Bryan Fischer
Roy Moore: the litmus test for genuine conservatism
FacebookTwitter
By Bryan Fischer
October 30, 2017

Follow me on Twitter: @BryanJFischer, on Facebook at "Focal Point"

Host of "Focal Point" on American Family Radio, 1-3pm CT, M-F www.afr.net

Democrats freaked out over Judge Roy Moore along time ago, and they're still doing it. Hillary Clinton, for example, said over the weekend that Republicans must hold Moore accountable for his "bigotry and hatred," telling the Human Rights Campaign that everybody should line up and "condemn (his) views" on homosexuality.

The disturbing thing is Republicans are starting to do the same thing, even "conservatives" who really ought to know better.

Jennifer Rubin, who passes for what the Washington Post considers a voice of conservatism, said that if Republicans don't oppose Roy Moore en masse, "they're headed for extinction." Said she, "If Republicans cannot oppose a former state supreme court justice ousted twice from the bench who espouses rabidly anti-Muslim views and believes homosexuality should be criminalized, the GOP is truly headed for the ash heap of history." In her view, Moore is a "reprehensible candidate."

Ben Sasse, a conservative senator from Nebraska whom I have always liked, took a whack at the Roy Moore pinata by declaring, "You can't have people running for office saying that being a Muslim would be a disqualification for being in Congress." Jeff Flake, for what that's worth, said he will not endorse Moore. The only senators, to my knowledge, who have publicly stood by Moore are Ted Cruz and Rand Paul.

Yet a dispassionate look at the issues indicates that Moore is right about everything for which he is being lampooned. He's right about homosexuality, he's right about marriage, he's right about the Ten Commandments, he's right about Islam, and he's right about judicial activism. And genuine conservatives should stand by him on every issue.

Homosexuality

The Founders were unanimous in their determination that homosexual behavior should be contrary to public policy, and it was a felony offense everywhere in America until 1962. Antonin Scalia, in his scathing dissent in the Lawrence v. Texas case, pointed out that at that time (2003) sodomy was still against the law in 24 states.

There are sound medical reasons why homosexual behavior should be contrary to public policy, from the risk of contracting HIV/AIDs, to the risk of contracting a host of exotic sexually transmitted diseases, to a highly elevated risk of developing anal cancer.

So on the issue of homosexuality, you can side with God, the Bible, all the Founders, Antonin Scalia, and Roy Moore or you can kick them all to the curb. The choice for genuine conservatives is crystal clear.

Muslims in Congress

Moore is also right about the inappropriateness of Muslims serving in Congress. Islam is a totalitarian ideology, and our laws prohibit anyone who holds such an ideology (like communism) from even immigrating to America. Sharia supremacism, which devout Muslims embrace, is fundamentally contrary to virtually every constitutional principle congressmen have a sworn duty to uphold, including freedoms of religion, speech, assembly,and the press. Saying that Muslims should not be allowed to occupy seats in Congress is no different in principle than saying Communists should not.

This is not a violation of the federal prohibition against religious tests (Article VI), since that prohibition specifically has to do with Christianity. According to historian Joseph Story, the Constitution (specifically in the First Amendment) deals only with the various strains of Christianity in America. It doesn't deal with Islam, Judaism, or atheism at all.

Judicial activism

Judge Moore was the only state supreme court justice in the land who fulfilled his oath of office in the wake of the Obergefell decision. While he accepted the Obergefell ruling as it applied to the plaintiffs who were before the Supreme Court, Moore refused to accept that the ruling had any binding effect over the whole nation, just as Abraham Lincoln did with regard to the Dred Scott decision. After all, since the Constitution vests all legislative power in Congress, it is constitutionally impossible for the Supreme Court to make anything "the law of the land."

Since Alabama was never in front of the Court, it never had the opportunity to defend its marriage amendment. Moore therefore directed state clerks to uphold Alabama's constitution by withholding same-sex marriage licenses until the matter could be resolved. Since the federal Constitution is absolutely silent on the subject of marriage, that issue is reserved exclusively for the states under the Tenth Amendment.

In other words, Justice Moore didn't just complain about judicial activism and Supreme Court overreach, he did something about it. Conservatives should be firmly in Moore's corner on this one.

Ten Commandments

Moore is also right about the Ten Commandments. It is absurd in the highest imaginable degree to think that a state courthouse cannot host the Ten Commandments on its property, as Moore's did, when the Supreme Court building itself has the Ten Commandments posted on both the outside and inside of the building. The only way to get into the Supreme Court chambers is to pass through a door with the Ten Commandments engraved on them.

When any federal court rules against the public display of the Ten Commandments, the court itself is in violation of the First Amendment since it flatly prohibits the federal government from interfering with the free exercise of religion in any way.

Thus Moore was absolutely right about the Ten Commandments. So while every conservative in the country complains about the Ten Commandments and other religious symbols being stripped from public view, only Roy Moore was willing to actually do something about it. Conservatives should applaud his principled stand for the Constitution and religious liberty rather than criticize it.

Bottom line: Conservatives, if you're looking for someone who is determined to drain the Swamp on issues of religious liberty, social conservatism, and judicial activism, Roy Moore is your guy. Shame on any conservative who will not proudly stand with him.

(Unless otherwise noted, the opinions expressed are the author's and do not necessarily reflect the views of the American Family Association or American Family Radio.)

© Bryan Fischer

 

The views expressed by RenewAmerica columnists are their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of RenewAmerica or its affiliates.
(See RenewAmerica's publishing standards.)

 

Stephen Stone
The most egregious lies Evan McMullin and the media have told about Sen. Mike Lee

Siena Hoefling
Protect the Children: Update with VIDEO

Stephen Stone
Flashback: Dems' fake claim that Trump and Utah congressional hopeful Burgess Owens want 'renewed nuclear testing' blows up when examined

Jerry Newcombe
Church should be about worship, not entertainment

Laurie Roth
Trump, the truth, and America will prevail in spite of leftist evil plans

Cliff Kincaid
Terrorist attack in Baltimore

Tom DeWeese
DOJ ignores 2nd Amendment

Linda Goudsmit
CHAPTER 11: Critical Race Theory: A species of the ideological thought genus Marxism

Pete Riehm
They have tried everything to destroy Trump, but assassination

Tom DeWeese
When your red state governor dresses in blue

Rev. Mark H. Creech
Revelation Chapter 22: Eternal recompense

Tom DeWeese
YIMBYs, workforce housing, and community land trusts: All means to an end to private property

Jerry Newcombe
The vice president visits an abortion clinic—and the people yawn?

Pete Riehm
Like our Commander-in-Chief, America is clueless, feckless, and powerless

Selwyn Duke
Did anti-white, DEI bias steal a state final spot from a white basketball team?
  More columns

Cartoons


Click for full cartoon
More cartoons

Columnists

Matt C. Abbott
Chris Adamo
Russ J. Alan
Bonnie Alba
Chuck Baldwin
Kevin J. Banet
J. Matt Barber
Fr. Tom Bartolomeo
. . .
[See more]

Sister sites