Tebow exposes the left’s religious bigotry

Tim Tebo (Denver Broncos) A couple months ago, I had an on-air conversation with veteran liberal commentator Cokie Roberts who spent a great deal of time discussing her belief that then Republican frontrunner Mitt Romney would struggle in early Republican primary states because they are heavy laden with evangelical Christian voters. Those voters, she supposed, would struggle against their inner bigot when it came to voting for a Mormon.

Curious about this sudden liberal concern over anti-religious zealotry, I followed up her analysis with a question: “On the heels of the outrageous leftwing attacks on the Mormon church during the Proposition 8 battle in California, and given some of the recent mockery of the Mormon faith coming from left-wing commentators like Bill Maher, suppose Mitt Romney does win the nomination, Ms. Roberts. How much worse do you think the religious bigotry of the left will be in the general election?” Though she eventually acknowledged that yes, “there could be some of that,” overall she seemed dumbfounded at the question.

And why wouldn’t she be? For well over a generation, the bigot label has been reserved solely for conservatives who disagree with the prevailing societal winds as defined by the left. Liberals, meanwhile, who for years have expressed personal disdain for traditional values and those who espouse them, have proven collectively immune from such a hostile characterization. And this phenomenon extends beyond the world of politics. Just ask Tim Tebow.

Though there may be no other topic more thoroughly exhausted than the Tebow “controversy,” the left-wing frenzy surrounding this affable, genial and genuine 24-year-old football superstar is quite instructive. Though originally masked by left-wing sportswriters as professional criticism of a quarterback who lacked sufficient skills to win in the NFL, it didn’t take long before the real motivation behind the anti-Tebow strains became self-evident. When NBC Sports commentator Jelisa Castrodale observed that, “The NFL’s other backup-turned-starters don’t generate this type of negativity,” CBS analyst Randy Cross explained why: “People, especially the media, root against him because of what he stands for.” Vilifying someone simply because of their beliefs … sounds a lot like what the left has called bigotry, doesn’t it?