Some scenes from Today's GOP.
In Florida Senator Rick Scott's 11-Point Plan to "Rescue America" we find:
Kids in public schools will say the Pledge of Allegiance, stand for the National Anthem, and honor the American Flag. We must foster national unity.
Already, this is unconstitutional.
And this is why. From the Supreme Court decision "West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette" The Court held:
If there is any fixed star in our constitutional constellation, it is that no official, high or petty, can prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, religion, or other matters of opinion or force citizens to confess by word or act their faith therein. If there are any circumstances which permit an exception, they do not now occur to us.
That was 1943. The world was at war (for a second time since 1914) and yet the Supreme Court of the United States stopped the compulsory recitation of The Pledge of Allegiance in public schools.
And the above passage also puts the kibosh on this other GOP point:
Public schools will teach our children to love America because, while not perfect, it is exceptional, it is good, and it is a beacon of freedom in an often-dark world.
"No official, high or petty, can prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics..."
From Tennessee we hear:
U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn this weekend called a landmark 1965 Supreme Court ruling legalizing access to contraception "constitutionally unsound" in comments criticizing the nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the high court.
And:
"Constitutionally unsound rulings like Griswold vs. Connecticut, Kelo v. the city of New London, and NFIB vs. Sebelius confused Tennesseans and left Congress wondering who gave the court permission to bypass our system of checks and balances," Blackburn said in the video address.
From Indiana, we read:
U.S. Sen. Mike Braun (R-Ind.) said the U.S. Supreme Court was wrong to legalize interracial marriage nationwide and should have left it to individual states.
And:
And then he failed at walking back his position:Braun said examples of judicial activism include the landmark decision legalizing abortion. He said the Supreme Court shouldn’t “homogenize” issues nationwide, instead leaving them up to individual states to decide – which extends, when asked, to include interracial marriage.
“If you’re not wanting the Supreme Court to weigh in on issues like that, you’re not going to be able to have your cake and eat it too," Braun said. "I think that’s hypocritical.”
In a new statement, Braun claims he misunderstood the line of questioning. The Republican said the Constitution unquestionably bans racial discrimination and that he condemns racism at all levels.
During the news conference, Braun was asked directly, "So, you would be OK with the Supreme Court leaving the question of interracial marriage to the states?"
He responded, "Yes."
These are but three slivers of today's GOP.
But as Maya Angelou once said:
When people show you who they are, believe them.
Today's GOP.