{"id":3979,"date":"2003-03-04T20:25:17","date_gmt":"2003-03-05T01:25:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/?p=3979"},"modified":"2003-03-04T20:25:17","modified_gmt":"2003-03-05T01:25:17","slug":"testing_testing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2003\/03\/04\/testing_testing.html","title":{"rendered":"Testing, testing"},"content":{"rendered":"

The US Constitution (Article VI, Clause 3) says (emphasis mine):<\/p>\n

The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States<\/b>.<\/p>\n

Which makes you wonder why some US Senators, when asked whether they would vote to confirm an atheist to the Supreme Court<\/a>, answered like this:<\/p>\n

Sen. James Inhofe (R.-Okla.)<\/b>: No, I would not. To me, that totally contradicts everything that this country is founded on\u2014including our Constitution, including our original oaths of office. Back in the colonial days, the whole purpose that people came here and lost their lives was to achieve the freedoms, of which the major freedom is freedom to love your Lord.
\nSen. Zell Miller (D.-Ga.)<\/b>: Nope.
\nSen. Don Nickles (R.-Okla.)<\/b>: I don\u2019t think so. Is there one coming? I don\u2019t think so. No, I wouldn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

A few Senators seem to have read up on their Constitutional law, of course.<\/p>\n

Sen. Ben Nelson (D.-Neb.)<\/b>: I don\u2019t know that I\u2019ve ever thought about that, quite frankly. I deal with each nominee as the nominee comes up, and I don\u2019t start with any pre-conceived notions about them, other than that I want to know that they don\u2019t have an agenda going into the nomination process or if appointed. So I have to know more about the person than about that.
\nSen. Orrin Hatch (R.-Utah)<\/b>: I think that it would be very hard to get an atheist through the system. But if the atheist was willing to abide by the law and really literally willing to do what\u2019s right\u2014you know, it would depend on what his attitude is about the law, what his attitude is about other people\u2019s rights, what his attitude is about religious rights. . . . If that all fell together, sure.
\nWe have some very decent atheists who respect the rights of others and who respect the rights of religion. So it depends on the person. It depends on . . . whether they\u2019re in the mainstream of the law, whether they are honest and decent people. There are a hundred factors. Have to have good temperament and a hundred-and-one other things.
\nSen. Robert Bennett (R.-Utah)<\/b>: Sure. I don\u2019t think that a person\u2019s religion, one way or the other, should be a disqualifying situation. There should be no religious test for national office. That should be very clear.<\/p>\n

And then there’s the worst of both worlds, the wafflers.<\/p>\n

Sen. John McCain (R.-Ariz.)<\/b>: I don\u2019t know, I\u2019ve never contemplated such a thing, but I would\u2014I don\u2019t believe so, but I\u2019ve never thought about it. I think the possibility of President Bush nominating an atheist is less than zero.
\nSen. Jon Kyl (R.-Ariz.)<\/b>: Well, I suppose it all depends. If a Clarence Thomas were nominated who embodies all of the characteristics of Clarence Thomas except his Christianity, but was very firm in his other beliefs, I might well. By the way, that\u2019s an impossibility, but\u2014
\nSen. Tim Johnson (D.-S.D.)<\/b>: Ah, that\u2019s a hypothetical issue. I don\u2019t\u2014I have no answer.<\/p>\n

(via Plum Crazy<\/a>)<\/small><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The US Constitution (Article VI, Clause 3) says (emphasis mine): The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[9,27,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3979","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics-law","category-religion","category-zt-pc"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":45084,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2014\/09\/10\/bryan-fischer-is-a-dolt-no-atheists-allowed-in-my-foxholes-edition.html","url_meta":{"origin":3979,"position":0},"title":"Bryan Fischer is a Dolt (No Atheists Allowed in My Foxholes Edition)","author":"***Dave","date":"Wed 10-Sep-14 6:45pm","format":false,"excerpt":"Brian, you old reprobate, what are you up to these days? Ah, of course, asserting your claim that \"No atheist should be permitted to serve in the U.S. military.\" What fun. The United States Air Force has refused to allow a sergeant to re-enlist because he will not say \"so\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Church & State"","block_context":{"text":"Church & State","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/politics-law\/church-state"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/Patrick-Tillman.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":136906,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2018\/09\/05\/i-think-its-embarrassing-for-the-country-to-allow-protesters.html","url_meta":{"origin":3979,"position":1},"title":"“I think it’s embarrassing for the country to allow protesters”","author":"***Dave","date":"Wed 5-Sep-18 12:30am","format":false,"excerpt":"Quoth Donald, the President of the United States. Trump made the remarks in an Oval Office interview with the Daily Caller hours after his Supreme Court nominee, Brett M. Kavanaugh, was greeted by protests on the first day of his confirmation hearings on Capitol Hill. \u201cI don\u2019t know why they\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/trump-this-small.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":135635,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2017\/12\/13\/guess-theocrat-easier-dont-understand-constitution.html","url_meta":{"origin":3979,"position":2},"title":"I guess being a theocrat is easier when you don’t understand the Constitution","author":"***Dave","date":"Wed 13-Dec-17 7:15am","format":false,"excerpt":"The video here from an interview with Roy Moore spokesperson Ted Crockett is ... both hysterical and deeply depressing. When asked why a Muslim shouldn't be allowed to serve in Congress (as Moore has argued), Crockett notes that a good Muslim could not swear on the Bible, as someone is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/unnamed-4.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":20539,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2011\/03\/23\/bryan-fischer-is-a-dolt-constitution-for-me-but-not-for-thee-edition.html","url_meta":{"origin":3979,"position":3},"title":"Bryan Fischer is a Dolt (Constitution for Me but Not for Thee Edition)","author":"***Dave","date":"Wed 23-Mar-11 10:22pm","format":false,"excerpt":"Dagnabbit, Bryan -- it would have been nice to have been able to retire the whole BFiaD category, but in your unhinged hatred for the things you hate (for which I at least applaud your unwavering dedication), you keep providing targets that simply cannot be ignored. 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