House Stenographer Says Holy Spirit Moved Her to Shout, 'God Will Not Be Mocked'

5:30PM EDT 10/17/2013 Gina Meeks

Dianne Reidy (center) is seen in this 2010 photo with her brothers, John Jack Foster (left) and Tom Foster. (John Jack Foster, Facebook)

A stenographer from the House of Representatives was forcibly removed from the floor Wednesday evening during the vote to end the partial government shutdown and raise the debt ceiling after an odd outburst.

Dianne Reidy, 48, made her way to the Speaker’s Chair while the vote was taking place, “ranting about God, Free Masons and the inability of the nation to serve two members,” The Washington Times reports.

“Praise be to God,” she said. “He will not be mocked, He will not be mocked. Don’t touch me. He will not be mocked.”

She was also heard saying in an audio recording: “The greatest deception here is this is not one nation under God. It never was. Had it been, it would not have been. No. It would not have been. The Constitution would not have been written by Free Masons. They go against God. You cannot serve two masters. You cannot serve two masters. Praise be to God, the Lord Jesus Christ. Praise forever.”

Reidy says the Holy Spirit made her to do it.

“For the past 2 1/2 weeks the Holy Spirit has been waking me up in the middle of the night and preparing me (through my reluctance and doubt) to deliver a message in the House Chamber,” she told Fox News’ Chad Pergram in a statement. “That is what I did last night.”

A woman tried calming Reidy as others alerted police. The presiding officer, Florida Rep. Illeana Ros-Lethinen, banged the gavel several times to restore order, but Reidy persisted. “You cannot serve two masters,” she shouted as she was removed from the floor.

Ros-Lethinen says Reidy “came up to the podium area beneath where I was standing and asked me if the microphones were on. I said that I didn't know. I assumed that perhaps I was chatting too much to the helpful parliamentarians around me. Then she suddenly faced the front and said words like, ‘Thus spoke the Lord,’ and, ‘This is not the Lord's work,’ ” according to Fox News.

“I hammered to get control and hush her up. She said something about the devil. It was sudden, confusing and heartbreaking. She is normally a gentle soul.”

Fox News says Reidy is well-liked and not the radical partisan type. The network reported the incident caused several members to express concern for her mental health.

“I think there’s a lot of sympathy, because something clearly happened there,” the Times reported Rep. Gerry Connolly saying.

Rep. Joaquin Castro added: “I’ve seen her around when I’ve been on the floor. Other members who have been here longer said she always seemed nice.”

Reidy was sent for a mental evaluation after being questioned by U.S. Capitol Police. It was not immediately clear if criminal charges would be filed.

Franklin Graham: 'Greed, Lust' at Heart of Political Chaos

Verne Strickland / Blogmaster / October 19, 2013

Graham: 'Greed, Lust' at Heart of Political Chaos

John Jessup

CBN News Washington Correspondent

Thursday, October 17, 2013

Evangelist Franklin Graham says greed, lust, and wickedness are at the heart of Washington's woes.

In an exclusive interview with CBN News, the leader of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association says America is in crisis because we've taken God out of the picture.

"Our government is in trouble; our country is in trouble," Franklin warned. "We are in moral decay; we are in economic decay."

"Our politicians don't know right from wrong," he continued. "And our politicians come to this city and they fight one another and it's the greed in their hearts, the lust that's in their hearts and they make all these rules and laws that affect the rest of us."

***For more of Franklin Graham's interview, visit Beltway Buzz.

"And the government spends and spends and spends, and they don't have the money to pay for it. But the politicians are trying to use that money to buy votes in favor for themselves. It is so greedy and so wicked and so wrong," he charged.

According to Graham, this is what happens when God is removed from government and the nation's schools.

"Isn't it interesting," he noted, "that in Washington, here we are in this crisis we find ourselves in (and) nobody is saying 'Hey, time out. Let's get on our knees and let's call on the name of Almighty God and let's ask Him for help. Let's ask Him to bring us together and find a way out of this mess we're in."

"Nobody -- the president, the Senate, the Congress -- nobody is saying, 'Let's call on the name of Almighty God.' Why? Because we've taken God out of our government. We don't want Him," Graham concluded.

Graham is promoting his father's latest book, The Reason for My Hope. He says the Christian Gospel has the power to change hearts and lives and heal the country.

The BGEA is preparing for a televised event next month that will feature a message from his father, Billy Graham.

Beltway Buzz:

Franklin Graham: Politicians Filled with Greed, Lust

Why Do Democrats Vote for GOP’s Shutdown Tricks? Ellmers (R-NC) and McInryre (D-NC) Get Prominent Mention.

Verne Strickland / Blogmaster / October 12, 2013

—By Tim Murphy | Fri Oct. 11, 2013 3:00 AM PDT

 

Zhang Jun/Xinhua

Republicans in the House of Representatives have had a consistent strategy during the government shutdown: Go small. In a rare display of unity from a fractured caucus, GOPers have passed a series of small bills that would fund agencies like the National Park Service and National Institutes of Health, while continuing to oppose any larger continuing resolution to fund the federal government. The idea was simple: Give Democrats the choice of either splitting ranks, or casting votes against popular (and emotionally resonant) programs.

"I say to Harry Reid in the Senate, bring this up for a vote!" said Rep. Renee Ellmers (R-N.C.) at a press conference touting the House's bill to fund NIH cancer clinics. "Don't take hope away from those families! Don't take hope away from those moms!"
But House Republicans have had company. Some two dozen Democrats have voted for all or most of the nine Republican continuing resolutions, joining their colleagues to support sequestration-level funding for the NIH, National Park Service, Federal Emergency Management Agency, District of Columbia, National Guard, veterans benefits, nutrition assistance, Food and Drug Administration, and Head Start.

In some cases, the reasons for doing so seem straightforward. Fifteen of those Democrats crossover votes are included in the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee's "Frontline" list of the seats it will focus on defending in 2014, and eight serve in districts carried by Mitt Romney in 2012. (Arizona Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick is the only Democrat from a red district to toe the party line completely on the continuing resolution votes.)

That's the best explanation for the votes of Reps. Cheri Bustos (Ill.), Brad Schneider (Ill.), Joe Garcia (Fla.), Scott Peters (Calif.), Kyrsten Sinema (Ariz.), Ami Bera (Calif.), Raul Ruiz (Calif.), Ron Barber (Ariz.), Patrick Murphy (Fla.), Mike McIntyre (N.C.), Jim Matheson (Utah), Suzan DelBene (Wash.), Sean Maloney (N.Y.), Pete Gallego (Texas), and John Barrow (Ga.).

And two Democratic congressmen—Reps. Bruce Braley of Iowa and Gary Peters of Michigan—represent otherwise blue districts but have entered competitive Senate races.

That leaves six Democrats—Reps. Jared Polis (Colo.), Stephen Lynch (Mass.), Bill Foster (Ill.), Dan Lipinski (Ill.), Dave Loebsack (Iowa), and John Garamendi (Calif.)—from relatively safe districts, all of which Obama carried by double digits in both 2008 and 2012, who crossed party lines to support Republicans' gimmick funding plan. So what gives?

Polis supports Democratic efforts for a clean continuing resolution, spokesman Brian Branton says, "[b]ut until that happens, he will work to make sure that our government is funded and our agencies reopen. Jared is proud to have supported a bipartisan bill that would reopen our National Parks so that the many jobs that revolve around tourism and Rocky Mountain National Park, in areas like Estes Park in Colorado, are safe."

Megan Jacobs, Foster's spokeswoman, struck a similar note, emphasizing that while Foster opposed a piecemeal approach, "he believes if we have the opportunity to get some people back to work and services back on track, we should." Garamendi, who voted for six mini-funding bills, released a statement on Thursday calling on Boehner to knock it off: "This is embarrassing for our country and makes our international partners nervous."

If public opinion is any indication, though, things are looking up for the Democratic defectors. Public opinion polls have swung wildly against Republicans since the shutdown began. And on Thursday, there were signs of growing momentum for a bipartisan plan to restart the federal government, led by Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine). Maybe House Democrats really can have it all.

• Here's Who Profits If the Government Defaults