“Hateful rant”: Congresswoman storms out of prayer event over speaker’s anti-abortion comments

Details: 

Harbor Area Rep. Janice Hahn stormed out of Thursday’s National Day of Prayer gathering on Capitol Hill, saying she was outraged by what she later characterized as a “hateful political rant” by one of the speakers.

Evangelical Christian radio host James Dobson delivered strong words to President Barack Obama, who was not in attendance, over his administration’s position on abortion, calling Obama the “abortion president.”

“When the ranting and rambling started about Planned Parenthood, I was like, ‘Are you kidding me?’ ” Hahn said in a telephone interview with the Los Angeles News Group later in the day. “So I stood up and shouted, ‘This is completely inappropriate for the National Day of Prayer’ and stormed out.”

Dobson’s wife, Shirley, serves as chairwoman of the event, also was among the speakers.

Neither Dobson nor his organization could be reached for comment late Thursday.

Hahn, who had come to hear keynote speaker Anne Graham Lotz, the daughter of evangelist Billy Graham, said Dobson’s comments “did harm” to the bipartisan spirit in which the event, in its 63rd year, is held.

“I’m co-chair of the weekly congressional prayer breakfast,” said the San Pedro Democrat, who is a Christian and also co-chairs the National Prayer Breakfast. “Every week I’ve tried so hard to put my politics aside and come together with people with whom I don’t agree. … We pray for each other and we pray for the country. It’s one thing we do to find some common ground.”

Read on. The article says Dobson ended up getting a standing ovation.