Playing semantics... 1st Amendment Edition...

Ugh. The mid-term elections have become something of a freakshow as Conservative candidates (mostly those with Tea Party support...) have appeared on the scene to embarrass themselves with a spectacular lack of knowledge of the actual law, only what they believe the law to say.

Case in point, Christine O'Donnell, who has been out on the political scene since the 1990's working as a talking head for a number of morally conservative organizations (S.A.L.T., being her own creation) as well as other fundy Christian groups and causes. Her most recent run for Congress in her home state of Delaware has her in the spotlight (again) showing her spectacular lack of political knowledge, a la Sarah Palin.

In this video, she and her Democratic opponent are debating. She is asking him to cite the location of "the separation of church and state" in the US Constitution:

She thinks that she's being clever with her question, but the laughter you are hearing in the background is that of the law students in the audience, laughing at Ms. O'Donnell's blinding ignorance of the 1st Amendment.

The answer? It's in the First Amendment. In fact, it's the first part of the first amendment.

Here is the actual wording of the First Amendment to the Constitution: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

The bolded section of the text is the "separation of church and state" that everyone talks about. Simply that the government will not engage in matters involving religion, nor will it prevent people from practicing their religion as they choose. Simple enough, yes?

Alas, no. Part of the Conservative rhetoric is that since the phrase "separation of church and state" does not appear VERBATIM in the Constitution, then it doesn't apply.

Huh?

Amusingly, to those of us who are thinkers, these are the same Conservative Moralists who are the quickest to cite Bible phrases as explanations as to why homosexuality is bad. But, if you look in the bible, there's no mention of the words gay, homosexuality, or even the entertainingly comic-y "fanny bandit." But, they sure love to say that "that's what those phrases mean."

Sorry Conservative Moralists. You can't have it both ways. Stop trying to make the US into your own personal Jesus-land.

Rachel Maddow breaks it down for us: