Alabama U.S. Senate candidate Roy Moore’s stated belief that rights come from God instead of bureaucrats and lawmakers prompted MSNBC’s Chuck Todd to question his fidelity to the U.S. Constitution on Wednesday.
The former Alabama Chief Justice sailed to victory over incumbent Sen. Luther Strange on Tuesday night for the Republican nomination for Jeff Sessions’ former seat. Increased scrutiny of Mr. Moore on “Meet the Press Daily” included his thoughts on “the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God” as stated in the Declaration of Independence and codified into law by the U.S. Constitution.
“Roy Moore, where the phrase ’Christian conservative’ doesn’t even begin to describe him, could very well be your next senator,” Mr. Todd told his audience. “If you don’t understand just how freaked out some folks in the GOP and the White House are, then you don’t know Roy Moore. First off, he doesn’t appear to believe in the Constitution as it’s written.”
The host then played a clip of Mr. Moore saying, “Our rights don’t come from government, they don’t come from the Bill of Rights, they come from Almighty God.”
Mr. Todd called the clip “a taste of what are very fundamentalist views that gotten him removed from office, twice, as Alabama’s Chief Justice.”
The Washington Free Beacon noted that America’s Founding Fathers were keenly aware of the philosophical and political implications of asserting the existence of God-given rights.
As the Declaration of Independence states: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”
The website noted that the U.S. Constitution takes the principles and ideals embedded within the Declaration and makes them legally binding upon those entrusted with safeguarding liberty. The preamble reads in part, “we the people … [to] secure the blessings of liberty … do ordain and establish this Constitution.”
“We have to return the knowledge of God and the Constitution of the United States to the United States Congress,” Mr. Moore said after his victory.
President Trump favored Mr. Strange during the campaign, but still congratulated Mr. Moore on Twitter.
“Congratulations to Roy Moore on his Republican Primary win in Alabama. Luther Strange started way back & ran a good race. Roy, WIN in Dec!” the president said.
• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.
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