Earlier this week, the Coloradoan published a letter to the editor by Larimer County's own Republican Super Patriot, Tom Bender. The letter is as mean-spirited as Bender's letters always are. He wrote (apparently not on spec for the Onion):

"Replacing Obama's godless team at the polls with conservative representation to restore government subservience to our Constitution and the people is the first step in stopping enslavement of Americans into Obama's socialist world of serfdom, misery and poverty."

It's hard to hold Bender accountable for the ridiculous things he says. Many have tried over the years – and most often pointed out the divisiveness that Bender brings to public discourse, but they've had no effect on Bender's propensity to spew forth his foetid thought. Besides that, you can tell how much pride Bender takes in being able to capture in writing the private knowledge of his particular right-wing cultus.

Occasionally however, the Coloradoan publishes a rejoinder to one of Bender's letters where Bender gets pwnd so badly that even he would have to concede he's been topped. Susan Lauscher accomplishes that in her letter published yesterday. She observes:

But I found myself going back to Bender's claim of "Obama's Godless team." I must admit that I have trouble understanding how God has anything to do with government and politics (except perhaps as a negative example such as the government of Lebanon, and, yes, even Israel, during the years), but I began to wonder if these are code words for something else. I don't pretend to know what President Obama's religious beliefs are, although I have heard him express religious sentiments, but I do know that Rahm Emanuel, the president's chief of staff, is a practicing Orthodox Jew. David Axelrod, Larry Summers, Ben Bernanke are all Jews. The president and his family have honored his Jewish staff and Judaism by celebrating two Passover Seders in the White House. I don't look for anti-Semitism around every corner, but I am wondering what a "government of moral stability" really means.

Our respect and thanks go out to Susan Lauscher for calling Bender on his rhetoric.

So, who is Tom Bender anyway? He's been writing in to the Coloradoan for as long as I've lived here, which is 17 years. In the 1990s his Coloradoan dispatches were more frequent than they are now, and I have to wonder if the Coloradoan is now limiting his access to its pages.

From 2001-2004 Bender served as a one term Larimer County Commissioner from District 2 (approximately the middle third of the county). He was defeated in the November 2004 election by Karen Wagner, his Democratic opponent.

Bender's official profile – from the time when he was a Commissioner (which I retrieved from the Internet Archive Wayback Machine) – provides biographic information about him (the hyperlink below is mine):

Tom is a California native who moved to Colorado in 1950 where he graduated from Limon High School and enlisted into the U.S. Air Force in 1957. Tom ended his military career, moved to Larimer County, built his home, and established the Bender Tree Farm in 1977. During his military service, Tom was awarded the Bronze Star and Air Force Commendation for his participation in four combat campaigns in the Republic of Vietnam.

Tom and his wife, Mary, of 43 years have three daughters, a son, and nine grandchildren. Tom and Mary are members of John XXIII Catholic Community and he is a member of the Knights of Columbus.

Business:

Tom worked in the electronics division of Woodward Governor until 1984 when he became a full time tree farmer...

Volunteer Activities:

•Served as a county fair natural resource judge for 4-H projects and exhibits at the Larimer, Weld, and Adams county fairs over the past 6 years.
•Served as a volunteer firefighter for the Rist Canyon Fire Department and as fire chief for six of those years.

Associations:

•Member, former chairman, and co-founder of the Larimer County Tree Farmers Association.
•Former member and president of the Colorado Forestry Association.
•Served for ten years on the Colorado Forest Stewardship Coordinating Committee.
•Served two years on the Extension Renewable Resources Committee. Tom is one of the first graduates and practitioner of the Colorado Master Tree Farmer program.
•The Tom and Mary Bender Tree Farm was designated the first Colorado Stewardship Forest in 1991.
•Designated Colorado Tree Farmers of the Year twice.
•Designated Western Regional Tree Farmers of the year in 1996 for outstanding resource management and environmental stewardship.
•Received a leadership and "Teammate" of the year awards from the Colorado State Forest Service.
•Received many certificates of merit from the National Arbor Day Foundation.
•As a member of the Larimer County Farm Bureau Board of Directors for the past ten years, Tom served as the National, State, and Local Legislative Affairs Chairman and for four years on the Colorado Farm Bureau Land Use Policy Development Committee.
•Member of the National Federation of Independent Business.

Military Organizations:

Tom continues to serve as an active member in patriotic, American organizations such as the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, and the National Rifle Association. Tom is a member of the American Legion and VFW honor guard and firing squad for flag honor ceremonies and military funerals.

Political Associations:

Tom has served as an election judge, a precinct committee chair, delegate to the State and 4th Congressional conventions for the Larimer County Republican Party. Tom is a graduate of the Republican Leadership Program in 1998. Tom is a member of the Larimer County Republican Breakfast Club, Larimer County Republican Club, and auxiliary member of the Larimer County Republican Women's Club.