This week Sen. Tim Kaine, a Virginia Democrat, revealed not only a fundamental difference between his party and the GOP, but also demonstrated why Democrats should never again be in a position of power.
He was commenting on the origin of fundamental human rights during a committee hearing.
"The notion that rights don't come from laws and don't come from the government — they come from the creator — that's what the Iranian government believes," he began.
"It's a theocratic regime, that bases its rule on Sharia law, and targets Sunnis, Bahá’ís, Jews, Christians, and other religious minorities. And they do it, because they believe they understand what natural rights are from their creator."
Kaine is obviously confusing the origin of individual human rights with a system of government, one in which religious leaders rule in the name of a god. But in Iran’s case the people possess no real rights. They’re under the thumb of the ayatollahs.
Kaine concluded, "So, the statement that our rights do not come from our laws or our government is extremely troubling."
What's really troubling is that Kaine, who was Hillary Clinton's choice as her Democratic vice presidential nominee in 2016, could be so ignorant on a core fundamental principle of America's founding.
The Declaration of Independence makes it clear where our rights come from.
"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. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed . . . "
The Declaration of Independence was written by another Virginian, one who was much smarter than Sen. Kaine — Thomas Jefferson. And yet another smarter Virginian, James Madison, is credited as being the chief architect of the Bill of Rights.
And the phrase endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights" says it all. Those who are uncomfortable with the notion of "God-given rights" should substitute it with "natural rights." What’s important is that they are "unalienable."
Unalienable rights cannot be taken away by any government, or even given away by the person possessing those rights. They are inviolate. They cannot be infringed upon. They are indelibly written in stone.
Any rights granted by law or the government, however, are capable of being restricted or repealed outright by law or the government, something that today’s Democrats will do at the drop of a hat.
During the COVID pandemic then-White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki acknowledged that the Biden administration routinely monitored social media posts and flagged those that they disapproved of to be taken down.
The First Amendment says nothing about freedom of speech being placed on hold when people get sick. If anything, that’s when the ability to speak freely is most important, but during the pandemic respected physicians who questioned the mRNA vaccine were silenced.
Also during that period, parents who voiced concern about curriculum or after-school activities at school board meetings were called domestic terrorists by the same administration, despite the First Amendment right to petition the government to address grievances.
Another basic, fundamental right would be the freedom of girls and women to be safe and secure in their private places — restrooms, locker rooms and showers — and to compete only against members of their own sex in athletic contests.
But maybe Sen. Kaine's ignorance of the law can be excused in this case, after all, not only is he a Democrat, but he graduated from Harvard Law School. However, another Harvard Law graduate, Sen. Ted Cruz, got it right and called out his Democratic colleague.
"Our rights don’t come from government or the DNC," the Texas Republican firebrand noted. "They come from God."
Cruz closed with some sound advice: "@timkaine, I suggest the Dems go back and read the words of our Founding Fathers."
Not that there's much chance of that happening.
But unless and until Democrats understand that our fundamental rights and freedoms don't come from government — that they’re natural within each of us — they have no business wielding any real power in government.
Their belief that our rights come from government makes them too dangerous to govern.
Michael Dorstewitz is a retired lawyer and is a frequent contributor to Newsmax. He's also a former U.S. Merchant Marine officer and a Second Amendment supporter. Read Michael Dorstewitz's Reports — More Here.
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