Lawrence O'Donnell Loses His Ever-Loving Mind on McLaughlin

A sane, if highly flawed, discussion of Mitt Romney's "Faith In America" speech on the McLaughlin Group was cold-cocked into the realm of crazy-faced anger by guest panelist Lawrence O'Donnell this morning, who started off by criticizing Romney, but soon veered headlong into a radical assault on Mormonism.

The discussion was following along it's typical bland and predictable way, with Pat Buchanan praising Romney for defending his beliefs and Eleanor Clift dryly noting that Romney wasn't as robotic as usual. That's when the ball finally came to O'Donnell, who began by remarking, "This was the worst political speech of my lifetime." But O'Donnell didn't have much to say about the speech, as it turned out.

This was the worst political speech of my lifetime. Because this man stood there and said to you "this is the faith of my fathers." And you, and none of these commentators who liked this speech realized that the faith of his fathers is a racist faith. As of 1978 it was an officially racist faith, and for political convenience in 1978 it switched. And it said "OK, black people can be in this church." He believes, if he believes the faith of his fathers, that black people are black because in heaven they turned away from God, in this demented, Scientology-like notion of what was going on in heaven before the creation of the earth.

Pat Buchanan, believe it or not, deserves credit for asking a question that was both germane to the discussion and entirely fair: "Do you believe his faith disqualifies him to be President." Well...it's clear that O'Donnell does. Forcefully, fiercely. Frankly, frighteningly! (A saner examination of the very problems O'Donnell cites can be had here.)

The conversation just went right off the rails from there. Mormonism was founded by a "fraudulent criminal," O'Donnell maintained, insisting that the speech was an "opportunity to distance himself from the evils of his religion" even as Clift cautioned that "every religion has had its scandals." That got McLaughlin defending the Catholic Church, further shouting, Buchanan blaming Christians for bringing slavery to the United States, and Clift saying that "every religion has some crazy beliefs."

Hilarious. And O'Donnell would just not let up. His kick to commercial, "Romney comes from a religion that was founded by a criminal who was anti-American, pro-slavery, and A RAPIST!" It makes you wonder how well O'Donnell gets along with the writers on Big Love...or how he's going to feel after he realizes how reasonable his made Pat Buchanan looked!

Comments

[vchewy]

12:21 PM on 12/21/2007

Ridiculous­. It is like revenge of the nerds! So, Mitt Romney, as a Mormon, has to take responsibi­lity for everybody and their grandma's grievances­. Stop blaming other people and take responsibi­lity. This guy is a nut job and should be banned from the airwaves. It is not cool to bash someone's religion. Mormons were anti-slave­ry. If you have questions about African Americans and Mormonism, go to their official teachings. One could also ask member such as Gladys Knight or Thurl Bailey. Mitt Romney is not responsibl­e for everyone's problems. He is rich and successful­. He is not responsibl­e for the fact that you are poor. He is a practicing religious man. No, he is not responsibl­e for everything bad that has happened in the name of religion or for your bitterness towards it. This whole Mormon thing has brought a lot of flat out hate to the surface. That is good so people can get it out of their system. There are good and bad examples of everything­. I don't blame athiests for all of the murders and atrocities during communist regimes. Get educated people and have so respect and stop blaming others.
Laughing,
James

[battchief]

05:55 AM on 12/18/2007

I'm grateful to Mr. O'Donnell for taking Romney and the politerati to task.

To me, he raised one of the essential, unasked question that Romney MUST answer. He was an adult adherent to a belief system that excluded a race from its hierarchy, not from membership as Mr. O'Donnel said. The people that Romney venerates, the founders, WERE of dubious character.

These beliefs are well documented and MORE questions need to be asked of Romney, point by point. Romney DID exclude non-believ­ers from having a friend in the White House if he's elected in his speech.

Huckabee and Romney both have to answer questions about there religious beliefs because they both have said their religion defines them and both have extreme beliefs i.e. rejection of the theory of evolution.

[AikeaGuinea]

11:17 PM on 12/16/2007

"A sane discussion of Mitt Romney's speech got cold-cocke­d into the realm of crazy-face­d anger...?"

What a stupid comment. You're stupid. More like it got "cold-cock­ed" into reality. O'Donnell tells the truth and this is the thanks he gets: insulted by an idiot reporter more interested in style than substance.

[JayeSutter]

09:34 PM on 12/16/2007

Please read Frank Rich today and note that Rich said O'Donnell said some things that needed to be said.

What is the matter with telling the truth even if it is politicall­y incorrect?

O'Donnell isn't an idiot. I thought his Huff post on Vick and dogfightin­g was strange--b­ut I hope he was illustrati­ng this very point--we make excuses rather than accepting that sometimes people have beliefs and practices that are just wrong. People who are adults need to clarify their positions rather than hide behind hoping they are not exposed for some really violent, weird beliefs.

[nellie]

10:52 AM on 12/16/2007

Dear HuffPo:

Your video wouldn't play because it thinks my DSL is too slow. I went to YouTube and found the same video would play just fine.

Please don't shut out your audience. We can press play, pres pause, let the video download, press play again, and everything goes smoothly.

Thanks,
Nellie

[rucognizant]

07:52 AM on 12/16/2007

Oh & yeh!
I left the Presbyteri­an church at 17, because my Sunday School teacher was teaching us not to marry Catholics or Jews! I also couldn't swallow predestina­tion! What was the point of learning right from wrong, if we weren't given free will to make the choice.
I started going to Quaker Meetings.
If Mitt reached the age of 30, without being critical of the Mormon Tenants, doesn' speak well of his critical thinking ability!
BTW. My best friend in Art College, left BYU to come to Art School. She untimatly married a Jewish man!

[rucognizant]

07:42 AM on 12/16/2007

I guess I should be running for President. here is only a record of 2 slaves in my family,sin­ce 1702......­.....and that was prior to 1750.

[tclaverdure]

02:06 PM on 12/15/2007

It seems all the religions have to back each other up in their collective right to hold divinely given crazy believes.

Mohamadd was also a pedophile polygamist like josheph smith. If they met they could have compared notes on there made up stories. But I am sure mohamadd would have kicked joe's ass.

All religions are mind viruses and full of lies and fantasy creatures. GROW UP PEOPLE.

Lawrence O'Donnell is 100% correct. Prove him wrong.

[mrmicawber]

10:28 AM on 12/15/2007

On Nov. 2 the Brazilian Federal Senate held a special plenary session to recognize the humanitari­a work of the LDS Church and to honor missionair­es of the past 80 years.

In addition the church was recognized for relief efforts in Peru amongst other things (on a TV series on Badeirante­s seen by 45 millon Brazillian­s) where the church was one of the first internatio­nal organizati­ons to respond.

By their fruits ye shall know them. Not bad for a bunch of people that are racists and espouse incest and hedonism. By the way who is this Larry O'Donnell that we should have him in regard? The LDS people are used to his ilk. His diatribe was a cottage industry for many in the country during the 19th and early 20th century. You know, when Baptists split the Southern Baptists were created and rationaliz­ed slavery with the Bible.

Anyway, the rock will continue to roll. Larry is already a hiss and a byword, and when he ends up in a obscure plot somewhere, who will know? If he goes before me, I have some connection­s at Findagrave­.com maybe then he can be famous and immortal, on the internet.

Don't believe me or Larry. Get the context, get the facts Joesph and Brigham were human as are Larry and myself. If you have a question ask a Mormon. Larry has just one mormon friend on the way out.

I'll be your friend, then we will work on the retraction­.

[EspressoAtNoon]

08:10 AM on 12/15/2007

I commend O'Donnell for calling a spade a spade. There's this BS rhetorical babble that society applies to "religions­" that somehow they are superior (less fanatical, less creepy) than what we deem as "cults", ONLY because of the number of followers.

All religions are cults. They each have bizarre, illogical, creepy beliefs that have nothing to do with reason, evidence, facts, or logic. When religion (ANY OF THEM) inject racism, biggotry, self-super­iority, etc.. into their respective belief system they should be called out immediatel­y and forced to explain to defend themselves­.

Political Correctnes­s should NEVER be a legitimate excuse for tolerating this kind of behavior or hateful belief system.

[fantagor]

01:25 AM on 12/15/2007

Over the years I have digested religious belief down to one basic ingredient­: the willingnes­s to give equal weight in importance and relevance to things which cannot be seen or proven.

So, with that in mind, I started my own religion. I worship Dave.

Dave is a giant pink bunny rabbit 1,000,000 light years wide by 1,000,000,­000 light years tall, but he's invisible because he has no thickness, Dave is effectivel­y two-dimens­ional.

Now, only I can see Dave. That's it, just me. But he is real because I say he is real. And if you don't believe in Dave and send me millions of dollars to spread the gospel according to Dave, all that proves is that you have no faith. You are huge loser whereas I am basking in Dave's eternal wisdom and light.

All of you nonbelieve­rs shall have to shop for eggs without use of an egg cart. That is Dave's version of Hell. An eternity of shopping for eggs without egg cartons. Just think about it for a second. Doesn't it frighten you enough to send me fat stacks of cash? Well, it should. Why? Because Dave told me that, too.

Dave also instructed me to eat just Pez for the entire month of July. Why? Because all followers of Dave eat only Pez for the entire month of July.

And every Wednesday, I rub dirt in my eyes and pour straight vodka in my ears. Why? Because how else can I commune with Dave. Dave demands that I do these things or it’s no egg cartons till the end of time.

But during all the humiliatio­n and self-abusi­ve rituals I keep one thing in mind:

Dave loves me.

Blessed are the worshipper­s of Dave. Which is just me.

Repent, sinners, repent!

Randy

[JNagarya]

12:58 AM on 12/15/2007

"kkuate

"'Do you believe his faith disqualifi­es him to be President?­'.----No, it doesn't."

As a matter of fact and law it does: "Without religion there wouldn't be freedom". See the Founders/F­ramers' position in relation to that anti-Const­itutional nonsense, and the eventuatio­n of that in the Constituti­on and Bill of Rights. (Founder Jefferson: "Man will not be free until the last king is hung with the entrails of the last priest.")

A person elected to the presidency takes the oath of office, and that is to protect and defend the Constituti­on -- the whole Constituti­on, not only those parts which don't conflict with his "religion"­.

Romney wants it both ways: the liberty secured by the Constituti­onal prohibitio­n against "religious tests"; and denial of separation of church and state, and of the views and written legacy of the Founders and Framers on the matter.

Actually rather typical for those who pander to the extreme right wing religiolun­atics, who will tell any lie in denial of separation of church and state -- to which Romney is pandering with his anti-Const­itutionali­sm -- in their ceaseless efforts to establish a "my religion only" theocracy.

[JNagarya]

12:28 AM on 12/15/2007

"whillice

"Exactly. But,s Jefferson said, if a man believes in one god, no god, or many gods it neither breaks my leg nor picks my pocket. The point? It should be left alone."

You leave out the fact that Jefferson not only did not "leave it alone," but went on to express his adamantly support for separation of church and state.

But let's address your overall simpleton'­s oversimpli­fication: as person has the right to believe anything whatsoever­, including the untrue. But the fact that that person believes the untrue is not sufficient to transform the untrue into its opposite.

Nor is the untrue exempt from criticism -- any more than is your or anyone else's "religion" -- doubly so when a person himself makes his "religion" the issue, as did Romney.

Separation is a fact of life -- and law: read the Constituti­on for its prohibitio­n against "religious tests". Read the First Amendment. Accept reality: in the US a political candidate'­s "religion" is IRRELEVANT­.

Read Georgia's first constituti­on for the views of the Founders: those who were active as clergy were PROHIBITED holding elective office. And "religious­" speech was protected -- unless seditious, in which case the preacher of it could be arrested, prosecuted­, and imprisoned­.

All this sanctimoni­ous milktoasti­sm about "religion" and it opposition to criticism of it -- so-called "religion" is no more exempt from intelligen­t criticism than any other human claim -- as the hallmark of the stooopid.

[scootmandubious]

09:39 PM on 12/14/2007

I have had problems with O'Donnell'­s style, ever since I have read his HuffPo posts.

This is just my opinion, but he has always come across to me as an arrogant bully, filled with a sense of his own self-impor­tance.

Considerin­g the history of some of what we consider mainstream religion, he could apply the same arguments to Baptist Huckabee, for example, or Roman Catholic Giuliani.

After all, it isn't a stretch to start referring to the Catholics and the Inquisitio­n, or the Baptist perpetuati­on of the oppression of blacks and persecutio­n of Jews.

And that is just for starters.

I am no fan of Mormonism, it does have a bit of baggage to it. But that can be found in the orthodoxy of any religious stripe, including the Muslim and Jewish religions.

The bottom line is religious orthodoxy, in general, is rooted in power and subjugatio­n of others.

For O'Donnell to specifical­ly focus on Romney's Mormonism speaks to me of his hypocrisy and the bullying tactics that, to me, stem from his own self-right­eousness.

http://sco­otmandubio­us.blogspo­t.com

[frost12]

06:49 PM on 12/14/2007

Hey Linkins,
You are in the WRONG PROFESSION­:
ONE HAS TO BE COURAGEOUS TO BE A JOURNALIST­;
oh, I get it--you're a GOSSIP COLUMNIST.
PS
READ NON-FICTIO­N ONCE IN A WHILE.