A Kansas City Council candidate who’s written that “Religion is poison,” “If you have a religion, your brain is clearly not functioning” and “Death to Christmas” is nonetheless being embraced by area Democrat officials.
Chris Gahagan, a candidate for the council’s open 1st District seat in Clay and Platte Counties, has had several joint campaign events with state Rep. Wes Rogers, who is running unopposed for the council’s 2nd District seat. The election is June 20.
In fact, Rogers’ wife and campaign treasurer Laura Neff has donated $1,000 to Gahagan’s election effort.
This, despite Gahagan’s virulent anti-religion tweets, obtained by The Heartlander in January.
In one Twitter comment to atheist comedian Ricky Gervais, Gahagan wrote, “Most religion is comedy. At least you wouldn’t have to pay taxes.” Gahagan wrote in a subsequent tweet, “The whole of religion needs to be re-examined. At a minimum, it’s (sic) tax exempt status needs to be challenged – over and over. Let’s put the crazies on the defensive.”
Regarding opposition to COVID-19 vaccines for kids, he wrote, “If your religion tells you not to vaccinate your children, then God forgot to give you a brain.”
The brainless apparently includes officials at the World Health Organization, which last month declared that healthy children and youths up to age 17 are low priority for a COVID vaccine and might not need one.
When contacted by The Heartlander, Rogers called Gahagan “one of my best pals in the world. I’m proud to support him.”
Rogers said he’s not familiar with Gahagan’s tweets or The Heartlander’s story about them. But even after being read some of the tweets, Rogers’ support for Gahagan didn’t waver.
“I support Chris Gahagan. You can quote me on that anytime you want,” he said.
The Heartlander offered to email Rogers the story about Gahagan’s tweets, but Rogers abruptly hung up without offering his email address.
It’s not just the religious that Gahagan has contempt for. In another tweet apparently aimed at U.S. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell in 2018, Gahagan also tweeted that, “I wake up every morning hoping to read in the paper that a blood clot has broken free from one of your many chins and lodged itself in your pea brain.”
Among those listed as hosts for a Gahagan fundraiser last Sept. 7 are Rogers; state Sen. Lauren Arthur; former Mayor Sly James; Councilman Dan Fowler; and Clay County Commissioner Scott Wagner.
“Hate has no place in Kansas City,” Councilwoman Heather Hall, whom Gahagan is vying to succeed, said of his tweets in January. “The people of Kansas City deserve someone representing them who will be respectful of their religion – regardless of their religion. I don’t care what their religion is, you need to be respectful of that. And he’s basically saying, ‘I’m anti-religion, period.’ And that’s not OK.”
Though both candidates were destined to be in the June 20 election, Gahagan lost badly to his opponent Nathan Willett in the April 4 primary, with 2,472 votes to Willett’s 5,149.
In fact, Willett outpolled Rogers’ 5,038 votes, even though Rogers is unopposed.
