Christine O'Donnell Stands Her Ground on First Amendment Statement, Blames Media for Distortions

[sabra]

Source: ABC News

The Delaware Senate Hopeful Regrets Her 'I'm Not a Witch' Ad, Says She'll Win in November

In an exclusive and far-ranging interview with ABC News, Delaware Republican Senate candidate Christine O'Donnell strongly defended her statements on the separation of church and state but expressed regret for her "I'm Not a Witch" ad.

During Tuesday night's debate with Democratic opponent Chris Coons, O'Donnell challenged Coons to show where the Constitution requires separation of church and state, drawing swift criticism from her opponent, laughter from the audience and yet another media firestorm.

"It's really funny the way that the media reports things," she told ABC News. "After that debate my team and I we were literally high fiving each other thinking that we had exposed he doesn't know the First Amendment, and then when we read the reports that said the opposite we were all like 'what?'"

O'Donnell explained her line of questioning to Coons was not because she didn't know the First Amendment, but to the make the point the phrase "separation of church and state" does not appear anywhere in the Constitution. The Supreme Court has interpreted the First Amendment's declaration that Congress "shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion" as a legal separation between government and faith.

"I asked him where in the Constitution is the phrase 'separation of church and state,'" O'Donnell recounted. "He said the First Amendment. I followed up with, 'Can you name the five freedoms that are guaranteed to us that are protected by the First Amendment?' And he could not."

Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/abc-news-exclusive-christine-odonnell-stands-ground-amendment/story?id=11933130

[polichick]

1. "we were all like 'what?'" - Yep, that's the problem...

Crazy Christine and her ilk are CLUELESS!

[LynneSin]

2. Typical Christine - absolutely NOTHING is her fault according to her

Tax Lien - was someone else's fault
Foreclosure - not her fault
Using campaign funds for personal expensives - she's not to blame
Claiming she went to schools where she didn't go - someone else said that

Obviously living in Delaware I've unfortunately read more about this woman then I wish I had too and she has a very common theme - everything that has gone wrong in her life is not her fault. This is the main reason she is not qualified to be a US Senator. If she cannot take personal responsiblity for what she has done wrong then how can we ever trust her.

[happygoluckytoyou]

39. not a witch AND no masterbation..... the how CAN we explain the broom between her legs?

[ProudDad]

44. At least she's funnier than mcshame and kyl here in bat-shit crazy Arizona

mcshame and jonkly are appearing together 10 times an hour attacking Raul Grijalva on the TV box...

Paid by the mcshame for senate campaign!!!

[TwilightGardener]

3. Must...keep...Teabaggers in the game...no matter how moronic or crazy...

That's really all the media is doing--promotion and apologizing and translating. Otherwise, anyone with two brain cells would have written off this woman and her ilk weeks and months ago--and then where's the big teabag news story?

[KeepItReal]

23. Yep, just propping up the GOP at every turn

I sick of seeing Carly Fiorina coverage here in CA with no mention of the fact that she was ranked one of the WORST CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICERS EVER.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/30502091/Portfolio_s_Worst_American_CEOs_of_All_Time?slide=3

They gave and continue to give her a total pass on that fact.

[Richardo]

4. The end of that last quote should read: "...and he could not - be heard over the audience laughter."

[savalez]

24. LOL!

[stlsaxman]

5. "... and we were all like- 'what?'"

:rofl:

[Ian David]

6. The gotcha media's two favorite tricks are "record" and "play." (Credit to SNL). n/t

[Hosnon]

7. I assumed that's what she meant. "Show me where those exact five words appear."

Which completely misses the point...

[polichick]

10. True, it misses the point and she didn't ask it that way. nt

[sinkingfeeling]

8. Dear Christine, there are such things as video and tape out there. That's not what you said.

[jsgindc]

9. "I asked him where in the Constitution is the phrase 'separation of church and state,"

She...never.....said.."the phrase" on Tuesday Night.

She never said those 2 words when she was speaking to Coon.

I listened to the video and I never heard her say "the phrase"


She is such a Liar.........

She'll be a FOX-TV contributor before the end on November.

[polichick]

11. She's spinning like crazy! btw, welcome to DU :)

[Gormy Cuss]

20. And at the end of that discussion it looked like she thought the crowd was laughing at Coons

when they were in fact laughing at her.

Coons also spelled out how the concept of separation of church and state was built from the establishment clause, but she ignored him.

[gkhouston]

22. The truly appalling thing is that she should have learned this in school

(this material was covered both in middle and high school for me), and yet she clearly hasn't got a clue.

[ProudDad]

45. She was too busy masturbating in her witch costume? (n/t)

[MadMaddie]

41. That's because she didn't comprehend what he was saying

It was easier for her to ignore what he said. The Republicans are notorious for that kind of behavior.

[AlbertCat]

28. She...never.....said.."the phrase"

She did indeed ask where it said "Separation of church & state"... While the moderator was trying to move on.

But that doesn't matter. The actual words "Separation of Church & State" may not be in there but the 1st amendment DEFINES that phrase. It's a mouthful to say "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;" all the time so they made a phrase to mean those words: "Separation of church & state". Parsing words and ignoring the meaning is her game here because she hasn't a leg to stand on.

[24601]

33. There is a quote from a Thomas Jefferson letter containing those

specific words. (From the UVa site http://etext.virginia.edu/jefferson/quotations/jeff1650.htm)

"Believing... that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, and not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their Legislature should 'make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,' thus building a wall of separation between Church and State." --Thomas Jefferson to Danbury Baptists, 1802. ME 16:281

But Jefferson, pre-14th amendment, also wasn't saying limiting all government, just federal - because he also wrote,

"I consider the government of the United States as interdicted by the Constitution from intermeddling with religious institutions, their doctrines, discipline, or exercises. This results not only from the provision that no law shall be made respecting the establishment or free exercise of religion, but from that also which reserves to the states the powers not delegated to the United States. Certainly, no power to prescribe any religious exercise or to assume authority in religious discipline has been delegated to the General Government. It must then rest with the states, as far as it can be in any human authority." --Thomas Jefferson to Samuel Miller, 1808. ME 11:428

[dflprincess]

37. And when Coons did recite the establishment clause to her and the twit still said

"That's in the 1st Amendment?" (repeating that a couple times) as she smirked because she just knew he was making that up and she didn't get that the audience was laughing at, not with, her.

[NJmaverick]

12. "After that debate my team and I we were literally high fiving each other"

Further proof just how out of touch the tea bagger movement is with the American people.

[woodsprite]

14. You could tell she thought the audience was laughing with her, not at her. n/t

[Dr.Phool]

13. Christine, has it ever dawned on you, that you're a blithering idiot?

Almost enough to make Sarah Palin seem like she has 1/3 of a brain.

Clue: When everybody else gets the joke, and you don't, you're it.

[PfcHammer]

15. Christine had an uncool situation with Coons at the debate

:rofl:

[MilesColtrane]

16. Christine O'Donnell - She's you...all like 'what'?

[hamsterjill]

17. Some advice, Christine...

"It is better to remain silent and THOUGHT a fool, rather than to SPEAK UP and remove all doubt"...

[AtheistCrusader]

18. man, I am enjoying this election like no other.

The hits just keep on coming.

[gratuitous]

19. O'Donnell talked to ABC News?

That IS news. I thought she and her independent maverick ilk were all under orders to talk to no major media except Fox. Yeah, it's funny the way the media report things, Christine (by the way, "media" is a plural noun, so for subject-verb agreement, you don't say "media reports"), at least sometimes. Because what you said afterward is not what you said during the debate. But since you're a nincompoop, you just keep hanging on to that feather and believing in fairies, and the rest of us will watch as you plummet to earth.

[Pacifist Patriot]

21. Your avatar provides such a striking contrast to O'Donnell.

Senate material? She's not fit to fetch his coffee.

[SemperEadem]

25. since it's obvious that xtine stepford-palin is stupid beyond belief

what about this does she not get:

Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

That has been clear to me since I learned it in civics class in 8th grade back in 1974 when another maniacal piece of shit was trying to trash it.

xtine and her team are stupid and willfully ignorant--in other words, fundamental-case xtians.

[MadMaddie]

43. See where you are going wrong?

:sarcasm:

All of us are assuming that it very clear what the clause says...to Christine and her ilk if it is not word for word, verbatum then it really doesn't say it.

[Mz Pip]

26. she huddled with her advisors

to come up with some explanation of her epic FAIL.

She didn't know what was in the First Amendment. Had. No. Clue.

[alp227]

27. So when's the "exclusive and far-ranging interview" with Coons coming?

If there is, can you let me know? Thanks. I'm so tired of the media giving so much free softball airtime to the Tea Party already. And no, it was O'Donnell who's the Constitutional airhead. Let's flood ABC's answering machine with: "When's the in-depth interview with Chris Coons?"

[Marthe48]

35. right on

all of the daily coverage of the teabaggers (who dress like they are going on Let's Make a Deal, which is about right come to think ot it) makes me want to yark.

[budkin]

29. The amount of stupid coming off this woman is painful

[truebrit71]

30. Aaah teh stoopid is strong in this one I see...

...

[sakabatou]

31. The stupid is trong with her

[Kelvin Mace]

32. She changing what she actually said to cover her ass

What she said then:

“The First Amendment does?”

Let me just clarify: You’re telling me that the separation of church and state is found in the First Amendment?”

“That’s in the First Amendment…?”

What she NOW says:

"I asked him where in the Constitution is the phrase 'separation of church and state,'" O'Donnell recounted.

Lying again, and ABC let's her skate.

[and-justice-for-all]

34. Dumb...nt

[JeffersonChick]

36. 5 freedoms?

"followed up with, 'Can you name the five freedoms that are guaranteed to us that are protected by the First Amendment?' And he could not."

When did O'Donnell say this? I watched that segment of the interview, and I don't remember her saying anything like this.

[kestrel91316]

38. She lied (again). She never asked him that.

[happygoluckytoyou]

40. not a witch AND no masterbation..... the how CAN we explain the broom between her legs?

[ProudDad]

42. She's the gift that keeps on giving...

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:


A symptom of the end of Empire...

Pretty soon one of the right-wings of the Corporate War Party will be running a horse for Senator...

On edit: and the horse will win...

[Javaman]

46. Only one thing worse that being stupid...

that's being stupid AND stubborn.

She painted herself into a corner now chooses to walk out of the room.