Bigot Finds Jesus & Democrats Convenient

State's best-known atheist says he agrees with Jesus' teachings
Saturday, July 08, 2006
By TAYLOR BRIGHT
Times Montgomery Bureau, tbright@htimes.com

MONTGOMERY - Alabama's most prominent atheist is no longer an atheist.

Larry Darby, a former candidate for attorney general who lost in the Democratic [?!WTF?!] primary but won most of North Alabama, said he is embracing Jesus as he crusades against "Judeo-Marxism."

Darby, a Montgomery lawyer who received more votes in Huntsville than Mobile County District Attorney John Tyson, released a long written statement Friday saying that others in the atheist community had turned their backs on him.

[...]

"Contrary to expectation, many atheist member organizations or many groups that allegedly represent free thinkers were quick to jump on the Judeo-Marxist bandwagon and dis(a)ssociate themselves from me," Darby wrote.

Darby had fallen out of favor with many groups after he said he doubted the veracity of the Holocaust.

In his release, Darby said he believed "thousands" of Jews died in the Holocaust. The widely accepted number of deaths in the Holocaust is 6 million.

Along with questioning the Holocaust, Darby also embraced white supremacist groups and spoke at a white supremacist conference in May.

[...]

In his announcement Darby also called the Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, which often takes on racist or anti-Semitic groups, "agents of Judeo-Marxism."

Mark Potok, director of the Intelligence Project at the law center in Montgomery, said the atheist community dropped Darby "like a hot rock" after they heard his views on race.

"I think he's a complete and utter joke," Potok said. "We don't take these attacks seriously."

Potok said Darby has been shopping for an ideology.

"Tell him we wish him the very best in his next ideology," Potok said.

In a short e-mail to The Times, Darby said he intended to run again for office and doesn't think media coverage of him will hurt his chances.

Darby said he changed his views on atheism "based on experiences or understanding of the world around me." He didn't respond directly when asked if he was renouncing atheism to position himself better politically.

"I agree with moral precepts put forth by Jesus of Nazareth and I am Christian in a sense that Jesus of Nazareth would approve," Darby wrote.

Wow, what a sleaze bag! I'm not sure which is worse, his "conversion" to Christianity, because religion is more accepting of his bigotry than atheism, or the fact that he's running (and being accepted) as a Democrat. OK, I take it back, I am sure which is worse. I expect bigots to vacillate on their convictions to justify their ideology. But, I shouldn't have to expect Democrats to accept a publicly avowed bigot into their ranks, even in Alabama. His religion is not the only thing he is willing to change for convenience. Darby ran as a Libertarian for years, when he couldn't get elected that way, he decided to sneak in as a Democrat. I guess he hoped no one would be paying attention. Sadly, he was right.

Many people complain to me that the Democrats aren't much different than Republicans. That all politicians are compromised by the quest for corporate dollars. On the surface of a story like this, I can see why they think that. This guy should be run out of town, or at least completely disowned by the Democratic party. Why wasn't he?

As it turns out, the primary reason, once again, was not corporate greed or shady campaign donations. It was simple apathy and ignorance.

Despite such controversial views, Darby won Madison and Morgan counties along with a slew of others in the June 6 Democratic primary. Statewide Darby received more votes than Republican gubernatorial candidate Roy Moore, a former Alabama Supreme Court chief justice. Political observers say Darby's showing in the election was likely more about ballot placement than his radical views. Neither Democratic candidate for attorney general was well known statewide, and Darby's name appeared first on the ballot.

That sucks. Here's a guy I don't even want voting, yet alone running for office, having a real shot, and doing so as a member of a party the postures itself as being in direct opposition to his publicly stated vulgarisms. How? Nobody was paying attention. His name was first on the list so he got more votes.

This had nothing to do with voter rights.

This had nothing to do with corporate greed.

This had nothing to do with a "flawed political system".

If this guy had been elected, those that voted for him, and those that couldn't be bothered to vote, would have no one to blame but themselves. If our country and our politics are screwed up, it's only because we allow them to be screwed up. As I said yesterday, if we want to take back control of our government, then we need to actively participate.

Otherwise, this could be our future.

UPDATE: I came across a copy of Darby's full press release, yikes, what a convoluted mess.

Tags: Religion, Politics