There’s a word to describe being so irrationally in opposition to something you fail to see even the obviously noble or good.

The activist organization American Atheists stepped in it recently when they took to Facebook to defend their newest billboards that mock the religious beliefs of the presidential candidates:

We think the future of the United States is serious business, and its leadership should not be based upon the influences of religion in our political system. Take Rep. Paul Ryan’s comments, for example. Ryan stated, “Our rights come from nature and god, NOT from government.” Is this the type of leadership we need in our country?

American Atheists were so quick to demean Rep Paul Ryan, a conservative Catholic, that they didn’t bother to recognize he was paraphrasing the US Declaration of Independence. American Atheists ended up denigrating precisely the “type of leadership” that founded the United States of America.

It’s also the “type of leadership” currently expressed by President Obama, who said this at the White House when he hosted an Islamic iftar:

Of all the freedoms we cherish as Americans, of all the rights that we hold sacred, foremost among them is freedom of religion, the right to worship as we choose.  It’s enshrined in the First Amendment of our Constitution — the law of the land, always and forever.  It beats in our heart — in the soul of the people who know that our liberty and our equality is endowed by our Creator.

(Obama has previously been criticized for leaving out “our Creator” when citing the Declaration; in this case, he added it when talking about the Constitution.)

Fortunately, the American Atheists Facebook page is filled with comments even from their supporters criticizing their move.

On the other hand, American Atheists is also a 501(c)3, which means they’re not allowed to oppose political candidates — yet they just did.  Oops.

And that’s not the only step into “crazy” from American Atheists recently…