The leader of the Republican party showed off his ignorance at CPAC this weekend when he talked about the Constitution. Not only did he mistake the Declaration of Independence for the Constitution, he completely misunderstood the intent of the framers and what we as a nation are allowed to do with the "living, breathing" document.
From ThinkProgress:
During his speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on Saturday, Rush Limbaugh got some of his loudest applause when he declared that President Obama’s policies represent a “bastardization of the Constitution.” He attempted to prove his devotion to the document by quoting from it:We love and revere our founding documents, the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. [Applause] We believe that the preamble to the Constitution contains an inarguable truth that we are all endowed by our creator with certain inalienable rights, among them life. [Applause] Liberty, Freedom. [Applause] And the pursuit of happiness. [Applause] Those of you watching at home may wonder why this is being applauded. We conservatives think all three are under assault. [Applause]
"Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" is a quote from the document 'heard round the world' on July 4th, 1776, not when the Constitution was written more than a decade later. Of course, the principles that our country was founded on don't mean much to Rush, since in his mind, the primacy of the General Will has been replaced by the particular will.
Yeah that's right, I used a little Rousseau on Rush. I'm sure the famous French theorist would have a field day with the likes of Limbaugh and his dittoheads.
Of course, dittoheads, Republicans, especially the types that attend CPAC pride themselves on being ignorant, so that their failed ideology can still live on in their narrow minds. Later on in the speech, Rush said that the Constitution does not need to be redefined, which would make most rational people wonder what he thinks of the twenty-seven amendments to the document. Items such as ending slavery, giving women the right to vote, for the people to be able to elect their Senators are all "redefinitions" of the Constitution.
As incompetent and irrational as he is, Rush is still the de facto leader of the GOP and yes, that is pretty sad.
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