Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Not to belabor what I hope is blindingly obvious, but that’s the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. If you read it carefully…go ahead, I’ll wait…you’ll no doubt see that they exact phrase “separation of Church and State” is nowhere to be found. For some Conservatives, this qualifies as an “AH HA!!” moment, where they claim the moral high ground as they insist that the “separation of Church and State” is a red herring. Whether it’s Ken Buck displaying a complete lack of intellectual and moral agility, or Christine O’Donnell thinking that she bitch-slapped Chris Coons, Republican teabaggers think they have a winner.
Sure, I’ll give them the reality that “separation of Church and State” doesn’t appear in the Constitution. That doesn’t ipso facto translate to Conservatives carrying the day on this argument. The First Amendment clearly establishes that Congress “shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof”. I suppose if nothing else, “separation of Church and State” flows more easily off the tongue, and it’s certainly an accurate depiction of what the First Amendment stands for. For those on the Rabid Right who pound their chests proclaiming their love of the Constitution, one has to wonder how many of those folks have even bothered to READ the Constitution. Judging by their self-satisfied ignorance, I’m guessing not many have.
I can live with the reality that Christine O’Donnell, Ken Buck, Michele Bachmann, et al, have the IQ of church mice and a world-class preponderance for pandering. What I cannot understand is how and why these idjits haven’t been laughed out of political existence. Are we REALLY stupid enough to elect people who will swear to protect and defend a Constitution they don’t even understand and probably haven’t read?
Do I really need to answer that question?
