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O’Donnell and the First Amendment

By: Donald Ayotte (Diary)  |  October 20th, 2010 at 04:21 PM  | 

RESIZE: AAA

The First Amendment has been argued to death over the years since it was written in the 1700’s. People of different political ideologies have interpreted this controversial amendment according to their beliefs before there was the current Republican and Democratic Parties. So, let’s take a look at it and see exactly what it says.

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.

Christine O’Donnell, the Conservative Republican Candidate for the US Senate Seat from Delaware recently stated, while debating her opponent, Democrat Chris Coons, at Widener School of Law that the First Amendment does not establish a separation of church and state. According to Ganett Communications’ Publication, The NewsJournal of Wilmington, “The crowd at the Widener School of Law, many of them, law professors and students, gasped.” We all know just how “fair and Balanced,” Gannett Communications’ publications are.

Like everyone else, I thought that the first Amendment did exactly mean that: I mean that it established a separation between church and state. I read it several times to get a more accurate meaning of the wording and even factored in what I thought the founding fathers meant. It simply says that, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.

I then searched the entire document and nowhere did I find the words, “separation of church and state.” All these years I thought I was so darn smart. I looked again and the founding fathers just plain said that they wouldn’t make a law telling us how we could worship or tell us that us couldn’t worship, as we desired. It is worded very plain and simple and in easy understandable language. Nowhere in this document does is say that the church and state should be separated.

I started to wonder why these law professors would gasp in horror, she was correct. Any law professor ought to be able to see it, if I a simple English and Journalism Major could. Ahhhh. Now I’ve done it, I’ve gone and insulted the entire legal community.

Well I believe that Christine O’Donnell is correct on this point.  What do you think?

COMMENTS

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  • Donald Ayotte

    After O’Donnell won this debate, Chris Coors refused to enter into more debates with herl.
    It does make sense. She’s beating his pants off. Every time he debates her on the issues, he loses more percentage points.

    • Aaron Gardner

      I want to share that info.

      • Donald Ayotte

        I am sorry that I don’t at the moment. I personally heard her say it at a meet-and-greet in Rehoboth Beach’s Fin’s Restaurant before she left for a candidate’s forum at 1pm today. There were about 80 people in attendance.

  • http://www.thejoyofreason.com thejoyofreason

    I wrote a post about this issue earlier, examining how the Establishment Clause transformed, presto change-o, into the separation of church: http://www.redstate.com/thejoyofreason/2010/10/20/odonnell-evolution-religion-and-the-constitution/

    It also has video of the debate exchange.

  • Donald Ayotte

    Before I posted, I looked at the main page and didn’t see it or I probably would not have posted.
    However there is much to say on the issue.

  • Scope

    and I thank you for your positive reports about the O’Donnell campaign. Wouldn’t it be nice if those in our own party did the same, like Rove and Krauthammer for example.

    Your posts have been inspiring, and encouraging that just maybe Christine will pull this off. A positive attitude is far more important than any ads.

  • http://www.thejoyofreason.com Greg Garrison

    Yes, there is a lot to say. I’m a newbie on Red State and just posted my bit because I’d written it this morning as a response to a friend who was making fun of O’Donnell’s “stupidity”. The history of the First Amendment was news to him, and so I figured that it would be a shame to let it go to waste, in case others want to borrow the argument. Please keep up your great updates on her campaign!

  • Donald Ayotte

    I am seriously disappointed in these two conservatives turned populists.
    I have great respect for the unusual intelligence of Mr. Krauthammer but he doesn’t seem to know what is happening in America, Two French reporters at the GOP Picnic in Sussex County Delaware told me that Europe considers this the Second American Revolution, that they are looking to us for hope.

    I understand Rove’s betrayal but not Krauthammer’s

  • Donald Ayotte

    I’m a newbie myself, about a month and half.
    Good luck, it’s a lot of fun and the people are great.

  • http://www.thejoyofreason.com Greg Garrison

    I’m enjoying it so far too. The respectful tone and shared goals are a huge breath of fresh air compared to other sites. Profanity, for example, doesn’t bother me personally, but it really cheapens and limits discourse elsewhere on the web.

  • Robert Allen Leeper
  • Donald Ayotte

    Profanity cheapens everything. If one must use profanity to express themselves then they lack the vocabulary to communicate effectively.

  • JonMoseley

    Liked your post.

    And remember that I offered a $1,000 reward — including payable to Chris Coons’ campaign — for anyoen who could find “separation of church and state” in the US Constitution

    http://www.supportchristine.com/rewardpressrelease.html