Implied "or"

Okay, look. I hold no brief for Newt Gingrich - seriously, the man was always loopily evil and would now mainly be an embarrassment if so many people didn't take him seriously - but, come on.

"I have two grandchildren - Maggie is 11, Robert is 9. I am convinced that if we do not decisively win the struggle over the nature of America, by the time they're my age they will be in a secular atheist country, potentially one dominated by radical Islamists and with no understanding of what it once meant to be an American."

Why are people acting as though he thinks "secular atheist country" and "potentially one dominated by radical Islamists" are the same thing? (Plus, I'm sure there's meant to be a comma after "Islamists".)

"If we don't get him into football now, by the time he's in college he'll be playing baseball, potentially lacrosse, and have no idea what a real sport is."

Newt obviously is preaching to the choir here - for crying out loud, it's John Hagee's megachurch - and he's trotted out the two horrible boogeymen to scare them with. But I don't see any reason to assume that he means Islamist atheists will be running things.

Can't we stop thinking that laughing at people like Newt is enough of a response?

(Especially since, sadly, a secular atheist country is about as likely as a radical Islamist one...)