An Attempt to Clear the Air Over Senator Perdue’s Remarks About President Obama
Senator David Perdue’s press spokeserson reached out to GeorgiaPol in order to provide some context for the Senator’s remarks during his speech at the Faith & Freedom Coalition’s Road to Majority conference in Washington. While the senator quoted a portion of Psalm 109, a video and transcript of that portion of his remarks appears to indicate that the reference to letting President Obama’s days be few were made in jest:
DAVID PERDUE: I think we are called to pray. I think we’re called to pray for our country, for our leaders, and yes, even our President. In his role as president I think we should pray for Barack Obama. But I think we need to be very specific about how we pray. We should pray like Psalms 109:8 says. It says, “Let his days be few, and let another have his office.”
(LAUGHTER)
DAVID PERDUE: In all seriousness, I believe that America is at a moment of crisis.
Caroline Vanvick, Senator Perdue’s press spokesman issued this statement:
Senator Perdue said we are called to pray for our country, for our leaders, and for our president. He in no way wishes harm towards our president and everyone in the room understood that. However, we should add the media to our prayer list because they are pushing a narrative to create controversy and that is exactly what the American people are tired of.
The reader can judge the intent of Senator Perdue’s remarks. I will simply point out that a tweet from a contributor to a liberal-leaning website might might not tell the whole story.
About Author
Jon Richards
Add a Comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.
To every thing
Spin spin spin
There is a season
Spin spin spin
“May his days be few” in reference to a sitting President is not funny. Even to the fun loving party animals in the Faith & Freedom crowd. How many Secret Service breaches have we had with this President? The “joke” was in poor taste. Intent is irrelevant.
A jest? Yeah, that’s a real knee-slapper, Senator. I bet Ralph Reed cracked up.
The Atlantic, which is not a liberal leaning website, provides some context for the ‘Obama Prayer’. Reportedly, it has been circulating among certain right leaning groups and individuals for several years.
“However, we should add the media to our prayer list because they are pushing a narrative to create controversy and that is exactly what the American people are tired of.”
Look Caroline, when you are in a hole you want to get out of you should stop digging. Don’t condescend with a bad joke. Don’t tell anybody what they are tired of.
We have two of the most polarizing figures in American politics one the top of each ticket and you have the temerity to say the American people are tired of controversy?
Yeah, that second sentence should have been omitted. Save that for the Truman letter. (And I KNOW, it’s HARD, I say things in public all the time that I should save for my drawer of Truman letters – which is why I am not a Senate spokesperson.)
Trying to shift this to a ‘liberal leaning website’? How pathetic. Next up is playing the victim card. You just lost credibility with me, Jon.
I think Jon is referring to the Daily Beast reposter who wrote the tweet that’s highlighted in the previous post here.
Exactly. Sorry about the confusion.
Harumph…well then, I guess I’ll give you a pass; this time.
I’m glad though….your one of the few reasonable voices here.
Jon.,
Was the part of the Daily Beast article story, that was part of the ” whole story”? If you just google you can see it is widely sold.
………….A Christian Science Monitor report from November 16, 2009, detailed the popularity of bumper stickers that read simply, “Pray for Obama: Psalm 109:8.”…………..
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/06/10/gop-senator-david-perdue-jokes-about-praying-for-obama-s-death.html
The indignation being shown on here is really over the top. To use HIllary’s line, “What difference does it make?”
He made a not so veiled threat to a sitting President. Thats why it matters. I guess everyone wants to be on the Trump train only this moron doesnt seem to do it as well…aren’t all you Perdue voters so happy with your choice. The man is just stupid
Neither his statement, the subsequent stories nor any of the comments here are to be taken seriously. Don’t be drawn into the fake hysteria, Scott.
perhaps folks here won’t take them seriously, but folks at the F&FC take religious verse to heart, and such textual references can move hearts. so, the reference could decidedly move hearts in a divisive direction, or keep them there. nothing to just let slide or whitewash.
what the Senator should learn is that if you want to impress true Bible lovers everywhere, all you have to do so is say the Bible is the greatest book, without knowing a thing about it. Or that you are the greatest lover of the Bible, also without knowing a thing about it.
Maybe ignorance is just the key to usurping the power of the Bible.
B80, ?
He’s an “outsider” like Trump. Any publicity is good publicity.
What an arrogant a$$wipe. He’s as much of an outsider as Ronald McDonald is at a clown convention.
He is more of an outsider to people who poses half a brain. The debt he should be railing against is in his own IQ
I try to be respectful of people’s religious beliefs, whatever they may be, so I take their invocations of God and holy texts seriously. The passage from the Bible isn’t just about the expiration of an elected term:
“Let his days be few; Let another take his office. Let his children be fatherless And his wife a widow. Let his children wander about and beg; And let them seek sustenance far from their ruined homes.”
Given the nature of the organization, one would have to assume that most of the people in the room knew the gist of the verses that followed.
This is a typical fire up the base outrageous comment, made all the time by many. Yet somehow they are outraged by comments made by Trump. The GOP needs to decide ASAP, what is the line, or it will be an angry old white man party. Many more have to speak out, the GOP cannot be a party of hate.
Amen.
My first reaction to Perdue’s comment was that he made a joke and that the reaction was overblown. And while I still think that’s true, I’ve come around to thinking there’s a more important angle here than ‘Was he serious’.
Because I find myself persuaded by Ezra Klein’s argument that apart from whatever Perdue’s *intentions* were, this sort of ‘joke’ is the sort of thing that gradually wears down certain norms of politeness and heightens partisanship. Or, in other words, it was years of this sort of winking and nodding that allowed for Donald Trump to find a base that had already been cultured for him and which was willing to accept and even celebrate his outsized rudeness.
http://www.vox.com/2016/6/10/11902822/perdue-obama-psalm-days-few
I guess the movie Death of a President where they killed off W doesn’t count, huh?
The context of Psalm 109.8 is Psalm 109 (King James translation below).
Apart from a few verses concerning its narrator, it’s a full-throated curse of an evil liar. “The reader can judge the intent of Senator’s Perdue’s remarks” in context for themselves.
1 (To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David.) Hold not thy peace, O God of my praise;
2 For the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of the deceitful are opened against me: they have spoken against me with a lying tongue.
3 They compassed me about also with words of hatred; and fought against me without a cause.
4 For my love they are my adversaries: but I give myself unto prayer.
5 And they have rewarded me evil for good, and hatred for my love.
6 Set thou a wicked man over him: and let Satan stand at his right hand.
7 When he shall be judged, let him be condemned: and let his prayer become sin.
8 Let his days be few; and let another take his office.
9 Let his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow.
10 Let his children be continually vagabonds, and beg: let them seek their bread also out of their desolate places.
11 Let the extortioner catch all that he hath; and let the strangers spoil his labour.
12 Let there be none to extend mercy unto him: neither let there be any to favour his fatherless children.
13 Let his posterity be cut off; and in the generation following let their name be blotted out.
14 Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered with the LORD; and let not the sin of his mother be blotted out.
15 Let them be before the LORD continually, that he may cut off the memory of them from the earth.
16 Because that he remembered not to shew mercy, but persecuted the poor and needy man, that he might even slay the broken in heart.
17 As he loved cursing, so let it come unto him: as he delighted not in blessing, so let it be far from him.
18 As he clothed himself with cursing like as with his garment, so let it come into his bowels like water, and like oil into his bones.
19 Let it be unto him as the garment which covereth him, and for a girdle wherewith he is girded continually.
20 Let this be the reward of mine adversaries from the LORD, and of them that speak evil against my soul.
21 But do thou for me, O GOD the Lord, for thy name’s sake: because thy mercy is good, deliver thou me.
22 For I am poor and needy, and my heart is wounded within me.
23 I am gone like the shadow when it declineth: I am tossed up and down as the locust.
24 My knees are weak through fasting; and my flesh faileth of fatness.
25 I became also a reproach unto them: when they looked upon me they shaked their heads.
26 Help me, O LORD my God: O save me according to thy mercy:
27 That they may know that this is thy hand; that thou, LORD, hast done it.
28 Let them curse, but bless thou: when they arise, let them be ashamed; but let thy servant rejoice.
29 Let mine adversaries be clothed with shame, and let them cover themselves with their own confusion, as with a mantle.
30 I will greatly praise the LORD with my mouth; yea, I will praise him among the multitude.
31 For he shall stand at the right hand of the poor, to save him from those that condemn his soul.
Two threads, 50 plus comments by the bedwetters gasping indignation at comments made in jest! Lolol! Where us all of this faux indignation and examination of Hilly’s outright lies about her email scandal? Never sent classified! Lie! Not criminal! Total lie!!! Love the hypocrisy!! Shine a little light on the words of your presumed standard bearer!! Ain’t never gonna happen!
Why are you such a jackass?
I don’t think you have any idea what hypocrisy even means.
Jackass is a generous description. But I’ll answer your question; he can get away with his insulting, trollish behavior because the ‘moderators’ let him. And while some here will say that this is just what the practice of allowing free speech looks like, take a gander at the first post of this site https://www.georgiapol.com/2016/01/11/welcome-home/
“Unlike other blogs that are either banning comments or allowing free-range unmonitored comment sections that allow ideas to be strangled by the weeds of vitriol and randomness, our comments section will be heavily moderated.”
The fact is that Charlie and Co. don’t care about the constant insults and trolling that everyone can expect day in and out from this guy. Or maybe this is the new normal and he truly represents what the GOP has become…just like their presidential candidate.
there’s a line from Fiddler on the Roof when a poor Jewish villager asks the Rabbi if there’s a prayer for the Russian czar (who was persecuting the Jews…). The Rabbi responds with something like “May God bless and keep the czar far away from us.” It seems like, that if you do truly hate Obama, such a religious statement would be more tactful and appropriate.