Congressional Reason Reception 2026

[00:00:02]Good evening everybody and welcome to the Congressional Reason reception. The one event in Washington where no one objects to being accused of being reasonable.

[00:00:12]Good evening. I'm Steven Emert, executive director of the Secular Coalition for America.

[00:00:22]Thank you all so much for being here.

[00:00:24]It's wonderful to see so many friends, partners, congressional staff, members of Congress, and advocates gathered together this evening. I especially want to thank our partners, the Freedom from Religion Foundation and the American and the American Humanist Association for helping to make this third annual event our largest ever.

[00:00:50]This reception is called the Congressional Reason reception. And I think that's fitting not because reason belongs to secular Americans alone, but because reason belongs in public service.

[00:01:05]I'd also like to take a moment to recognize all the congressional staff that are joining us tonight. So raise your hand if you are a congressional staffer.

[00:01:18]In Washington, ideas don't become policy by accident. They become policy because dedicated public servants do the hard work, often behind the scenes of researching issues, drafting legislation, and keeping our democracy functioning. Thank you for everything you do. Again, thanks so much for being here. Let's enjoy the program, have some laughs, and enjoy being a room being in a room with people that have values and ethics.

[00:01:49]And now, it is my privilege to introduce from Oregon's first district, uh, Representative Bonamichi. Uh something you need to know that uh about the congresswoman is that in her role on the education committee, she filed a resolution to impeach um education secretary McMahon. So hard to top that, right? So anyway, ladies and gentlemen, Congresswoman Marichi, >> make myself taller so I could see you.

[00:02:24]Well, just thank you so much. much. I want to acknowledge Jared Huffman, my colleague and the founder of the Free Thought Caucus. I'm a proud member of the Free Thought Caucus and so didn't want to miss this event this evening because now more than ever, more certainly more than my 14 years in Congress, now is the moment. We need free thought more than ever. I was told to be witty and entertaining. I think it's a pretty high bar when we're talking about this, but I I think what I want to do is explain why I care so much about this issue. And you know, for some of us, it has to do with our backgrounds. And everybody, you know, Bonamichi, you must be Catholic. Well, no, I'm not Catholic. My father was Catholic. My mother was the daughter of a Baptist minister. She and her brothers both rebelled against strict religion.

[00:03:14]She actually took us from an Episcopal church to a Unitarian church when the Episcopal Church wouldn't take a stand on civil rights and against the war.

[00:03:21]Then I married a Jewish man, but we got married by a member of the ethical society, which is, as you know, is a non-theistic religion. So, I have this acctic background. And then, uh, in my now 41 years of marriage, my husband is a is a lawyer. He's now a judge, but he did First Amendment work for the ACLU in Oregon.

[00:03:43]It hurt him a little bit when he got nominated for the federal bench because Senator Sessions really didn't like the ACLU. Uh but I grew up in a home both as a child and as an adult where freedom of religion and freedom from religion were really really important values. And so as a policy maker I know it makes a difference to have our values but not religious values. those don't belong in policym at all. So every year we read the Declaration of Independence on the 4th of July and all you need to do is read the Declaration of Independence to understand that our founders did not want and did not intend for this to be a religious country. And now when you look at what is happening now with this administration, with our Republican MAGA colleagues, they want this to be a white Christian nation. And it is not. And we will not let that happen with your voices here and across the country. We will stop that from happening. We want good values, but not religious values in our policy. So, I will just um close by saying I I mentioned that every year we read the Declaration of Independence.

[00:05:02]Now I have a grandbaby. And so I just got a video on the 4th of July of my daughter reading the Declaration of Independence to my four and a halfmonth-old grandbaby who was actually paying attention because we know that we want the next generation to know that this is a country where you are free to believe or in religion or free to not believe in religion. The Pacific Northwest, you know, Oregon is one of those states. I think Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont have a lower percent, but we have a pretty low percent of people who are uh involved in organized religion. So, I'm proud to be from Oregon. I'm proud to be a member of the Free Thought Caucus. I'm proud to make decisions based on good values and not in religion because this is the United States of America. So, thank you everybody for being here this evening.

[00:05:52]Enjoy the reception.

[00:06:02]I too am gonna get higher. I'm Annie Lori Gaylar. I am co-founder of the Freedom from Religion Foundation.

[00:06:10]Thank you.

[00:06:12]And Dan Barker is co co-president with me. Do you want to stand up, Dan? He's here today.

[00:06:20]and we are very pleased to co-sponsor this event with Secular Coalition for America and American Humanist Association.

[00:06:29]The Freedom from Religion Foundation is a nationwide nonprofit in two senses of the word and uh we have about 41,000 sh don't tell the president godless members and we proudly work to protect the godless constitution.

[00:06:49]And tonight I am personally celebrating two very exciting events. I'm sure you will too. The first, the introduction of the Thomas Payne memorial bill to finally place a memorial to our forgotten founder near the cap.

[00:07:12]So, thank you, Representative Rascin, who embodies Thomas Payne and other co-sponsors. And the second thing I am very excited about personally is the publication on August 18th of an amazing book by Representative Jared Huffman, No Profits: The Fight to Save Democracy from Christian Nationalism.

[00:07:42]The reason reception's purpose is really to counter the national day of prayer and the national prayer breakfast. And these are the antithesis of a good time.

[00:07:52]Their guests get water and piety. Ours get a cash bar and marry Trump.

[00:08:00]So please enjoy yourself tonight.

[00:08:11]Hey there folks. My name is Fish Stark.

[00:08:13]I am proud to be the executive director of the American Humanist Association.

[00:08:20]This is the fulfillment of a lifelong dream for me. I was an argumentative kid who hoped that I would one day grow up to lead the American Association of People who agree with me.

[00:08:31]I I just got married a few weeks ago.

[00:08:33]You know what they call it when an a a Unitarian humanist marries a secular Jew? An interfaithless marriage.

[00:08:42]So since 250 years ago when Thomas Payne said the world is my country and to do good is my religion and said we have it in our power to begin the world again.

[00:08:52]Humanists from Frederick Douglas to Gloria Steinum to James Baldwin to Christristen Bell have fought for an America that is freer, fairer, and flourishing. Because we believe science tells us what's real, compassion tells us what's right, human dignity is the highest good, and people working together is the only thing that can make miracles happen.

[00:09:17]The AHA is proud to be the voice of the humanist community. We build positive identity and community around the country for people of no religion. And we mobilize our folks to advocate in Congress and the courts for the freedom of conscience, for human dignity, and against Christian nationalism.

[00:09:36]When we started the Thomas Payne breakfast four years ago, this is exactly the kind of event that we hoped it would become, a monument to the fight against religious oppression and for the founding American ideal of freedom of religion. We're proud to see this event and the Free Thought Caucus grow exponentially, which we think is a testament to the work so many people in this room, from members of Congress like Congressman Raskin and Huffman to the activists who have been working on this for decades have done and the fact that ordinary Americans are tired of the sanctimonious paternalism of the religious right and the misuse of our tax dollars and institutions to promote radical religion. So, it's exciting to see this growing movement and thank you all for being a part of it.

[00:10:25]We have got a great lineup for you all tonight featuring remarks from Congressman Huffman, Congressman Rascin, and of course, our amazing keynote speaker, Mary Trump. Our first presenter is the co-chair of the Congressional Free Thought Whong.

[00:10:40]>> All right, we're calling an audible. Um, our next presenter is the Congressman Sean Castm from Illinois. Thank you so much for being here, Congressman.

[00:10:53]Uh, thank you for letting me pinch hit ahead of our cleanup man here. Uh, at least our power hitter in the three spot. Um, the So, I can't thank you all enough for for what you have done to make it possible for for people like us to be our out and proud true selves. Um, and I say that, you know, Jared often jokes that we have the Free Thought Caucus has more closeted members than the Equality Caucus.

[00:11:20]Um, and one of one of those members who I who will remain I will continue to trust his decision um said to me when I first came into Congress eight years ago that religion is what politicians talk about when they don't want to talk about ethics.

[00:11:36]And and there is a deep truth there. And I've and I think the inverse of that is equally true that if you talk about ethics, people think you're talking about their religion.

[00:11:47]And and I think there's a power there.

[00:11:50]There's an ability there. And you know what I what I think you challenge us to do and we have to challenge ourselves to do is to speak about ethics and morality in a way that doesn't fall back on those religious texts. It is really easy to quote the you know I I you know quote from Jefferson's Bible with the crazy parts cut out um and you know and and you know read about that crazy socialism that is innate in the sermon on the mount right um which is an ethical concept that's shared by every major religion and if we use those beats we can attract people who say okay you're probably talking about my religion but I think there's something much bigger about finding ways to talk about that in a way that appeals to every sector.

[00:12:37]Because we're here telling a story that we hold these truths to be self-evident, that we're all created equal, that we're all equally entitled to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, regardless of who we worship, whether in the spirit or in the flesh, right?

[00:12:53]regardless of the color of our skin, regardless of everything else about us, because that's that is the truly radical idea at the heart of what it means to be an American. And I can't think of any higher ethical standard than that promise. And what Jared has done, what Jaime has done to create a place for us to to elevate that conversation and what you all have done, um it doesn't just make Congress better, it makes America better. So, thank you.

[00:13:29]All right.

[00:13:31]>> Well, thank you Sean and Suzanne. I'm so proud to be here with my colleagues.

[00:13:36]You're going to hear from the great Jamie Rasin here in just a moment. Um, but I want you to know how refreshing it is to be with all of you here at the third annual congressional reason reception. This was a conception of my friend Jamie Raskin. We wanted to come up with a counterwe to the congressional prayer breakfast and instead of a breakfast, we do it in the evening. And ours, it's a little bit of a boozy county weight. I counterweight. I I like it. I like what we've done, Jamie. Um, and I want to thank our fantastic three hosts. Here you see them, the Humanists, the FFRF, and the Secular Coalition.

[00:14:14]Now, there is a trinity.

[00:14:21]that that actually makes some sense and is very very real. Uh we appreciate you folks uh very much and to be in a room with folks who um understand that when you say the words church state separation, it's not controversial. It's like basic core American constitutionalism. But uh we have certainly been testing that proposition in recent years and u in the past year I think you all know that the Trump administration has delivered a deluge of terrible ideas to try to chip away at this separation between church and state. Secretary Pete Hegth, he's the secretary of defense, not the secretary of war like like he likes to pretend. Um but has been really doing an awful lot of damage. He has these monthly sectarian Christian church services now in the Pentagon's main auditorium during work hours. They're voluntary, right?

[00:15:21]But everybody kind of has to show up.

[00:15:23]And he has these radical preachers come in and deliver sermons, including people who want to repeal the 19th amendment.

[00:15:31]So, uh, that's a bit of a problem for church state separation. Meanwhile, your tax dollars uh and some of our folks in public agencies have been partnering with Prageru uh to send these freedom trucks all over the country rewriting American history, lying about George Washington claiming that he said our rights come from God.

[00:15:53]He never said that. Uh even lying and saying that Muhammad Ali on his deathbed renounced Islam, which is a totally false slur. Uh but that's what's going on these days. And uh of course Donald Trump held a state funded, state sanctioned uh prayer festival on the National Mall and then decided not to even show up for it. Um of course we've got uh Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick and his friends on the Sham Religious Liberty Commission. They've just issued a 22 fa 2 224 page uh report that just says the quiet part right out loud. Let's just be done with church state separation. Let's push more subsidies into churches and let's have a lot more public religious ceremonies. Uh that's what you're getting from this sham religious liberty commission. So um it is always interesting to hear these folks talk about religious liberty. They use the term all the time, but what they really mean is just impunity for themselves and special privileges for themselves and people who protect who believe in their particular kind of religion. And it leaves very little room for the rest of us and it leaves no room for freedom. So our constitution promises something a lot better than that. It protects all of our rights to believe whatever the hell we want and to worship however we want or not. Uh it provides a government that is neutral on matters of faith that doesn't pick winners and losers. And I know that in the face of all of this it can seem a little bit discouraging those of us that are defending church state separation.

[00:17:38]But I think what's really great about this event is that I don't sense any discouragement or dismay or surrender in this group. If church state separation is, as Jefferson said, a wall of separation, everyone in this room is a defender of that wall. And we are not going to let it fall. And we're also not in that fight alone. Our Congressional Free Thought Caucus keeps growing. We're up to 37 members now.

[00:18:16]And that's kind of a cool milestone because it makes us bigger than the Republicans Freedom Caucus.

[00:18:23]>> The uh the main difference of course is that we're actually for freedom.

[00:18:30]U so uh everyday members of our free thought caucus are working to ensure Americans remain free to believe what they want, practice whatever faith they choose or none without the government putting a thumb on the scale. It is not radical. It is just the Constitution.

[00:18:48]And we'll continue to defend these freedoms and hold this administration accountable every time it dreams up another scam to try to force Americans to live by their fringe worldviews and narrow ideological agenda. We're going to keep growing this freedom coalition.

[00:19:05]And again, we are not doing it alone. We really appreciate all of you folks outside of Congress who are such essential partners and allies in this fight and we're really proud of this part of the agenda that we're getting to now where we get to uh recognize some of the real champions in this space. So I am honored to present the first award of the evening. It is the age of reason award. Uh, this is named after Thomas Payne. And you know, I I can't say too much about Thomas Payne because like the world's authority on Thomas Payne is sitting in the front row right here. Uh, but I think you all know that Thomas Payne championed free thought, equality, and individual rights of conscience. So, I'm super proud to present this award to someone who has been um very much in the tradition of Thomas Payne. And remember that when Thomas Payne wrote the age of reason, I am going to talk a little about Thomas Payne. U it's interesting because he paid a price for writing a book that took on headon uh what he considered the fallacies in revealed religion including things in the Bible that he found to be facious, inconsistent, hypocritical, etc. Now his book was a bestseller in the United States but he wrote it while he was in France. He was so full of revolutionary zeal that after our revolution, he took himself over to France to try to urge the the French revolutionaries to be sure to create a republic that would be secular, that would not be any in any way steeped in religion. And this book was sort of his attempt to make that case to the French people and to the world. And you can imagine how it went over for the American clergy. the best-selling book that's totally taken on the Bible. Uh, and they uh did their very best to make him pay a price. They smeared him. They buried his legacy. And it is why Thomas Payne is today our forgotten founder. So Thomas Payne paid a huge price for speaking truth. And it is my great honor to recognize someone who likewise has just dared to speak the truth on this subject that is a little bit taboo still. It shouldn't be, but it's still a little bit taboo. This Christian nationalism that is such a threat to our democracy and our freedoms. Uh Katherine Stewart is a best-selling author and an investigative journalist who has written books on this subject and has become intertwined uh a subject that's become intertwined with right-wing political ideology. She's just such a champion of constitutional principles. Her work is foundational, I think, to anyone who wants to understand uh this scourge and how we got to this point in our history. She is a powerful voice in the ongoing discussion about religious freedom in America. And I will just say that she has personally helped educate me and other members of the Free Thought Caucus. Her book, The Power Worshippers, back in I think 2019 or 20 when it came out, was way ahead uh of its time in many ways. She was sounding the alarm about something that a lot of other people really wouldn't begin to think about and talk about until after the January 6th insurrection when it just became painfully obvious to anyone who was paying attention that these Christian nationalists were dangerous.

[00:22:33]But Katherine Stewart was warning us about it a couple of years even before that. Um, she is a fantastic freethinker and I I'm so pleased to recognize her for her courage and continuing to shine a light where others would prefer to keep us in the dark. She can't be with us unfortunately in person, but I believe she is joining us virtually. Is that right? Right now, >> we have video.

[00:22:59]>> We have a video. It's not live though.

[00:23:01]Okay. But let's go to that right now and you'll get to hear from Katherine Stewart. So, congratulations. This I will give to her.

[00:23:12]Jamie and I signed these nice resolutions for our awardees tonight.

[00:23:16]So, we'll get this to Katherine when we see her.

[00:23:28]I am deeply grateful to accept an award which I gather is named in honor of a book by one of my favorite authors, Thomas Payne. There's something Payne said that I've always thought speaks directly to me. He wrote, "I offer nothing more than simple facts, plain arguments, and common sense." As an investigative reporter, I can tell you that the movement to destroy American democracy is marked by its elaborate twisting of the facts, its convoluted arguments, and its rejection of common sense in pursuit of authoritarian rule.

[00:24:02]Several months from now, at the annual National Prayer Breakfast, many organizers and attendees will claim, as they frequently do, that America's founded on sectarian faith and should be ruled by zealots who supposedly have a hotline to God. Pay was worried about what he called the royal brute of Great Britain. But many of these people swear their feelalty to a man who makes King George III look like a model of sanity and virtue. They should read pain. He said, "In America, the law is king." I don't need to tell you that 250 years after Payne helped launch the American Revolution, our democracy is in crisis.

[00:24:41]This is no time for the summer soldier and the sunshine patriot. This is time to fight like hell for our country and for our founding ideals of equality, pluralism, reason, justice, and rule of law.

[00:24:55]I'm just now overseas where the Trump administration and family are making side deals to enrich themselves at our nation's expense. They're funneling US taxpayer money to groups that share their authoritarian agenda. They're emboldening with actions as well as with their example, autocrats and kleptocrats around the world. So, I can say for sure that Payne was right when he wrote, "The cause of America is in great measure the cause of all mankind."

[00:25:23]I'd like to apologize that I can't be with you in person today, but I am so enormously grateful to you for organizing this event and for drawing attention to my work through this award.

[00:25:34]Thank you so much.

[00:25:43]>> We're now going to hear from Congressman Cohen of Tennessee.

[00:25:55]Thank you very much. Um, really all credit goes to Mr. Huffman, Mr. Raskin, who's been the carrier of the Thomas Payne message forever. That's his favorite, and he of course named his son for him, and that's a great honor to Thomas Payne. It shows your respect.

[00:26:12]I've had the u honor of serving in Congress now for 20 years. Before that, I was a state senator for 24 and a county commissioner as well and some other offices. Um, I was gerrymandered this year, which makes me a lame duck.

[00:26:31]I've always been pretty much without a filter, but being a lame duck unfilters you completely.

[00:26:38]One of the things that religion that being in the legislature and the political process has taught me is things about religion.

[00:26:45]My father when we watched uh Miss America contest in the 50s and 60s always said that the first contestant that came up and mentioned the word God would win and he was always right.

[00:26:57]So they use God for all kind of ways to get ribbons and pageantss and crowns and the White House. Uh Trump has learned that to say God or gun uh gets you votes. And as I said in committee today, he is totally irreligious and doesn't have any idea of Matthew. Being in legislatores and congresses has taught me a lot about religion because so many people use it. And that's where I learned about cor one Corinthians I guess is what he said. Two two Corinthians, right? Um and he doesn't have any idea about Matthew. You learn about Matthew and the the the the naked and the un unhealthy, the sick and the hungry and all that. And Trump knows nothing about it. He is so obviously a religion. He really should be here with us. The other the other heathens, but he uses God to get votes, which is a corruption of God. And all about Christian nationalism is a corruption of Christian. Jesus was the greatest Jew of all time.

[00:28:05]And if you listen to what Jesus said and was written about him, he was just a a wonderful human being. He was great. But he's been corrupted. And people have used him to do wars, to defend people who should not be defended, and to put people in political office where they do unkind things and uncchristian things.

[00:28:24]I'm pleased to be here with all of you free thought people. Thank you, Mr. H.

[00:28:29]Huffman, for getting this started. It's a wonderful thing. And uh I wanted to say God bless America, but thank you. And it is now my great pleasure to introduce the ranking uh member of the House Judiciary, the author of a wonderful book, Unthinkable, the champion of democracy, the co-chair of the Congressional Free Thought Caucus, and you know who I mean, Representative Jamie Rascin.

[00:29:22]Hello everybody.

[00:29:24]Um, you know, uh, the reason Donald Trump couldn't be a member of the Free Thought Caucus is because the Free Thought Caucus is the real Freedom Caucus.

[00:29:34]That's that's who we are. Um, and uh, you know, this is very moving because I remember when Jared and I first started talking about doing this on the House floor, and we don't serve on committees together. And I remember, uh, finally getting uh, to meet him, and he had um, made his big public pronouncement about where he's at. and uh I made my big public pronouncement about being um an absolute champion of the separation of church and state um and of the constitution. And so we were immediately drawn to each other. But I I started in honor of his uh coming out party uh I decided to tell him some jokes and so I told him my favorite joke which I'll share with you which I shared with him on the floor which is um uh St. Peter is in heaven and he's walking down the hallway and he passes God's office and he peaks his head into God's office and God is sitting there with his head in his hands like this and St. Peter says, "God, what's wrong? You seem really upset." And God says, "I am really upset. I'm in love with an atheist and she doesn't even know I exist." Um so uh the uh I remember also telling me the other one, you know, when I was in Annapapolis, there was a a move by um the Republicans to uh to try to ban all abortion in all cases. And so um some of the legislators were sort of being harassed out on the street by people.

[00:31:04]Um, and I I walked by and um uh the you know, one of them gave me a flyer and I happily took it and she said, "I'll pray for you." And I said, "Well, thank you very much. I'll think for you." Um um so um but when Jared and I first started talking about it, I you know, I wanted to call this the Tom Payne caucus, of course, because of course, you know, I'm obsessed with Tom Payne. Um, and Jared advanced the perfectly reasonable notion that Tom Payne was too controversial still more than two centuries later because uh he wrote the age of reason and he wrote the rights of man and he said that if you want to have the rights of man you need an age of reason. You've got to be in the age of reason. And so uh we stand up for freedom of thought and conscience. the ideals that emerge from uh from the declaration and from the Constitution of the United States.

[00:32:11]And you know uh President Trump appointed his religious liberty commission and uh they came back and they did a big press conference um where the the head of it I think it's Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick from Texas uh announced the discovery. He said the words seep separation of church and state don't appear in the constitution. Um and uh immediately I said aloud uh to whoever was around me.

[00:32:42]I said you know what else is not in the constitution? What words don't appear?

[00:32:46]Christian white nationalism. That's not in the constitution either. But you know what is in the constitution is uh congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion the establishment clause or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. Um and also that there shall be no religious tests ever imposed for public office. So when Thomas Jefferson wrote to the Danbury Baptists and said there was a wall of separation in the Constitution, he meant it and it was based on the actual structure and content of the Constitution unlike all of the nonsense that their uh religious commission is trying to impose on the republic today.

[00:33:32]But you know uh we're dealing with it all of the time. I was on the floor one day when a member got up and he said, "The moral downfall of America was in 1962 in Angel versus Vitali when the Supreme Court banned prayer in the public schools." And I happened to be there. So I got up to correct him. I said, "You know, the Supreme Court never banned prayer in the public schools. As long as there are pop math quizzes, there will be prayer in the public schools. Anybody can pray whenever he or she wants to. Come to think of it, as long as Donald Trump is president, there will be prayer in the public schools um as well. But we deal with it all the time. You guys saw that Texas and Louisiana voted to endorse the Ten Commandments, post the Ten Commandments.

[00:34:18]I knew it would happen. Our mega colleague show up on Monday. They say, "We need to endorse the Ten Commandments. We need to post the Ten Commandments everywhere." I think I was even maybe talking to Marjorie Taylor Green and I said, you know, Marjorie, um, uh, the the Ten Commandments have been doing fine for millennia without an endorsement by the US House of Representatives in the free caucus. One guy actually said to me, and he he sort of confused me for a moment there. He said, "You know that the Ten Commandments are the basis for the Bill of Rights, don't you?" And I said, "Well, I I know there's 10 in each one.

[00:34:51]That's true. Uh, but but let's test the proposition. The first commandment says that thou shalt have no other god before me. The first amendment says congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion. It's hard to see how the first amendment dictates the first amendment. We went up to the rules committee. Uh they were arguing there should be an up or down vote on the ten commandments on the house floor. And I was not going to allow them to get away with that uh omnibus Republican proposal. I said, "If we're going to vote on the Ten Commandments, we should have to vote on each commandment separately." Okay? And you shouldn't be allowed to vote for any commandment you yourself have ever violated because then we'll be taking the name of the Lord in vain in violation of I think it's the third commandment. So anyway, you see what we're doing up here in Congress is culture war all the time. They're not trying to figure out a way to actually do public goods as Tom Payne would have us do. like get health care to all American citizens. How about that?

[00:36:02]So um the establishment clause, the free exercise clause, the freedom of speech clause, they give us a model for how to think about public life and how to oppose people who would try to advance mythologies and superstitions and prejudices uh instead of rational thought. Um, and we're getting a lot of that, uh, today, not just about religion. Um, but you know, we got the vice president of the United States, uh, who actually is arguing that people who descend from those who fought in the Civil War have a more privileged place as citizens than people whose families immigrated to the country after the Civil War. Well, that's just deranged and uh, and irrational. And by the way, I noticed that he doesn't say uh which side of the civil war your ancestors had to be fighting on. In other words, you could be descended from people who are traitors and secessionists from the country. And you should be privileged above people whose families uh immigrated in the 20th century. And that can't be right. People who are descended from Confederates have every equal right under the equal protection clause and every freedom of speech as everybody else. But not more than anybody else.

[00:37:17]Not more. So we've got to oppose all manner of fanaticism and prejudice and superstition because all of them are resurgent today. Anti-semitism uh anti- Islamic you know that they they came up they had a meeting then they had called a hearing in the judiciary committee.

[00:37:35]They want to pass a um uh a an anti-sharia law and I said guys I can save you the next five hours of everybody's life. We've already got an anti-sharia law. It's called the First Amendment and it's against the imposition of every religious dogma and orthodoxy by the government. You don't need a special law.

[00:37:59]Well, anyway, I I'll leave you I get to present this award, but I did want to to quote my friend Tom Payne um because we are in a time uh not entirely dissimilar from his time uh when there was a struggle between democracy and autocracy and authoritarian authoritarianism and the theocrats and the bureaucrats and the kleptocrats and so on. And um Payne said, you know, he got here in 1774. He fell in love with the promise of America. He said, if we live up to our values and ideals, this will become, he said, an asylum to humanity, not an insane asylum, my dear, but a place of refuge for people seeking freedom from religious and intellectual and political persecution. He wrote Common Sense, which ignited the American Revolution, which is why we are going to pass that legislation, and we're going to guarantee that we put up a Tom Payne statue in Washington DC. Um, but in 1776, you know, he wrote, we're on the 250th anniversary, Common Sense.

[00:39:00]He wrote it in January, but he wrote another great pamphlet in December. It was a tough time. The country was split down the middle. Uh we like to think everybody was on the same side against the monarchy and the union of church and state and so on, but it wasn't like that. Half the people running around saying, "You can't beat the greatest empire that ever existed. You can't overthrow the theocrats and the the monarchs and so on." And Payne wanted to write a pamphlet that would give people some hope and some courage to stay with it, to stick with it. And he wrote the American Crisis. And I'm just going to quote this little passage for you. Um, and I'm going to update the language pursuant to strict instructions from our friend Nancy Pelosi who said that Payne was a feminist and he wouldn't mind and that he was. He was fighting for women's right to vote in the 18th century. But he said, "These are the times that try men and women's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will shrink at this moment from the service of their cause and their country. But everyone that stands with us now will win the love and the favor and the affection of every man and every woman for all time. Tyranny like hell is not easily conquered. But we have this saving consolation. The more difficult the struggle, the more glorious in the end will be our victory. And we're going to make that victory ours under the leadership of Jared Huffman, whose uh new book is going to be a sensation.

[00:40:21]Everybody go out and buy that book and read that book. Meanwhile, um I get to say a few words about Allison Gil, who is the winner of the Common Sense Award.

[00:40:31]Um, uh, Allison has been on the front lines of the fight for a government based on reason and law and not theocracy. In dictatorship, she has used the law to defend the separation of state and church and to protect the rights of all Americans of all faiths and beliefs.

[00:40:53]from challenging religious coercion in public institutions when she was the general council of American atheists to going up against some of Trump's worst of the worst judicial nominees at the National Women's Law Center where she now works. She has been a fearless, passionate, and skilled advocate for reason in our law and our public policy.

[00:41:13]That's why the Congressional Free Thought Caucus, 37 members strong in 2026, is proud to present her with the 2026 Common Sense Award in the spirit of Tom Payne. Come on up, Allison. We proudly present this award to you in recognition of your stalwart defense of constitutional principles and values and your unending commitment to protecting the rights of all Americans.

[00:41:46]Signed by Jared Huffman and yours truly, your humble servant, Jamie Rask. There we go.

[00:41:51]>> There we go.

[00:41:54]>> Thank you, Al.

[00:42:16]So I have to say this is a wonderful homecoming for me. I appreciate you giving me this award. Although even so though some of you might feel I sort of betrayed the secular movement by leaving it but but I don't see it that way. um while working at American Atheists as part of this powerful movement uh it would always point to where we are with the courts these days and how that impacts secular issues and we're in a place where the Supreme Court has basically written the establishment clause the basis of so many of our freedoms of our democracy out of the constitution and I would always say if we really actually want to make real change here and make significant gains legally then we as advocates should all drop what we're doing in terms of secular advocacy and go work on court reform full-time. U and so it's exactly what I did.

[00:43:04]I think that just goes to show the importance of this work, though. We need courts that are fair, unbiased, that will uphold the Constitution and enforce our rights and protect our democracy, not ignore it to salute their political or Christian nationalist agenda. And the Congressional Free Thought Caucus plays an especially important role in showing the harms caused by this Christian nationalist agenda and pushing back against it. And so I truly want to thank you all for this award and I hope that together we will keep making uh progress to reform the courts and restore our democracy. Thank you.

[00:43:52]Congratulations, Alice. Welld deserved.

[00:43:58]When I think about the the origins of the reason reception, obviously it begins with the free thought caucus and Thomas Payne and this trinity is so thrilled to be a part of it. Yes, I'm using that. Thank you.

[00:44:11]Um it's my privilege tonight to uh introduce our keynote speaker. Um I had the opportunity this uh today to uh spend with her and a number of us visiting offices of a number of members of Congress and it was truly a privilege and an honor because she's amazing. Um you may have heard of her, Mary Trump.

[00:44:30]Um yeah, thank you. Thank you.

[00:44:35]She's a clinical psychologist who taught graduate courses in trauma, psychopathology, and developmental psychology. She's the author of the number one bestseller, Too Much and Never Enough, uh, How My Family Created the World's Most Dangerous Man, followed by The Reckoning and her memoir, Who Could Ever Love You?

[00:44:54]She also hosts the Mary Trump show, reaching millions who turn to her for insight into this political moment and moreover for her kindness and compassion. It is our honor to welcome our keynote speaker, Mary L. Trump.

[00:45:28]You are so very kind and I am so honored to be here. Um, I'm so happy that uh you mentioned two Corinthians. Donald has a joke about that.

[00:45:42]Two Corinthians walk into a bar.

[00:45:45]It's the end of the joke because he hasn't read it. Uh he has not read the Bible or the Constitution.

[00:45:52]Uh and all due respect, he could not be a member. Not because he isn't irreligious. He is, but because he has no reason whatsoever.

[00:46:06]All right, got that out of the way.

[00:46:09]Um, way back in 2008 during the Democratic presidential primary uh debates between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, one of the moderators asked them to share their favorite Bible verse. And that question made my heart sink.

[00:46:28]When Clinton and Obama both had Bible verses ready to go, um, my heart sank even further because it felt complicit honestly, uh, on the one hand and on the other hand, it felt like a real missed opportunity.

[00:46:44]So, I had this fantasy of how I wanted them, both of them, to respond. What's my favorite Bible verse? Well, if I have one, how is that at all relevant to my ability to be the leader of this country?

[00:47:02]I would love, however, to talk to you about my favorite constitutional amendment.

[00:47:15]Um, the cynicism of the misuse of religion to manipulate people for personal gain has always been something that's offended me. Even though, and I'm kind of ashamed to admit this, I'm not sure why. I'm going to have to think about it. But I was very religious as a kid, even though that did not come from my family, uh, for obvious reasons. Um but what offended me was the kind of religion certain people in my family subscribe to. Um my grandfather in particular was an adherent of Norman Vincent Peele and his protosperity gospel and uh the power of positive thinking was this toxic strain that uh with which my childhood was shot through. I mean, it it basically validated every cruel, corrupt, and selfish thing my grandfather ever did.

[00:48:12]Um, and here's the thing. If you believe you're great, as my grandfather believed he was, and as somebody else we're quite familiar with, believes he is, you never have to be good. Um, if you believe thanks to predestination that you're saved, you don't have to do good.

[00:48:34]People put it so putting people in power who believe in their own exceptionalism always will lead us down a very dark path. Um, oppression, religious or otherwise, is anathema to democracy. And yet rampid racism, misogyny, and religious bigotry are all woven into the fabric of this country. And you can argue that the first uh that the last two are caused by sorry, the last one, the religious bigotry causes the other two. Um so we've been um on a very dark path for a very long time.

[00:49:19]So we need to do a better job I think of explaining to people why allowing religion and government to become intertwined is fatal to the American experiment on the one hand and detrimental to the pursuit of our freedoms on the other. This might surprise you um but I was never a particularly political person. I mean I you know I stayed informed maybe better more so than most people. I always voted. It was very important to me, but politics was not really my thing. And quite frankly, I I don't think it it still is either now. Um, but then something really weird happened in 2016 and suddenly politics felt very very personal to me. Um, and I want to get to why we should all take politics personally in a minute, but because we live in a a unique time that I often refer to as the horrors.

[00:50:23]Um, but I think to avoid the kind of cynicism and despair and disengagement we often feel because we are being constantly bombarded by the horrors and the unreason.

[00:50:38]We need to remember that it is often in human history because humans are to some degree damaged during the darkest times that we can make the most progress.

[00:50:54]So part of positioning ourselves to seize these opportunities means making an honest assessment not only of what we're facing and where we are, but how we got here. because this very fraud dangerous moment has been centuries in the making. So we need to look at this year and the next cycle in particular as opportunities to play everywhere and speak to everyone.

[00:51:26]Um and part of that is putting forward candidates of either party.

[00:51:33]Um, and you'll see why that's funny in a second. Who who understand what's at stake, who are willing to meet the moment, who understand what civil service is.

[00:51:47]See, that's the funny part. um and who when they get power are going to use it to make the kind of massive fundamental change we need in this country so we never go through this again and we never put as many people in harm as we have NOW um I don't know if you all have seen the movie spotlight. I've seen it more times than I'm willing to admit because it's embarrassing. Um, but the reason I'm I'm bringing it up because there's a crucial scene towards the end of that movie in which Marty Baron, the editor and chief of the Boston Globe, is talking to the spotlight team. That's the team who was doing the investigation into the Catholic Church and the pedophile scandal. Um, so Baron is making the argument because the reporters, you know, they had their sources, they were ready to go, they wanted to publish.

[00:52:50]Baron makes the argument that it isn't enough to go after the priest. They have to go after the system. And that's what we need to do because so much of what we're fighting against has become entrenched in this very broken system of ours. I mean, if if Donald and the Republicans have done us any favors at all, it is to expose the extent to which the system is broken. Um so we need to go after the system even as we understand there are a lot of individual issues that need to be addressed but there's a larger overarching picture and if we can paint it for people they're going to understand that what we're dealing with isn't really about politics at all. And this brings me back to the personal. Um my wife and I were in Madison County, Ohio in uh November.

[00:53:49]She's from Madison County. She grew up on a farm. It's a very rural, very red district. Her sister's a member of the Madison County Dems, to which Rhonda said, "There is such a thing." Um, and they asked if I'd be interested in speaking. Absolutely. We went to meet with the people on the ground in the trenches doing the work, having the conversations I can have with Republican voters in a rural county like Madison County. We went to thank them. We went to energize them. We went to motivate them and it was incredible. Uh, and one woman stood up during the Q&A and said, "I have to go meet with my family.

[00:54:28]They're all MAGA.

[00:54:30]Should I continue to have relationships with them?" And I said, "I cannot answer that question. I wouldn't I was lucky.

[00:54:36]It was so easy for me uh to make that call." But um well, you you see why.

[00:54:46]Um but what you can do is this and I think this is what we all need to do.

[00:54:51]Ask questions.

[00:54:54]Ask questions.

[00:54:57]Who are we now? Is this who we want to be? If not, who do we want to be? And how do we become that? And then ask a series of questions that begin this way.

[00:55:10]Is it okay with you? And this could apply to so many things. Is it okay with you that a government agency is murdering American citizens in American cities?

[00:55:24]Is it okay with you that religious zealots are inserting themselves into our politics, banning books, and dictating what we teach our children?

[00:55:36]Is it okay with you that so-called religious leaders fly around in private planes and live in mansions while utterly ignoring the teachings of the person they claim to follow? And if we ask questions, we give people agency. We make them responsible for their answers.

[00:56:00]And I think it's also important to remember that a lot of the people we need to start having these conversations with and start asking these questions to have been lied to for years.

[00:56:14]We have the benefit, those of us in this room, of reason, of perspective.

[00:56:21]A lot of people who have chosen made the choices they've made and voted the way they voted don't have those luxuries.

[00:56:30]So, and I mean this in the uh secular definition of this word, we from the benefit of where we stand need to extend these people grace because that way I truly truly believe we can make common cause with people who in the grand scheme of things have suffered as much from their choices as others have. And I think that's the way forward.

[00:57:06]So, thank you again. This is such an honor. I am thrilled beyond my ability to tell it that this uh group exists. We need more of this.

[00:57:20]Um, I hope that we get to the point where not just every every Democratic member of Congress, but every member of Congress joins this group because yes, because it is vitally important to the future of our democracy that we start to get as many people as possible to understand that it is in ethical behavior, that it is in reasoned analysis, and it is in open-mindedness that we will find the best view uh version of ourselves. So, thank you so very Oh my goodness. Okay.

[00:58:35]Now, um, you're probably going to want to give another standing ovation because I have the great honor of presenting this year's uncommon sense award. Is that an honor? I'm not so sure it's an honor.

[00:58:49]But what's really cool is that uh it was a tie like for of 40 million people tied to win this award. But we had to make a choice.

[00:59:00]And this year's recipient, it's a shame that he couldn't be here.

[00:59:06]No, no, it's not. Um, this year's Uncommon Nonsense Award goes to America's most outstanding Christian nationalist, which by the way is not the guy who wrote Project 2025 because he won't admit to it apparently.

[00:59:24]No, it's the guy who actually will admit to being a white uh Christian nationalist. Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick Hooray.

[00:59:33]Um, you you may not know him as well as some of the people who spoke tonight, and he quite frankly does not deserve to be in their company. So, I want to introduce you uh to him a little bit. Before politics, he was a Houston sports radio host who once painted himself blue for a football game. Uh, don't do that. It's dangerous. It clogs your pores.

[00:59:57]I'm assuming nobody told him that. Um, then he found Jesus.

[01:00:04]Why? Well, it was polling well.

[01:00:07]And today he runs the Texas Senate, chairs Donald's Religious Liberty Commission, and describes himself in this order as a Christian first, a conservative second, and a Republican third.

[01:00:21]American didn't make the list.

[01:00:25]Uh then because I guess he still has too much time on his hands. Uh it's kind of like Marco Rubio who has seven full-time jobs. Secretary of State is not one of them. Uh Dan landed a gig running um Donald's Religious Liberty Commission, which is a joke. Uh, and this defends the sacred American freedom to worship whichever god Donald is currently pretending to be.

[01:00:54]Whoever wrote this, thank you. This is great. I am not also does it. This is not genetic. I will not take credit for something I didn't do.

[01:01:05]um in his role as chair of the religious liberty commission which held hearings in exotic locations such as the Museum of the Bible, not the not the Noah's Arc Museum. That's that's disappointing.

[01:01:16]Something to look forward to. Um Patrick's main job is taking orders from Paula White, Donald's personal televangelist. White is much like her forebearer, Norman Vincent Peele, a prosperity gospel preacher whose theology holds that God wants you to be rich. guys along. I think as you're a white Republican, I think I think that's the caveat. A doctrine she has personally proven by convincing enough desperate people to send her their money like her three husbands.

[01:01:47]Uh Patrick openly identifies, as I mentioned, as a Christian nationalist, confessing, quote, "If that's what a Christian nationalist is, here I am." In most states, there's no need to confess unless you commit a crime. But in Texas, you get indicted, impeached, and reelected. and potentially promoted.

[01:02:04]Just ask Ken Paxton, who by the way ran screaming from a press conference today. Uh to which I would say, Ken, if you don't want to be asked about your corruption, don't be corrupt. Uh Dan Patrick, so wish you were here. This a this award recognizes a lifetime of putting God into government, mandating cruelty, and talking nonsense to height it has never known. We'd say you earned it, but we know you'll just say it was God's plan.

[01:02:37]>> Congratulations, Dad.

[01:02:48]Thank you so much, Mary. Uh, that concludes our program. Uh, so a few housekeeping things. If you would like to head out, um, you do need an escort to get you through the inner workings of the Rayburn House office building.

[01:03:00]Kosha, if you want to raise your hand, uh folks, especially special thank you to Representative Huffman and Rasin's office for helping getting folks out. Uh we appreciate it. But in the meantime, uh the bar is still open, so come on up, say hi, and thank you so much for everything.