Lawson and Bonini Vie To See Who Is A Bigger Piece of Shit
Congratulations to Senate President Pro Tempore David McBride, D-New Castle, who publicly rebuked the suit of a man state Sen. Dave Lawson, R-Marydel, for Lawson’s disgusting and vile comments on the Senate floor.
“I have never been of the mind to censure the words of other members, but I also believe deeply that words have consequences,” McBride said, reading aloud from a statement. “To criticize the sacred prayer of another religion from the floor of the Senate strikes me as antithetical to everything we ought to stand for as lawmakers.”
McBride went on to say that Muslims serve in the military and as police and are doctors, professors and teachers.
“I am personally offended that our guests from the Muslim community and anyone else here in the chamber today would feel anything less than welcomed with opened arms,” McBride said. “And for our guests today to be branded as anti-American when our First Amendment of our country’s Constitution explicitly guarantees the freedom of religion is both ironic and deeply sad to me.”
Here’s what the shit-stain of a politician said earlier.
“We just heard from the Quran, which calls for our very demise,” Lawson said after a Muslim duo gave the invocation, including a passage from their holy text. “I fought for this country, not to be damned by someone that comes in here and prays to their God for our demise. I think that’s despicable.”
And when you act like an asshole, it’s always good to double-down on your ignorance.
Afterward, Lawson said he thought McBride was “ignorant to what’s going on.”
He said the Quran includes passages about killing “infidels” and pointed to some majority-Muslim countries that restrict women’s rights and persecute Christians, among other evils.
Oh, and John Carney’s BFF, Bonini, who walked out with Lawson during the Muslim prayer had this say:
“Anybody who knows Dave knows that there is not an ounce of hate in him,” he said. “There is not an an ounce of hate in me either.”
Still, Bonini said, “Religious freedom is not a one-way street; it is a busy intersection.”
“You have a right to pray, as do I,” Bonini said after McBride’s response. “And I have a right to be offended by what you believe, just as you have a right to be offended by what I believe.”
Bonini said neither his nor Lawson’s walkout nor their comments were intended to “be specifically disrespectful to the people who are here.”
Mother fuckers.
While strongly inclined to label Bonini as the greater pile of excrement after having read Lawson’s insanely foolish comment I must, with sadness and a prayer, award him the “victory” here. As for killing non believers you can find that in the Christian bible as well, there’s a lovely little passage in Deuteronomy about stoning non believers to death. And a well done to McBride for speaking up.
Surprised that Townsend stayed quiet in the hall. I would have thought that he would have spoken up sooner. Disappointed
Why is there a prayer of any kind being said before the General Assembly? It should just be the Pledge of Allegiance.
Your fictional construction of spiritual philosophy offends my own religious sensibilities which are coincidentally based on a fairy tale.
Or, your story regarding killing the kafir is offensive to me. Unless ‘kafir’ translated to Amalekites. If so, then it’s heavenly approved genocide and it’s fine.
Yeah, they do a prayer. They try to mix it up religiously, but they do a prayer.
I don’t think they should.
I’m just stunned by the reaction of Lawson and Bonini. Disgraceful.
Dave McBride, as the leader of the Senate, said in no uncertain terms what needed to be said. Good on him.
The moron in question runs a shooting range, doesn’t he? Do you have any idea what the lead blood levels are for people who work in shooting ranges?
http://projects.seattletimes.com/2014/loaded-with-lead/1/
My point being, his IQ probably drops daily. Have some sympathy for the mentally impaired.
Bonini and Lawson are walking embarrassments. Bane you make hating Townsend an art form. You’ve yelled about the guy even when he’s been a leader voice on a ton of issues like immigration and Syrian refugees and now you yell about him for joining all Democrat senators in having president pro tempore senator McBride speak for everyone. I betcha if he’d spoken you’d have hated on him for speaking. You probably hated on him when he was the first congress candidate to speak out against carney’s bullshit coward vote on Syrian refugees. Your post this morning made me remember a quote from end of Bale Batman movie, it says what seems Townsend’s place in Delaware politics. “he’s the hero Gotham deserves, but not the one it needs right now. So we’ll hunt him, because he can take it.” Happy hunting Bane and happy hating.
I , state your name do hereby pledge allegiance to the frat. With liberty and fraternity for all.
It could be a smoke screen. It seems whenever these republicans get into some kind of trouble they immediately go for the rile up the rubes with the cultural resentment card lol
I appreciate your response Anon. I actually agreed with his response to Carney’s bullshit coward vote on Syrian refugees. Townsend has been at the forefront on issues of fairness for immigrants, the homeless, and other groups…. Especially Muslims. He was endorsed by a rather large Muslim group and I was at that debate, in which I thought he won.
Again, this is why I am surprised that he didn’t address it on the floor. I don’t know why that’s “hating”. I think I expect more from him than you do. My bar is higher because I think he could be the leader that we need right now. Not tomorrow.
Because Gotham City is fictional and I live in the real world. We don’t have time to wait.
^YYYUUUUUUUUUUUUP!
I don’t know Brian Townsend. I don’t live in his district, have never met him, and can judge only by the actions that have made the papers and the blogs, and his bio. Nevertheless, as a great yogi once said, you can observe a lot just by watching.
Townsend is progressive, but not bold. He went to law school and, unlike most liberals motivated to enter the law, he went into corporate law. He lived in his parents’ home to save money. Even his run for Congress involved no risk of his Senate seat.
These are not the actions of a bold leader. They are the actions of a prudent, sensible person who hedges his bets. I don’t mean this as criticism but as an observation. He is a valuable soldier, but he is not a field general.
Bane’s observations are on target, but Townsend is not the leader you are looking for.
Watch out Alby, they’re going to call you a hater for pointing that out.
I’ve got more ass than they’ve got teeth.
Truly disgusting comments by Sen. Lawson. Proud of Lt. Governor Hall-Long for inviting the Muslim community to give the prayer (a first in the senate chamber to my knowledge), and proud of Sen. McBride for standing up for their rights. Good to know we still have some good people in that chamber.
Is there a way to target Lawson in the next election?
Alby: agree with you 100% on Townsend. He is what I would call a center right democrat. If he wants to become a bold progressive he needs to read Sanders book “Our Revolution”…and get some guts.
These two Senators took an oath to not only serve all of their constituents but to uphold the U.S. Constitution
That alone made their action inappropriate in the Senate Chamber. In this case their personal rights are secondary. It’s no different than being on a regular job
http://delcode.delaware.gov/constitution/constitution-15.shtml
Regrettably, it does not appear there will be a formal censure.
The mechanism of censure exists for exactly this reason.
I hope that sanctions are meted out.
The D’s missed the boat by not challenging Lawson in 2016. He almost lost to a neophyte in 2012, but the Kent County Democratic Party sucks.
Lawson probably would have won b/c his brand of Trumpism is pretty popular in his district. But it was political malpractice for the D’s not to challenge a weak incumbent in 2016.
As to Townsend, he is far from a center-right Democrat. But haters gonna hate.
Why did these comments turn so quickly into a forum on Townsend? What does he have to do with any of this?
This hating on Senator Townsend is ignorant and absurd. Was it playing it safe when he challenged and defeated ProTem Tony DeLuca in a Democratic Primary in 2012? Gov. Markell himself came out against Townsend in that race, along with the rest of the Democratic establishment in Delaware. He stood up to these same forces countless times on Education policy. And he’s an corporate attorney–so what? Everybody needs a day job. Would you rather Townsend take a conflict of interest job on the state payroll like DeLuca?
This term, he’s leading the fight on redistricting reform–a key to better government and a progressive dream.
He loses one race and the knives come out. But that’s fair-weather Dems for you.
Townsend is smart and has guts. We really need to flush out Dover of the lifers on the 30 year plus plan and get a few more of him down there.
To bring the conversation to the actual topic of the post, Lawson seems to be fairly vulnerable. He only won the seat in ’10 from the incumbent Dem by around 700 votes, and barely won again in ’12 by around 500 votes. If the Kent Democratic Party can get it’s shit together in three years or so, maybe we won’t have to worry about his Islamophobic ass after ’20.
“This term, he’s leading the fight on redistricting reform–a key to better government and a progressive dream.”
You must have missed a memo. Redistricting reform is hardly a progressive dream. It’s not even on the top 20 list. The very idea is laughable. It’s like pretending that America’s health-care problems are solved by giving everybody insurance.
“Was it playing it safe when he challenged and defeated ProTem Tony DeLuca in a Democratic Primary in 2012?”
What was unsafe about it? Since he had nothing, he risked nothing.
It’s not “hating” to make a point about Brian Townsend’s courage. Sure, compared with the other Dems in office he has guts, sort of. But not really. As I said — and nobody has provided any evidence to the contrary — he’s a cautious, practical man, not a firebrand.
Criticizing him for it won’t make him change, and neither will pretending he’s a warrior.
If he were a leader, he wouldn’t have sucked hind tit in the congressional race. If you can’t outshine an empty blouse like LBR, you’re not going to win any votes on your “leadership” qualities. By definition, a leader is a person people follow.
@Josh: It turned into a forum on Townsend when Bane noted that he didn’t say anything about Lawson.
Would a leader have made a statement himself, or let a phony like McBride — the guy who doesn’t even live in his own district, the guy who once seconded Tom Sharp’s call for a return to the whipping post — say it for him?
The question answers itself. A leader, at this point, would lead. Anyone who follows is following John Carney, who is not a progressive Democrat. Townsend won’t make a single wave because it’s not who he is or who he wants to be.
Damn, Alby. Sweatin these folks and speaking truth to power.
You have an odd idea of what constitutes power. It’s just a few well-intentioned people who hope for better from what is supposedly a form of government that derives its power from the will of the people. They’re about the only people I know who can handle the truth.
Seriously, I’m not calling Townsend anything but a good guy, an apparently progressive voice in the intellectual desert of Leg Hall. I mostly trust him to man the barricades when we need him, regardless of whether he’s outnumbered. But his is not the voice that will stir the hesitant to action, that’s all. I respect him, but that’s not enough to make a leader. Nobody has come up with a way to measure it, but charisma is a real thing and, like speed in sports, it can’t be coached.
Alby you’ve lost me because you said you never even met Townsend before. I’ve loved his energy and charisma at grassroots meetings and don’t blame him like that for losing Congress race. Your words sound more like for Sean Barney.
I haven’t met him. I’m judging the lack of charisma from what the public has seen, and “energy” is not a word that leaps to mind. To brush aside his non-performance in the congressional race is to ignore a rather large part of his elective history, isn’t it?
I really don’t care what happens in the locker room. They never mention it in the papers, but the losing coaches give stirring halftime speeches, the same as the winning coaches do.
I just don’t see how its hating to point this stuff out. To stick with the sports analogy. He may be the best player on the team, but that doesn’t make him a franchise player.
Aaaand y’all have managed to get 180 degrees off topic.
I wrote to the Governor and Lt Gov asking them to condemn Lawson. I got a reply from BHL’s office saying she had invited the imam to speak and counted the Muslim community among her friends. No word on whether she would publicly tell Dave Lawson he’s a bigoted fuckwad.
No replies from Simpson and Lavelle, who I suggested expel an open bigot from the caucus. I expected that.
What I didn’t expect was that Carney’s office wouldn’t even shoot back a form reply. His staff is not serving him well.
Well, that one didn’t work. What a mess.
It’s precisely this kind of obsessive need for rewarding style over substance that got us Trump. Say Townsend gets up and delivers a rousing speech from the heart, condemning the two senators for their bigotry. Then what? Do Lawson and Bonini flee from the chamber, hiding their faces in shame? Does Delaware suddenly become free of religious and racial bigotry? This isn’t the West Wing or a Capra movie, this is real life, and leadership isn’t about being at the front of the line to condemn someone when they say something awful, it’s working both in front of, and behind the scenes, to ensure that Delaware isn’t the kind of place where bigotry can flourish. As Bane rightfully pointed out, Townsend has been at the forefront of that work on behalf of the Muslim community in our state. That, among many other reasons, is why I supported him in the primary, not because he was the political equivalent of someone on the internet posting “first” in the comment section.
Bane, you apparently read a whole article detailing the apparent bigotry of Senators Lawson and Bonini, and your first instinct was to criticize Bryan Townsend and only Bryan Townsend. Then your follow up comments were dedicated to either further criticisms of Townsend or whining when people called you out on it. What conclusion could any of us draw but that you’re a hater? It’s OK man, you don’t have to hide it from us. Just admit that you have a hate-boner for Townsend. We’ll still accept you just the way you are.
Josh, you nearly fixed it, but went one comment too far. That said, you’re not wrong. Also, “hate-boner” is quite good. Extra credit for the hyphen.
RE, I always go one step too far. That’s my style. I’m my own worst enemy.
Whatever… Ok, I’ll pretend to be offended by people that we have always known are bigots. Ra Ra…
I’ll get upset that Carney doesn’t have a spine, which we’ve always known.
I won’t ask for a progressive leader to take the reigns from these putzes. I’ll just sit here quiet and wait until he’s 60 for him to be handed the mantle of leadership in Delaware.
Waiting quietly…..
Not that quietly apparently…
(Mouse pissing on cotton)
He’s dialing it up:
“I represent the majority belief of the district in which I live, and they’re fearful of the Muslim community because of the terrorism that’s going on across the world,” said Sen. Lawson.
“I haven’t seen Muslims in this community stand up when there’s been an attack. I haven’t heard anything from them so I don’t know what to think myself,” said Sen. Lawson. “All Muslims aren’t terrorists, but all terrorism has been committed by Muslims.”
http://www.delaware1059.com/news/exclusive-muslim-man-who-donated-to-sen-lawson-s-campaign/article_c7dbd876-1dc0-11e7-8d73-07d2865adfa2.html
“All Muslims aren’t terrorists, but all terrorism has been committed by Muslims.”
Flat wrong on its face. But, we are in a post fact world, so I guess he figures it is true because he thinks it is true,
“I represent the majority belief of the district in which I live.”
There it is again, “belief.” I don’t respect people beliefs and neither should anyone else. I evaluate their reasons and evidence. Anytime you hear somebody defend something based on belief it’s a major tell. When people believe falsehoods, mistakes, lies, etc. they are still falsehoods, mistakes and lies.
On beliefs I take a Jeffersonian position. I will tolerate beliefs if they do no harm and you keep them to yourself.
“Ignorance is preferable to error, and he is less remote from the truth who believes nothing than he who believes what is wrong.”
“But it does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods or no God. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg.”
—Both quotes appear in ‘Notes on Virginia’, 1782
“On beliefs I take a Jeffersonian position. I will tolerate beliefs if they do no harm and you keep them to yourself”
Wonder how Jefferson relayed that belief to his slaves?
Jeffersonian position = Say one thing, and do another?
On social issues, libertarianism is liberalism, at least as most liberals see those issues.
I’ve combed the internet looking for Lawson’s statements apologizing for the behavior of the Charleston church shooter, to name one highly publicized case involving one of his peers — the racist white right. Can’t find one.
Republican standard, double standard. Same thing.
Jefferson had slaves? I had no idea. We should probably nullify the Declaration of Independence then. Great point. Very deep. I learned a lot.
I’m sure you did RE. You can thank me later. It’s just another Republican standard of saying one thing and doing another.
@bane: I am unaware of a requirement that a philosopher actually live by his dicta for the philosophy to have value. After all, Jesus was no Christian.
I guess there’s a thin line between a philosopher and a President. I guess if the President is a philosopher then he/she doesn’t have to live by their dicta in order for it to have value. Nixon should have been a philosopher.
(Founder boners are weird)
Does the Declaration of Independence have value? Most people say yes, but YMMV.
It has extreme Value to some. But you have to admit that its value is blunted when you realize that the only rights endowed by the creator were for white males. They weren’t talking about women or minorities. I’m sure white males look at it with great reverence and great value. However, value can be relative. If you’re a black person or a woman, it might not carry any value. Just like the 13th, 14th, 15th, and 19th amendments may not carry the same value for others.
Bit we’re in the weeds now… Next round on me