Except for the past two weeks. Barry C. Black, the Senate chaplain, has been using his morning prayers to say exactly what he thinks is wrong with Washington lawmakers: "Remove from them that stubborn pride, which imagines itself to be above and beyond criticism."
A retired rear admiral who often sports a bow tie, Black became the Senate's first African-American chaplain when he took the job 10 years ago.
Since the government shut down Oct. 1, his daily prayers have been sprinkled with reprimands — about the deadlock, the anger and the harm the impasse has inflicted on the rest of the country.
"Deliver us from the hypocrisy of attempting to sound reasonable while being unreasonable," he said. "Remove the burdens of those who are the collateral damage of this government shutdown."
Black himself has been part of that collateral damage: Since the shutdown, he hasn't been paid. The Bible study classes he leads — which are attended by senators four times a week — have been cancelled.
But Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine says she's glad he's still showing up for the morning prayer.
