Republican candidate Christine O'Donnell's 1st Amendment gaff at a debate against Senate Democratic oponent Chris Coons before Widener University Law School students earlier this week was absolutely staggering. I normally don't use this blog as any kind of a political platform, but this one blew me away. No matter what your beliefs are, isn't it a little scary that this woman took the GOP nomination in her Delaware Senate district so handily?
On several instances within the debate, O'Donnell challenged Coons on the validity of the constitutional separation of church and state, laughing each time she questioned him. She apparently either:
- Didn't know that there was an amendment that protected religion from being tampered with by the federal government
- OR
- Disagrees with the separation of church and state as it stands now
There were numerous times when you could hear the audience gasp and murmur after she did this. While I might understand a candidate not knowing what the 14th, 16th or 17th Amendments are (though her Tea Party is advocating abolishing them, so you'd think she'd be up on those, as well...), come on! The 1st Amendment? It's pretty cut and dried, folks...
"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."
