Keith Ellison, new Minnesota congressman and Muslim, shows us how to give as good as you get from the merciless commentators of the Right. This is the guy who was told by Glenn Beck on CNN, "You are a Democrat. You are saying, ‘Let’s cut and run.’ And I have to tell you, I have been nervous about this interview with you, because what I feel like saying is, ‘Sir, prove to me that you are not working with our enemies.’"

(Of course, he didn’t say it, see? He only felt like saying it.)

Ellison is now the target of Rightward ire for planning to be sworn in with the Koran in his hand. (There apparently is no requisite volume to be sworn in with, the Bible or anything else, this being a country with no official religion.) Dems usually end up with tails tucked when the Right gets uppity, but Ellison pulls off a breathtaking countermove that manages to squash the controversy and illustrate just how far from the actual traditions of our country the Right Wing has flown.

This is how it’s done.

Vive la libert religieuse!