
Nor should it be--he didn't come to Congress to be an atheist agitator, he came to do, you know, congressy stuff, and he was in office for 34 years before even mentioning the whole nonreligious thing (to be precise, Stark affiliates with the Unitarian Universalists). For the most part, following his "admission," you'd never know Stark had any particularly atheistic bent to him.
But today, on a conference call about health care reform, I think Stark let a little of it slip out. Stark heads the congressional subcommittee on health for the Ways and Means Committee, he's a major player in the liberal wing of the House Democrats, and he's been frustrated by the obstruction to reform presented by the Blue Dogs.
Said Stark, per the AP:
They're for the most part, I hate to say brain dead, but they're just looking to raise money from insurance companies and promote a right-wing agenda that is not really very useful in this whole process.
This sounds like some harsh, militant, New Atheist rhetoric, except it's aimed at willfully ignorant politicians.
But the real dead giveaway that Stark has some old school, fiery infidel bubbling underneath was his reaction to the idea of health care co-ops (emphasis mine):
A compromise being floated there would create nonprofit, member-owned health co-ops instead, along the lines of agricultural or electrical co-ops.
The Obama administration has indicated some openness to this idea, but Stark dismissed it, saying there was no indication it would work and it was "a sop" to a few senators from largely rural states.
"You might as well talk about unicorns," Stark said.
Oh no he didn't.
To illustrate the absurdity of a claim to the existence of something utterly implausible, Stark played the unicorn card. Sounds like something Sam Harris or PZ Myers would say.
Congressman Stark, we knew you were one of us. We just didn't know how much.
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Comments
This is fabulous :)
I must be missing something here. Simply mentioning unicorns makes one an impassioned atheist now?
Nougat:
No, I just thought it was funny he used the unicorn metaphor, a common device used by atheists. Nothing serious should be implied from my silly little post. :)
Some atheists put too much faith in government and socialism without giving them the same analysis and criticism they give to religion.
I think your headline and article were a little misleading. Just because Stark made a reference to unicorns doesn't mean that he got "all atheistic" on these blue dogs. That is pretty weak. I love Stark and I was really hoping he did get all atheistic on these ass-clowns who are standing in the way of real health care reform, but her really didn't.
Staks: Again, I know -- it's supposed to be cute, and I have obviously failed in this attempt. Well, except according to Miranda. :)
BeamMeUp wrote: "Some atheists put too much faith in government and socialism"
It is amusing watching the "Right" make fools out of themselves in their attempts to malign Pete Stark. Anyone who has lived in his district know that Stark is one of the Founders of a regional chain of banks called Fremont Bank. Pete Stark is an unqualified member of the mercantile class in this society. Ole Pete worships at the alter of the almighty dollar. Hurling the word Socialism his direction is akin to labelling Adolf Hitler a martyr. Now that truly is bizarre behavior !
Regarding Stark's stance on healthcare it to is truly shameful. As one who has attended 90% of Stark's Town Hall over the last two years I can tell you he is out of step with his constituency. During that time at almost every meeting he is greeted with horror stories outlining the ruthlessness of the Insurance Industry. These constituents go on to ask Stark to reinstate his cosponsorship of HR-676 which he withdrew 2 years ago. Stark responds to those constituents by jamming knives into John Conyers back. Conyers is the author of HR-676 the Single Payer Healthcare Initiative. Stark has even gone so far as to lie to his constituents about basic facts surrounding the implementation of a Single Payer Healthcare System in this country.
I am not against the atheist community, for the simple reason that everyone, has the same right and freedom to be an Atheist. Theist, Diest. or Agnostic. Any shift in this order of Government undermines the very structure of our American Demacrocy. However, the Health Care Bill, will not be a respecter of all the people, but a mere band-aid application for special interest groups, by this I am referring to religious institutions, as well as secular, and government institutions. The HAVES will no longer Have and the HAVE NOTS, will quickly become a dominating force over all.
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