Congressman and failed presidential candidate Eric Swalwell has made it a point to refer to God as a woman. The Democrat joins Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, a Democrat from Kansas City, who was criticized last month for closing his prayer with “amen and a-women,” which theologians say completely misses the meaning of the word “amen.”
Swalwell, who is currently enmeshed in a controversy over a sexual relationship with a Chinese spy, made the comments during an interview on MSNBC about the recent impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump. Critics are saying his statements even broke House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s rules on gendered language.
Speaking with host Nicole Wallace about Democrats’ decision not to subpoena witnesses, Swalwell said, “The choice was, do we chase those people, not knowing what they’re going to say, to the courts for years or do we go forward with the powerful, thundering case that we have? And also knowing that Mitch McConnell was already telling us that he believed the challenge was a jurisdictional one. So we could have called God herself, and the Republicans weren’t going to be willing to convict, so we’re proud of the case we have put forward.”
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Swalwell’s role as House impeachment manager concerned some people given the allegations of a dalliance between him and a Chinese spy named Christine Fang, or Fang Fang. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Kentucky, tweeted “This afternoon we have been lectured to by Eric Swalwell, a guy accused of consorting with a Chinese spy. How appropriate!”
Cleaver blamed “orchestrated outrage” for the backlash he faced over the prayer from figures such as Franklin Graham, who claimed the prayer was “shaking a fist in the Creator’s face.”
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The House of Representatives last month struck gendered language from the 48-page text of the House rules, swapping out the words father, mother, son, daughter, brother, sister, uncle, aunt, husband and wife for the words parent, child, sibling, parent’s sibling and spouse. References to “chairman” were changed to “chair,” two references to “he or she” were exchanged for “Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner,” and a reference to “seaman” became “seafarers,” among other linguistic changes.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was then criticized by the left for breaking her own rules when she continued to refer to herself as “grandmother” in press conferences and speeches from the House floor. She was also criticized by Republicans for bypassing metal detectors herself while fining Republicans $5,000 for each instance they bypass the metal detectors.
–Alan Goforth | Metro Voice
