Republican Jim DeMint is retiring early from the Senate so that he can make a ton of money as a lobbyist. As a result, it falls to the Governor of South Carolina to appoint his replacement. Comedian Stephen Colbert has thrown his name into the ring, but Governor Nikki Haley has rejected Colbert. Now it is our turn to throw a candidate into the race.
As it turns out, we actually have an awesome candidate. Herb Silverman is from South Carolina and he is well qualified for the office of United States Senator. Silverman is the president of the Secular Coalition for America and former congressional candidate. He is also an accomplished notary public and author of the book, Candidate Without A Prayer: An Autobiography of a Jewish Atheist in the Bible Belt.
Atheists can brag that we are a growing voter bloc. Atheists are also awesome at online activism. Well, now it is time to put up or shut up as they say. The Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science is asking atheists to e-mail South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley and tell her that we want her to appoint Herb Silverman to the open Senate Seat.
Will she do it? Probably not, but if we are able to flood her office with requests it will should that we have some political teeth. We could get some good news coverage and help spread the message that atheists not only exist, but that we are also politically active even in Bible Belt states like South Carolina.
Send the e-mail. It only takes a minute or two. You can copy and paste from the RDFRS website or you can write your own message. But please support Herb Silverman not just because he is an atheist, but because he would make an awesome Senator. If you are too lazy to send a quick e-mail to the Governor then we will never be able to beat back the religious right. They are not lazy and they have tons of money. All we have is the internet. I think it is enough, but that all depends on you.
UPDATE: There is an online poll being done by the Charleston City Paper. Herb Silverman is winning, but we need your help to keep it that way. Please vote for Herb Silverman in THIS POLL.