From the Billings Gazette:
Conrad Burns gets snippy.
In a brief interview at the U.S. Capitol, outgoing Senator Conrad Burns appears to have gotten rather pouty. He claimed that the media mistreated him, that they were not honest with him, and that unspecified things were going on in his campaign without his knowledge. Always a showman, on his way out the door, he encouraged the reporters to read Psalm 109.
Psalm 109 is the lament of a poor righteous man who has been falsely attacked and accused. Coming from Conrad Burns, it just sounds delusional.
So what does Psalm 109 say, and how well does it fit Conrad Burns in defeat?
I'll use the New American Bible for improved readability over dear old King James.
(2-3) O God, whom I praise, do not be silent, for wicked and treacherous mouths attack me. They speak against me with lying tongues; with hateful words they surround me, attacking me without cause.
Without cause? Senator, we have a laundry list of causes. But if you're saying you don't deserve to be tarred with the Abramoff brush, well, check the record. Of course you claim innocence, but asserting that there is no reason to suspect you of wrongdoing is plain ignorance.
(4) In return for my love they slander me, even though I prayed for them.
If Burns was loving and praying for his opponents, he must have done it in private, because the tenor of his campaign ads was wholly negative. Atypical of many campaigns, he even allowed the attacks on his opponent Jon Tester to be included in his own candidate ads, not only in the "issue" ads sponsored by the NRSC.
(5-7) My enemies say of me: "Find a lying witness, an accuser to stand by his right hand, That he may be judged and found guilty, that his plea may be in vain. May his days be few; may another take his office."
Okay, you're right about that last sentence; we did say that.
Now the psalm goes on for a while, listing all the bad things his enemies have said about him. Let's skip to the end:
(21-24) But you, LORD, my God, deal kindly with me for your name's sake; in your great mercy rescue me. For I am sorely in need; my heart is pierced within me. Like a lengthening shadow I near my end, all but swept away like the locust. My knees totter from fasting; my flesh has wasted away.
*tiny violin*
(25) I have become a mockery to them; when they see me, they shake their heads.
Correct again.
Here's the closer:
(30-31) I will give fervent thanks to the LORD; before all I will praise my God. For God stands at the right hand of the poor to defend them against unjust accusers.
Senator Burns, you may claim to be righteous, but you have no place claiming to be poor. If the Almighty stands at your right hand, it is not because you are among the meek, nor the merciful, nor the peacemakers, and certainly not the poor.
(I'm a couple of days late on this one, but I just learned of this from my friend and colleague mtcousin. Thanks for the heads up.)