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Elaine Benes Ringer-Senate Hopeful "Dabbled" In "Witchcraft"
By
Jen Chung
Published Sep 19, 2010
Modified Sep 19, 2010
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By
Jen Chung
Published Sep 19, 2010
Modified Sep 19, 2010
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On Friday night, comedian Bill Maher released a clip showing everyone's favorite Tea Party candidate/doppelganger for Elaine Benes on a 1999 episode of his show, Politically Incorrect. Christine O'Donnell, surprise victor in the Delaware Republican Senate party, was then known as a Christian activist and appeared frequently on Maher's show. In this clip, O'Donnell confessed/bragged, "I dabbled into witchcraft — I never joined a coven. But I did, I did. … I dabbled into witchcraft. I hung around people who were doing these things. I’m not making this stuff up. I know what they told me they do."
Then she added, "One of my first dates with a witch was on a satanic altar, and I didn’t know it. I mean, there’s little blood there and stuff like that. … We went to a movie and then had a midnight picnic on a satanic altar." Yada yada yada ! Maher, who showed the clip on his HBO program, Real Time, joked, "I created her... You owe me Christine O’Donnell," and referred to her strict abstinence stance, "She does not have a mean bone in her body, or any other bone in her body." He also wants O'Donnell to appear the show, pointing out he has plenty of clips, "I’m just saying, Christine, it’s like a hostage crisis, every week you don’t show up, I’m going to throw another body out."
However, it's unclear if the upstart candidate wants to deal with answering questions about the clip. O'Donnell ducked appearances on talk shows—CBS's Face the Nation asked her campaign if the cancellation was due to the witchcraft revelation, but the campaign said, "Campaigns about what she did as a teen is hardly a worry to her or the people of Delaware." Still, Bush's brain Karl Rove said on Fox News that she "can’t simply ignore it. She’s got to deal with it and explain it."
Tagged
bill maher
Christine O'Donnell
elaine benes
election 2010
politically incorrect
tea party
witchcraft
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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