Democrats Hate Religion Part MMVIII

A candidate for Surgeon General is being tabled due to his religion:

More than a year after his nomination, and ten months after his confirmation hearings, President Bush's nomination of James Holsinger as U.S. Surgeon General remains stalled because the physician has publicly supported his church denomination's traditionalist stance on homosexuality.

The recent governing convention of the United Methodist Church, in which Holsinger has served in prominent offices over the last 20 years, strongly reaffirmed its stances affirming marriage only as the union of man and woman, describing homosexual practice as "incompatible" with Christian teaching, and prohibiting ordination to persons sexually active outside marriage.

The UMC's position is hardly extraordinary. It resembles the teaching of virtually every major Christian church. But Holsinger's public role in upholding that stance has been the chief obstacle to his confirmation by the U.S. Senate's Democratic majority. His potential recess appointment has also been blocked by brief, pro forma sessions convened in an empty chamber by U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

"America's top doctor should be a doctor for all Americans," Senator Barak Obama warned about Holsinger last year. "I have serious reservations about nominating someone who would inject his own anti-gay ideology into critical decisions about the health and well-being of our nation."

Teddy Kennedy, who chairs the Senate committee that would confirm Holsinger, likewise shared his concern about whether Holsinger could put "public health first and leave politics and ideology behind."

These are the same people, you'll note, who have no problem whatsoever using churches for photo ops, pastors for character witnesses, and the Bible as a prop.