Politician Who Won't Say Pledge Of Allegiance May Be Recalled

Local6 ^ | Ded 15, 2004

[Tumbleweed_Connection]

A recall election is now set for an Estes Park, Colo., trustee who refuses to stand up and recite the Pledge of Allegiance during the Town Board meetings.

"I have not been standing for the Pledge of Allegiance due to a conflict I have with the wording of the pledge, specifically the words 'under God,'" Councilman David Habecker said.

Habecker said it's a violation of church and state to include the words in the pledge and for that reason, he won't stand.

The board began reciting the pledge before meetings earlier this year at the suggestion of Trustee Lori Jeffrey-Clark. She suggested it as a way to show respect for the country during wartime.

Jeffrey-Clark said Habecker is expressing his personal views, not representing townspeople, when he sits down.

Habecker, who's served on the Town Board for 12 years, said he doesn't oppose the meaning of the pledge, and considers himself a patriot.

But some other council members and residents are upset about his actions and have enough signatures to hold a recall election. That recall election will occur Tuesday, Feb. 15.

All residents will vote on whether to recall David Habecker and a choice for his replacement in the event the recall passes. The recall is expected to cost a few thousand dollars.

"I'm sad for the community, that there is that much intolerance in our community. But if the people want to have a voice in what's going on, this is their way of doing it. And I will respect whatever the wishes of the community are," Habecker said.

Estes Park, which has about 5,500 residents, is the eastern gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park about 60 miles northwest of Denver.

[wideawake]

Fire him.

[Jaysun]

"I'm sad for the community, that there is that much intolerance in our community. But if the people want to have a voice in what's going on, this is their way of doing it. And I will respect whatever the wishes of the community are," Habecker said.

Damned skippy Habecker.

[sandalwood]

I honeymooned there, and would love to retire there, but sheesh - even if you don't want to say "under God", stand up.

In fact, say the whole darn thing except "under God", cheese-eating surrender monkey!

[bassmaner]

considers himself a patriot.

For what country? Cuba? North Korea?

[camle]

I liked his line about intolerance. he's the one who is so intolerant about God that he can't bring himself to utter the name! He's the one so full of anti-Christ hate that he can't mention God.

[Political Junkie Too]

considers himself a patriot.

Fine. How about considering himself a representative of his constituents?

-PJ

[thulldud]

Habecker said it's a violation of church and state to include the words in the pledge and for that reason, he won't stand.

Too dumb to serve.

[muawiyah]

Habecker seems to be the guy who is intolerant. Maybe he needs to go somewhere else ~ just to improve things locally you know.

[KoRn]

I have to disagree. I'm not a big fan of recalls, unless the office holder did something truly and provably criminal. Politicians who piss off voters with bad decisions or acts like the one in the article should be voted out of office when their term is up, not removed by recall.

[jigsaw]

Councilman David Habecker

[Eric in the Ozarks]

Cut his head off.

[Prime Choice]

p!ng

[Ellesu]

Should a town trustee be recalled because he refuses to stand up and say the Pledge of Allegiance during Town Board meetings?
Choice Votes Percentage of 4964 Votes
Yes. 3772 76%
No. 1192 24%

[mhking]

Habecker said it's a violation of church and state to include the words in the pledge and for that reason, he won't stand.

What part of "Congress shall make no law" does this moonbat not understand? I'll be happy to explain it to him.

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

Habecker said it's a violation of church and state to include the words in the pledge and for that reason, he won't stand.

That has to be the most poorly constructed sentence I've seen this month.

How would standing to recite the Pledge violate the church? For that matter, how would it violate the state?

Did the writer mean to say that this weenie said it is the separation of church and state that would be violated? If so, Mr. Habecker must have been referring to the First Amendment of The Constitution of The United States of America. In which case, he is wrong. That's not what the First Amendment says.

Why is it that people who write for newspapers don't know how to write?

[Austin Willard Wright]

Gee whiz, this guy deserves credit for standing up for his beliefs, and at some risk. Most politicians, atheist or not, would just repeat the word under God even if they believed otherwise. Who would you rather have in office? A hypocrite?

[shekkian]

Let me guess ... Democrat.

[Lee Heggy]

"Fire him."

I think he's just fired himself. Garners enough respect and support from the community to be elected to a position of public trust and then in a fit of self-important arrogance denies that community the service he was elected to perform on the basis of refusal to acknowledge God. What a duplicitous putz. I hope they put him in retirement before he can pull some other PC crap.