Constitution

Two irresistible forces are converging over the election of a Speaker of the House. One is simple math; the other is the full weight of history.

Racism is the practice of according rights and privileges to an individual not based on equality under the law, but rather according to what race that person was born. It is antithetical to every principle our country was founded on, from the promise of our Declaration of Independence that “all men are created equal” to the equal protection clause of our Constitution. It was a malignancy we fought a Civil War to remove. For generations, it has been denounced by every American of good will for the evil that it is.

We seem to be confusing opposition to the Chinese Government – including its actions during the coronavirus pandemic -- with hostility toward Americans of Asian descent. I find that very confusing, since many Asian Americans fled abusive governments, including and especially the Chinese Communist regime. Hostility to that government is not hostility to its victims – quite the contrary. Yet that is the connection the Democrats appear to be making.

Many Americans still have serious concerns about the integrity of the vote in this election, and rightly so. In-person Election Day voting, with all the safeguards inherent in that system, has been replaced with mass mailing of ballots to every name on voter rolls that may be deceased or have moved, often followed by ballot harvesters to collect the surplus ballots and with no chain of custody.

There’s a curious thing about the oath taken by every member of our armed forces. Those who defend our country never swear to “support and defend” the United States Government. They never swear to “support and defend” the United States of America. The only oath they take is to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States.” The same oath is taken by every member of the government, from school board to President.

The House Judiciary Committee yesterday raised the overarching question of our generation: will the American Constitution stand?

The oath of the uniformed services, taken by every living veteran in this country, including each and every one that we honor today, is clear and to the point: "To preserve, protect and defend THE CONSTITUTION of the United States." Think about that. The oath is not to "preserve, protect and defend the United States of America." It is not to "preserve, protect and defend the United States Government." The oath is specifically to "preserve, protect and defend THE CONSTITUTION of the United States."