So I might as well start off with a disclaimer. I am not a supporter of the current state of the GOP, though I am registered as a Republican. I am more of a libertarian, and I believe (completely biased) that the GOP will have to move towards new channels in order to survive in the next generation.
Well, now that we have that out-of-the-way, we can finally dive into the true hypocrisy underlying the GOP. In the past few months (and even before that) many Republicans freaked out due to the demands of Muslims in several communities to impose Sharia Law in America. I do not support this push in any way, shape, or form as I firmly believe in the Constitution and Bill of Rights. The First Amendment states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” Clearly imposing Sharia Law would violate this Amendment, which the Republican Party pointed out almost immediately.
Many Republicans had a similar response as they also claim to wish to uphold the entire Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Every Republican candidate still standing has pledged, in one way or another, to uphold The Constitution, with Ted Cruz leading the way by stating, “I am first and foremost a constitutionalist. I believe in the Constitution and I believe in the Bill of Rights.”
However, it seems the Republican Party has completely forgotten about certain parts of the Bill of Rights. The platforms of many candidates include potential violations of the Fourth Amendment, though the balance between the Bill of Rights and public safety is an important area for discussion.
But that’s not what I’m here to talk about, I’m here to discuss a much more blatant disregard for the Bill of Rights and one of the Amendments we hold dearest: The First Amendment.
Almost all of the hypocrisy of the GOP in terms of the Bill of Rights stems from the statement above containing the Free Exercise and Establishment clauses. First we will start with the Free Exercise clause, which the Republican Party certainly does violate, but in more isolated cases. While imposing Sharia Law in America would violate the Establishment clause, some Republicans advocate discriminating against Muslims specifically, such as shutting down all Mosques or meeting places for the practice of Islam (Donald Trump and Marco Rubio have gone down this road). This stance clearly violates the Free Exercise clause, part of the Bill of Rights Republicans claim to hold so dear. But people with these views aren’t just the uneducated masses that Donald Trump draws. The far more educated and “level-headed” Ben Carson once stated that Islam is not consistent with the Constitution. That statement is not consistent with the Constitution, as ANY religion is consistent with the Constitution. Due to the Free Exercise clause, ANY religion has the right to practice in The United States and is thus consistent with The Constitution. So maybe when Republicans claim that they wish to uphold the entire Constitution and Bill of Rights we should just put an asterisk at the end excluding them from the Free Exercise clause.
Sadly though, even this would not help the Republican Party as much more frequently they violate the Establishment clause. This clause plays more into the separation of church and state, and the inability for the government to specifically support the views of one religion and impose those views on the rest of America.
I bet you can see where I’m going with this but just in case I’ll kick this off with two terms: HOMOSEXUAL RIGHTS and ABORTION. Yes, these are touchy subjects within the Republican Party as much of the party practices Christianity and thus opposes gay marriage and abortion. The Republican Party seems to wish to ignore the Establishment clause as well and impose their preferences on the masses. Given the separation of church and state clauses set by the First Amendment, the government should not be imposing religious views on the public, even if those religious views are the majority (70% of America still identifies as Christian). This was the reasoning for many of the checks in the Bill of Rights and the Constitution: to limit the potentially limitless power of the majority over minorities and protect minority interests. M
Much of the Republican Party is still against gay marriage, even after court cases deemed it legal. Party forerunners such as Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz are not shy in identifying the source of their resistance either. Rubio once stated, “In terms of the Bible’s interpretation of marriage, what our faith teaches is pretty straightforward. There’s not much debate about that,” before describing his push against the marriage rights of homosexuals. While it is perfectly fine for Mr. Rubio to have such opinions on a personal basis, it goes against the Constitution to attempt to impose those ideals. The blame does not rest solely on Mr. Rubio though. The majority of the Republican Party is guilty of attempting to violate the Establishment Clause and deny the rights of homosexuals based on religious beliefs.
The same goes for the other major social topic of this era: abortion. Recently Ted Cruz stated, “Every human life is a precious gift from God and should be protected from the moment of conception until the moment of natural death,” while on the campaign trail in Iowa. But the major issue with this statement is again, it entangles political decisions with religion, violating the Free Exercise clause. While it is fine to base your personal morals on whatever doctrine you believe in (religious or not), it is not constitutional to attempt to create restrictions based on a certain religion. Marco Rubio has gone even a step further, saying, “I believe a human being, an unborn child, has a right to live irrespective of the circumstances by which they were conceived.” This was a response to a question of whether a victim of sexual assault should be allowed to seek an abortion. While I am personally appalled that anyone could have this stance, it is clear that Mr. Rubio is basing this statement on his religious views. The Republican Party is hypocritical to claim to wish to uphold the Constitution and Bill of Rights, but then turn around and restrict personal freedoms of women based on religious values.
In the end, the Republican Party may be on the road to change. With several candidates claiming they would attend a gay wedding earlier in debate season, it is clear that the social landscape of the party is shifting. That being said, the fact that Marco Rubio, a man who once said “faith in our Creator is the most important American value of all,” is considered a leader in the party, and possibly its future, is discouraging.
So the next time you hear a Republican claim to believe in upholding the entire Constitution and Bill of Rights, realize that the basis of the Republican social platform directly conflicts with the First Amendment, and that you just heard a hypocrite speak.
