Steve Benen had an interesting post a few days ago about Republicans’ desire to repeal the 14th, 16th, and 17th amendments. He pointed out something that I had forgotten, that under Bush, Republicans also wanted to add several new amendments:
Indeed, by the mid-point of his presidency, George W. Bush was on record supporting at least six different proposed amendments to the Constitution: (1) prohibiting flag burning; (2) victims’ rights; (3) banning abortion; (4) requiring a balanced budget; (5) prohibiting same-sex marriage; and (6) allowing state-endorsed prayer in public schools. As a wise blogger noted at the time, Bush “really seems to think the Constitution is just a rough draft.”At the same time, of course, Republicans like to paint themselves as the ultimate defenders of the constitution. I can’t help but be reminded, once again, of how much constitutional fetishists resemble hard-core Christianists. In the Catholic Church, anyone who favors reproductive rights is derided as a “cafeteria Catholic”, while those who oppose reproductive rights but favor the death penalty, wars, and the destruction of social welfare programs are the keepers of the One Truth Faith.
Notice how many times Republicans want the constitution to restrict rights rather than guarantee them?
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