MSNBC’s Martin Bashir is doing his best to be the next Keith Olbermann. In doing so, he does not respond to the outlandish, insulting lies of his guests. From my article on Pajamas Media.com:

Martin Bashir is a busy man these days. It is more obvious than ever that Bashir’s main role is to fill the void of former MSNBC nonsense mouthpiece Keith Olbermann…and that takes a lot of work.

On his show, Bashir had on Huffington Post contributor Frank Schaeffer to talk about a study that show 56% of Americans believe it is important for a Presidential candidate to have a strong religious belief. Bashir, right off the bat, asks this question:

Now, in secular Europe, people say that…religion plays no part in politics. How corrupting is the influence of religion on the political process in this country?

It’s almost laughable to have Bashir extol the virtues of a faithless Europe while simultaneously bashing the Judeo-Christian United States. As Europeans  (other than Bashir) will tell you, the faith of the United States is the reason they are all not under the thumb of Communism today.

Communism defeated, Europe saved. Damn world-saving Christians!

The answer from Schaeffer, however, is the focus here. Never underestimate the ability of a hard-core leftist progressive to stick to their talking points. Schaffer’s answer is rambling, and telling, and sick:

If you think the politics should be about facts, then religions can be very corrupting and is…the 86 members of congress who the Tea Party sent there with faith-based poltiics, rather than fact-based poltics. So, for instance, if there ideological commitment to the free market and to Ayn Rand and the Bible and this wierd mix that is the Tea Party tells them that it would be better to bring down the economy than to help the first African American President succeed, in an effort to delegitimize him, that’s what they do.

Bring on the Racer Alert! For the narrow minded progressives, how is it possible that the Tea Party can be focused on curtailing spending? How can the Tea Party push for a Balanced Budget Amendment? How can they be engaged in advocating for sound fiscal policy? The progressive will never accept the reality of the Tea Party position, and will do everything in their power to avoid a conversation, and to attack what they fear (like the truth!) So, Progressives like Schaeffer  and Bashir state that the Tea Party position is solely predicated on the idea that Obama is black and Tea Party members are racists. Nothing could be further from the truth, but progressives – and Racers – don’t care about the truth.

And, as for the idea that the Tea Party is about faith-based politics, not fact-based politics, it only shows that Schaeffer knows nothing about the Tea Party. The Tea Party is solely focused on The Four Basics – the constitution, capitalism, fiscal responsibility and smaller government. There is no religious litmus test for members of the Tea Party. However it’s the progressives that still push the well-debunked science of anthropogenic global warming, and it is the Progressives who shun those who don’t fall in line. Who’s really focused on the faith-based here?

But Schaeffer wasn’t done. He continued on his lying rant:

… I think a faith based politics is an immensly destructive thing….what do you think Iran, Saudi Arabia or the settlers on the West Bank of Israel who refuse to move and jeapordising world peace are thinking about..this is faith based politics, we want reasoned based politics. That’s what America doesn’t have right now when it comes to these Tea Party candidates.

Yes. Schaeffer has compared the Tea Party and the citizens of Israel to the regimes in Iran and Saudi Arabia. Is this the kind of smart people that the Huffington Post prides themselves in hiring? The Iranian government wants to wipe Israel off the map, shoots those who want free elections and believes that the Holocaust is a myth. Saudi Arabia doesn’t want women to drive, and won’t allow Jews in the country. Israel builds houses on their own land, allows for the practicing of all religions and they are jeopardizing world peace? That’s as flat out crazy as Rep. Nancy Pelosi saying that Democrats are trying to, “…save the world from the Republican budget. We’re trying to save life on this planet as we know it today.”

No one should be surprised with Schaeffer’s answers.  On his own blog, he proudly proclaims that he “predicted” terror from the religious right, and seems to be thrilled that Anders Breivik killed 76 people in Norway to prove his “theory.”  Of course, Olbermann-replacement Bashir does not refute Schaeffer’s Racer comments and religious lies, but takes the lies as facts, and moves forward with other questions. Bashir ends his segment talking about the majesty of the founding documents, and commenting on how Thomas Jefferson’s belief in the Creator was truly important.  One has to wonder why Bashir would end this way, while allowing Schaeffer to spew such hate?

The progressives will never be interested in facts.  Facts get in the way of their fantasies – like global warming and thinking its good, sound fiscal policy to raise taxes in a recession.  Schaeffer’s longwinded rant is proof that Progressives know nothing about “…fact-based politics.”  Bashir has proved that he is the natural heir to Olbermann.  He is petulant, rabid, lacking in intellectual might and is all together off-putting.  And when complimentary, is hard to believe.

That is a fact.