Comedy Central's The Daily Show Pokes Fun At Jewish House Speaker's Victory In Texas

Joe Straus, Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives, faced a difficult re-election campaign last month, when some politicians suggested that the post should be held by a conservative Christian.

Straus, a Republican, is a lifelong member of Temple Beth-El, a Reform congregation just north of downtown San Antonio.

As Judson Berger reported for Fox News,

The race to lead the Texas House of Representatives has taken a religious turn, with some conservatives in the state suggesting that the speaker of the House, who is a Jewish Republican, should be replaced by a "Christian conservative."

Over the past month, in a spate of e-mails and political pitches, conservative opponents of incumbent Speaker Joe Straus have said they want him replaced not because of his Jewish religion, but because of his betrayal of Republican principles.

But several of Straus' critics have noted how important it is that a Christian be named to take his place. These discussions have been made public by a series of media reports, drawing condemnation from some corners and making others in the GOP more than a bit uncomfortable.

In one email conversation between two members of the State Republican Executive Committee, official John Cook stressed the need for a Christian to lead other Christians in the legislature.

"We elected a house with Christian, conservative values. We now want a true Christian, conservative running it," Cook said in the Nov. 30 e-mail, first published by the Texas Observer.

It didn't take long for Comedy Central's The Daily Show with Jon Stewart to see the comedic possibilities of the Texas election.  They dispatched tongue-in-cheek reporter John Oliver to get to the bottom of the story by interviewing a rabbi and a pastor.  It's not clear whether the interviewees knew whether or not the interviewer was asking serious questions or making them foils for his brand of humor, but the results are funny.

Reporting on the show in the Dallas Morning News on Friday, Wayne Slater wrote:

The contest was never really in doubt, but did spark some national attention when some marginal Straus opponents mounted a campaign for a Christian speaker. Straus is Jewish.

The Daily Show presented the whole thing as a kind of miracle on the prairie, sort of Lone Star history meets Hanukkah. Catch the interview with David Welch of the Texas Pastors Council insisting that his group isn't against having a Jew as speaker. Welch says a person's faith shouldn't disqualify them from holding office in Texas. Unless they're a Muslim. The final scene is in a classroom where school children (one wearing a cowhide prayer shawl) sing as if it were a Hebrew folk song about how the Jewish speaker won a second term.

Enjoy!

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Jewish Speaker of Texas State House
www.thedailyshow.com