Maryland Needs Steely-Jesus

Michael Steele, he of the imaginary cookie attack and the too-real comparison of stem cell research to the holocaust, is once again putting a foot where a mouth should be.

Michael S. Steele exhorted religious leaders yesterday to build stronger ties between church and state and called for targeting more state money for community programs run by faith-based groups.

As usual, the Post aids and abets Steele's gaffe in two major ways by:

* Presuming the existance of ties between Church and State and

* Not having a single Democrat or challenging voice in the whole preposterous article.

But there was worse to come.

"I wanted this to be a come-to-Jesus moment," Steele (R) continued. "We have a lot of different approaches but one common goal: to do good work that touches people's lives."

The phrase "Come to Jesus" has a few secular meanings. It means, secularly, to call someone out for making a mistake and set them on the right path. That's it. And that's not how Steele is using it here.

Steele is asking the State of Maryland to Come to Jesus, literally. How do I figure? Easy. Steele doesn't have a problem with how the faith-based groups are running. He says, after all, they all have a common goal. The problem for Steele is the State of Maryland not giving money to these groups, and other faith-based or community groups who don't ask for money.

"If somebody is whining, you need to kick that brother or sister to the curb. Our modern-day story is not physical enslavement but enslavement of the mind," Steele said. "This is the story of our faith and charitable communities."

Get it, Maryland? You need to Come to Jesus. The Jesus which is government-sponsored churches.