And in another fun bit of Roy Moore trivia, in a 2011 appearance on a whackadoodle conservative radio show, he opined that getting rid of all those amendments to the Constitution beyond the first Ten would “eliminate many problems.”
His spokesfolk have come out and declared that, no, he really only meant the 14th and 17th Amendments. Or maybe more, but those are the ones he’s really peeved at.
It is kind of weird, though, that he’d just be interested in getting rid of two when agreeing with the show host about voiding all the amendments after the first 10 he said, “That would eliminate many problems.” I mean, that would include 17 other amendments, not just two. Why wouldn’t he say, “Well, I disagree with a couple,” so that people didn’t think he wanted to allow slavery again, or undo women’s suffrage, or get rid of extending the vote down to 18, restricting a president to two terms, barring poll taxes, or barring denial of the right to vote based on race?
Anyway, let’s assume for argument that he only has a mad-on about 14 and 17.
17 is a bugbear for conservatives, calling for US Senators to be voted for by a state-wide election, not by state legislators. Moore really dislikes that one, apparently because he doesn’t trust the state citizenry, or else because he liked the problem that progressives sought to fix with this amendment, that state legislators are easily bought off, and therefore by extension so are the US Senators they are selecting.
14 is the real kicker here. That post-Civil War amendment [1] was designed to make it clear that: (a) freed slaves — in fact, all African-Americans — born in the US were US citizens, (b) all US citizens have a right to due process under the law, including state and local laws, and that (as interpreted by the Supreme Court), the provisions of the US Constitution trump those of state constitutions and local laws, and (c) all people in the US must be treated equally by the law: federal, state, and local.
Moore just doesn’t like it because it means states don’t have ultimate rights.
The danger in the 14th Amendment, which was to restrict, it has been a restriction on the states using the first Ten Amendments by and through the 14th Amendment. To restrict the states from doing something that the federal government was restricted from doing and allowing the federal government to do something which the first Ten Amendments prevented them from doing. If you understand the incorporation doctrine used by the courts and what it meant. You’d understand what I’m talking about.
Looking at the quote … I have no idea what he is talking about, except that the 14th Amendment lets the feds restrict what state governments can do. That seems to be a cardinal sin in Moore’s book.
For example, the right to keep and bear arms, the First Amendment, freedom of press liberty. Those various freedoms and restrictions have been imposed on the states through the 14th Amendment. And yet the federal government is violating just about every one of them saying that — they don’t they don’t — are not restrained by them.
Yes, how horrible that those Bill of Rights rights have been “imposed on the states through the 14th Amendment.” Yet, somehow, Moore thinks that the federal level is (or is claiming it is) not subject to the Bill of Rights, which is kind of weird given that they are part of the federal constitution and are litigated in federal courts all the time.
But let’s stick a pin in this:
- Roy Moore doesn’t think the citizens of Alabama should be voting for him; he’d prefer if the Alabama state legislature had that right.
- Roy Moore thinks that “equal protection under the law” and “due process” should be the choice of each state.
- Roy Moore thinks that other federal protections in the Bill of Rights should be up to the states, too.
Roy Moore might believe some other things, based on his broad dismissal of Amendments 11-27 … and he said a lot of really interesting things in those radio shows … but I think focusing on the above is sufficient.
——
[1] Because he last felt that America was great at a time when “despite slavery” we were somehow a bunch of united families. That implies that after the Civil War ended slavery (as confirmed by the 13th Amendment), America was no longer great.
Roy Moore in 2011: Getting rid of amendments after 10th would ‘eliminate many problems’ – CNNPolitics
Alabama Republican Senate nominee Roy Moore appeared on a conspiracy-driven radio show twice in 2011, where he told the hosts in an interview that getting rid of constitutional amendments after the Tenth Amendment would ‘eliminate many problems’ in the way the US government is structured.
reason.com – 13 Non-Pedophile Reasons Why You Can Hate Roy Moore
I thought it would be interesting to see what the 11th and on Amendments are (sorry for the wall of text, there's 17 of them)
11th – Makes states immune from suits from out-of-state citizens and foreigners not living within the state borders; lays the foundation for sovereign immunity.
12th – Revises presidential election procedures.
13th – Abolishes slavery, and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime.
14th – Defines citizenship, contains the Privileges or Immunities Clause, the Due Process Clause, the Equal Protection Clause, and deals with post–Civil War issues.
15th – Prohibits the denial of the right to vote based on race, color or previous condition of servitude
16th – Permits Congress to levy an income tax without apportioning it among the states or basing it on the United States Census.
17th – Establishes the direct election of United States Senators by popular vote.
18th – Prohibited the manufacturing or sale of alcohol within the United States (the 21st repeals this)
19th – Prohibits the denial of the right to vote based on sex.
20th – Changes the date on which the terms of the President and Vice President (January 20) and Senators and Representatives (January 3) end and begin.
21st – Repeals the 18th Amendment and makes it a federal offense to transport or import intoxicating liquors into US states and territories where such transport or importation is prohibited by the laws of those states and territories.
22nd – Limits the number of times that a person can be elected president: a person cannot be elected president more than twice, and a person who has served more than two years of a term to which someone else was elected cannot be elected more than once.
23rd – Grants the District of Columbia electors (the number of electors being equal to the least populous state) in the Electoral College.
24th – Prohibits the revocation of voting rights due to the non-payment of a poll tax or any other tax.
25th – Addresses succession to the Presidency and establishes procedures both for filling a vacancy in the office of the Vice President, as well as responding to Presidential disabilities.
26th – Prohibits the denial of the right of US citizens, eighteen years of age or older, to vote on account of age.
27th – Delays laws affecting Congressional salary from taking effect until after the next election of representatives.
Roy Moore in 2011: Getting Great (y)
The American Constitution was never intended for the non-Caucasians in America , the Constitution was and will always be in favor of the Caucasian-American .
The 1 – 10th Amendment inpower Caucasians and 11- 14 were add on's to give free slaves American status , 15-27 were tweaked when the British bailed out America from its economy in 1800's and put into congress British-laws beginning in the district of Columbia Aka Washington DC , and henceforth was put into place the Organic Act which means America in a whole is a Conglomerate and no longer a Sovereign .
+Manuel I'm not quite sure what you're babbling about.
+Dave Hill Simply said , The Constitution of America has been added onto and is subject to be changed to accommodate the ever changing Structure of America and its inhabitants , Roy Moore if had it his way would eliminate from the Constitution of America the extensions of America's Amendments that give non Caucasian-Americans the same status and rights as the Caucasian -American .
+Manuel Ah. That's a bit clearer. And I agree with what you've said there.
The Constitution was crafted in a time when discrimination was accepted. It wasn't even recognized as discrimination. Amendments were made as the American people matured and tossed those ideas out. There are still those that have a 1700's mind-set, but, the majority of Americans, are living fully in the 21st Century.
Times change and the Founding fathers ensured that the Constitution could change as well.
I agree with you. Moron Moore the Molester would love to go back to pre-Civil War times. It would ensure that he got elected.
Its not going to happen, though. Too many people would fight back to keep the Amendments. Just consider what would happen without the 22nd Amendment. Without it and the ones ensuring the vote for women and non-whites, trump could end up being President for life.
If the 26th Amendment were repealed, then Moore couldn't get his girlfriends to vote. (Rimshot)
The expressed reasons for opposition to the 14th Amendment point out the fallacies when ANYONE, conservative or liberal, waves the banner of states' rights. If you accept the premise that states can (for lack of a better word) nullify federal rulings of gay marriage, then you must also accept the premise that states and cities can declare themselves as sanctuary cities, and that states can pass their own legislation with regards to marijuana use. I have a sneaking suspicion that Senator Moore will not endorse states' rights in those two cases.
As for the 17th amendment, if one thinks that the House of Representatives should be the only part of the federal government elected by the citizens, then perhaps ANOTHER amendment to the initial Constitution is needed – one that restricts how the states select their Presidential Electors. Of course, if a state doesn't like such a restriction, I guess it can nullify it…