Far-Left Democrat Sims Unleashes Toxic Stew of Hate, Intolerance

By Lowman S. Henry
Guest columnist

"The loudest voices of tolerance today have little tolerance for traditional Christian beliefs."

So said Vice President Mike Pence recently while addressing the graduating class at Liberty University.  If anything, the Vice President's remark was an understatement.  The Left doesn't just have little tolerance for traditional Christian beliefs, it is working hard to scrub the influence of Christianity from the public square.

Now that their love affair with socialism has come out of the shadows the Left has launched an all-out campaign to place big government in control of all aspects of - not just our economy - but of our lives.  As with any totalitarian movement it cannot establish government as the dominant force in society without eradicating the competing influence of religion.

And so, the Left has ramped up its attacks on anything and everything Christian.  Here in Penn's Woods two such recent attacks have captured national attention. Both involve state representatives from Philadelphia which should change its slogan from the "City of Brotherly Love" to the "City of Hateful Intolerance."

The Left's latest toxic stew of hatred began on the day Representative Movita Johnson-Harrell was sworn into office. Rep. Johnson-Harrell it seems is the first woman of the Muslim faith to serve in the Pennsylvania General Assembly.  That apparently made unacceptable the utterance of a Christian invocation to open the session.

Rep. Stephanie Borowicz, a freshman lawmaker herself, had long been scheduled to give the invocation that day and - true to her faith - delivered a standard Christian prayer.  This sent the Left into a fit of intolerance the flames of which were fanned into a national controversy with Rep. Borowicz being denounced by all the usual suspects in the mainstream media.  The day ended with Rep. Johnson-Harrell casting one final aspersion on the Christian religion by labeling the Borowicz invocation "idiotic."

Now we come to the antics of State Representative Brian Simms.  He decided to video himself verbally harassing an anti-abortion protester outside of a Philadelphia abortion clinic.  Simms, whom someone saw fit to elect to public office, unleashed a verbal tirade that went on for nearly eight minutes. He called the woman, who continued to recite the Rosary during the onslaught, an "old white woman," labeled her presence "shameful" and "disgusting."

It was a premeditated ambush.  Simms actually videoed his assault, posting it on social media and asking the woman for her home address so those wishing to continue the practice of killing unborn children could protest in front of her home.

To make matters worse, Simms then accosted a woman praying with her two teenaged daughters and their friend outside of the abortion clinic. In the parlance of social media he "doxxed" them, asking viewers to identify the teen girls and find their home addresses.  A full grown (although obviously not mature) man asking for teen girls' home addresses is totally improper behavior and creepier than a Joe Biden hug.

In both instances imagine if you will what would have happened had the roles been reversed?  What if a Christian legislator had termed a Muslim prayer "idiotic?"   What if a pro-life lawmaker had verbally harassed then stalked pro-abortion protestors?  The Left would have gone into a fit of indignant outrage.

What has been their reaction?  Crickets.  Every Left-wing Democrat from Governor Tom Wolf on down who morally posture when it suits their political purposes have either made watered down statements or remained completely silent.  Likewise, reaction from the mainstream media has also been muted.

At her humble home in Calcutta Mother Teresa had a prayer posted on her wall.  It may or may not have been written by her, but the prayer begins with the words: "People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered.  Forgive them anyway" and ends: "In the final analysis, it is between you and God.  It was never between you and them, anyway."

The victims of Rep. Simms and Johnson-Harrell's hateful intolerance have taken the high road.  All chose to offer prayers for those who had trespassed against them rather than to respond in kind.  They are living examples of Mother Teresa's prayer, because they know in the final analysis it was never between them and those who mistreated them.

Anyway.

Lowman S. Henry is Chairman & CEO of the Lincoln Institute and host of the Lincoln Radio Journal.  His e-mail address is lhenry@lincolninstitute.org