Appearing Tuesday on the David
Pakman Show, Colorado State Representative-elect Gordon
Klingenschmitt, a Christian conservative strongly opposed to gay
rights, said that he was likely to tone down his rhetoric in his new
position as an elected representative.
Klingenschmitt, the host of the YouTube
show Pray in Jesus Name Project, was named the “demon-obsessed
anti-gay exorcist” by Right
Wing Watch for bragging “about having successfully performed an
exorcism on a lesbian soldier” and stating that “demonic spirits
are behind everything from abortion to gay marriage to ENDA to
President [Barack] Obama to Madonna.”
“Gay exorcism has been this huge
thing,” host David Pakman started. “Every website has been
writing about how you believe in exercising the gay out of people.
You once exercised the gay out of a lesbian and she cried and
accepted Jesus and she hasn't gone back ever since. Is there any way
in which gay exorcism would translate into your role as an upcoming
member of the House of Representatives?”
“No, David,” Klingenschmitt
answered, then went on to defend his right to run for public office:
“The Constitution says there is no religious litmus test for
office.”
Elsewhere on the program
Klingenschmitt, also known as “Dr. Chaps,” said that as an
elected official he would probably “tone down the rhetoric.”
“I don't have any reason to talk
about those things under the capital dome. I honestly want to build
bridges with members of the opposition party. I may not vote with
them very often but we can all be personable and friendly,” he
said. (The video is embedded on this page. Visit
our video library for more videos.)