Swalwell Takes a Swipe at DeSantis, but Commits an Embarrassing Self-Own

AP Photo/Andrew Harnik

We’ve seen a lot of ignorance from Democrats in Congress and frequently, it seems like a tight race for who may hold the crown for the most ignorant.

I last wrote about Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) when he ran away from answering the question, “What causes inflation?”

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But I have to give him big points for his latest entry in the “Ignorance Olympics.” He tried to dunk on Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis but it was an epic self-own.

DeSantis was talking about a basic principle upon which our government was founded: that we have natural rights that were not granted to us by the government.

“The purpose of our school system should be to educate our kids, not to indoctrinate our kids. […] We’re going to teach real history. We’re going to teach them the truth. […] They need to understand that our rights come from God, not from the government.”

Some on the left flipped out that he dared to mention “God,” not seeming to understand that we’re founded on the concept of natural rights — inalienable rights you have, that do not come to you from the government. We see this, perhaps most famously, in the Declaration of Independence, “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 Bill of Rights in the Constitution is further recognition of those fundamental rights.

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But just talking about that basic principle now triggers people on the left.

However, Swalwell took it a step further in trying to attack DeSantis.

“It’s not like separation of church & state is in the Bill of Rights or anything,” Swalwell declared.

Oh, my, how can he be so wrong? “Separation of church & state” is not part of the Bill of Rights. It’s a common falsehood pushed by people on the left, but it’s a failure to understand the First Amendment. While the First Amendment forbids the establishment of religion and guarantees an individual’s right to the free exercise of religion. It has no such separation provision.

Imagine if you’re a member of Congress but don’t have that basic understanding of the Constitution that you are supposed to uphold. Has he ever even read it? Not to mention, that he seems not to have read our Declaration of Independence either, since he doesn’t understand that was what DeSantis was referencing. Perhaps most importantly, does he not believe that we have inalienable rights that are not given to us by the government? Because that’s what he appears to be questioning as well with his comment.

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