Dissing God creates problems in LD 28

God was the clear winner over mere mortals at the Executive Guidance Committee of the Maricopa County Republican Committee (EGC) meeting Thursday night.

When County Republican Chairman A. J. LaFaro asked the members to introduce themselves, former two-term County Chairman Rob Haney did so in no uncertain terms.  Haney, also a former district chairman, identified himself as a member of LD 28, “Where they’ve taken God out of the meetings.”

The Legislative District meetings no longer begin with both a Pledge of Allegiance and invocation. The invocation has been deemed nonessential and side-railed in favor of a moment of silence.

Clearly riled at the disclosure, District 28 Chairman Scott O’Connor pointed to Haney’s comment as an example of the divisiveness within the party, saying there were members of the district who objected to Christian prayer and the 9-member board decided no prayer was a satisfactory substitute.

The Rev. Clyde Bowen, Chairman of the Arizona American African Republican Committee, invited to give the prayer preceding the EGC meeting was diametrically opposed to O’Connor’s position. Before leading the group in prayer Rev. Bowen reinforced the concept that our rights are derived from God and that fact should be acknowledged in our political lives.

Our nation’s founding documents repeatedly credit our Creator and honor God. Since 1789 the U.S. Congress and Senate have had Offices of the Chaplin and a prayer opens each session, led by guest chaplains of various denominations. Every argument before the U.S. Supreme Court and every opinion the justices render are within the presence of the frieze depicting lawgivers, including Moses carrying the Ten Commandments — God’s law — carved on the high court structure.

Scott O’Connor, the son of former Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, should be well acquainted with that depiction.