Kenneth T. Cuccinelli: Extremist
"I would remind you that extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice! And let me remind you also that moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue." - Barry Goldwater
Virginia attorney general Kenneth T. Cuccinelli is an extremist, according to the Washington Post. I have been very impressed with the man insofar as his actions as attorney general, but I haven't spent much time exploring who he really is and what he really believes. I think it's fair to say that some Republicans are political opportunists. The question is, is Mr. Cuccinelli? According to Barry Goldwater's standard and the editorial page of the Washington Post, Cuccinelli is a fire-breathing extremist.
Both are correct. Ken Cuccinelli is an extremist, but he is an extremist serving in defense of liberty. America was founded as, says Cuccinelli, "a natural law-based country...". The Founders would agree. Wrote Thomas Jefferson on behalf of the unanimous Thirteen United States of America, "When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation." Jefferson and the Founders appealed to the natural law, the only righteous philosophy of the law, when founding the Republic and writing our beloved Constitution. As Andrew Napolitano explained, the natural law / limited government argument made by Madison won the day over the secular, strong central government argument made by Alexander Hamilton.
So what of the Washington Post? The post makes arguments King George would be proud of. In an article titled 'Mr. Cuccinelli's bigotry', the Post opines "Appeals to "natural law" and "intrinsic" rights and wrongs were the usual cliches deployed to justify the old-time religion of hatred then directed at African Americans, Jews, Italians, Irish and other immigrants." It may indeed be the case that those ideals were invoked to justify bigotry, but the reality of natural law has nothing to do with bigotry.
The natural law is a philosophy of law that accepts the truth that we are created by a sovereign God, and just as he is free we too are free, created in His image that we are. The American Constitution was designed to create a government that passed laws in harmony with the natural law, in order to form a more perfect union. Back to Jefferson: "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. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness."
Jefferson acknowledges that the only purpose of law is to serve the laws of nature and of nature's God. This is the natural law that the Post smears as bigotry. This is the philosophy of law held by Kenneth Cuccinelli. This is the foundation of the American republic. And it crystallizes for us the nature of the divide between the "left" and the "right." It is the same debate that took place in the days of the American Revolution: from where do our rights come? The Founders believed our unalienable rights come from a sovereign God who created us all, and ordered the universe in His image. So too does Ken Cuccinelli. The Post seems to agree with the King that rights are bestowed by the rulers.
So, who exactly are the real extremists?
Virginia attorney general Kenneth T. Cuccinelli is an extremist, according to the Washington Post. I have been very impressed with the man insofar as his actions as attorney general, but I haven't spent much time exploring who he really is and what he really believes. I think it's fair to say that some Republicans are political opportunists. The question is, is Mr. Cuccinelli? According to Barry Goldwater's standard and the editorial page of the Washington Post, Cuccinelli is a fire-breathing extremist.
Both are correct. Ken Cuccinelli is an extremist, but he is an extremist serving in defense of liberty. America was founded as, says Cuccinelli, "a natural law-based country...". The Founders would agree. Wrote Thomas Jefferson on behalf of the unanimous Thirteen United States of America, "When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation." Jefferson and the Founders appealed to the natural law, the only righteous philosophy of the law, when founding the Republic and writing our beloved Constitution. As Andrew Napolitano explained, the natural law / limited government argument made by Madison won the day over the secular, strong central government argument made by Alexander Hamilton.
So what of the Washington Post? The post makes arguments King George would be proud of. In an article titled 'Mr. Cuccinelli's bigotry', the Post opines "Appeals to "natural law" and "intrinsic" rights and wrongs were the usual cliches deployed to justify the old-time religion of hatred then directed at African Americans, Jews, Italians, Irish and other immigrants." It may indeed be the case that those ideals were invoked to justify bigotry, but the reality of natural law has nothing to do with bigotry.
The natural law is a philosophy of law that accepts the truth that we are created by a sovereign God, and just as he is free we too are free, created in His image that we are. The American Constitution was designed to create a government that passed laws in harmony with the natural law, in order to form a more perfect union. Back to Jefferson: "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. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness."
Jefferson acknowledges that the only purpose of law is to serve the laws of nature and of nature's God. This is the natural law that the Post smears as bigotry. This is the philosophy of law held by Kenneth Cuccinelli. This is the foundation of the American republic. And it crystallizes for us the nature of the divide between the "left" and the "right." It is the same debate that took place in the days of the American Revolution: from where do our rights come? The Founders believed our unalienable rights come from a sovereign God who created us all, and ordered the universe in His image. So too does Ken Cuccinelli. The Post seems to agree with the King that rights are bestowed by the rulers.
So, who exactly are the real extremists?
posted by The Rock | 11:48 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home