Pennsylvania state and socialist Chris Rabb, the Democratic nominee for Pennsylvania’s 3rd Congressional District, has joined the growing chorus of Democrats denouncing the founding documents and core institutions in the country on our 250th anniversary. The Democratic socialist is running unopposed for Congress and will almost certainly be a member of Congress after November.
Rabb spoke at an event billed as “America at 250 — Trump Fascism, Historical Erasure, and the Battle Over Truth” at People’s Plaza on Independence Mall in Philadelphia.
He denounced the country as based on “stolen land and stolen labor.” He lashed out at the Declaration of Independence:
“Those screeds that were very lofty but were notoriously catering to a performative aspect of collective genius that purposely erased indigenous and black peoples…It created distance from an empire to help very privileged people continue that privilege and ultimately institutionalize that through the U.S. Constitution many years later. But it certainly did not provide independence to indigenous and black peoples. And we cannot talk about anything today without acknowledging that this is a nation born on stolen land & stolen labor.”
In Rage and the Republic, I discuss the inherent hypocrisy of our Declaration in declaring natural rights without denouncing the enslaving of so many in the country:
“The Founders understood that inescapable truth of natural law when they signed a Declaration that ‘all men are created equal.’ Despite this defining line, even some who opposed slavery saw little hope for a revolution that would seek to overthrow both the monarchy and slavery. Jefferson would have to make the concession in striking critical language from his draft. While Jefferson’s legacy would be forever stained by his own maintenance of slaves, he did attempt to condemn the institution of slavery. He was rebuffed by his fellow delegates who were willing to acknowledge the existence of a natural law while ignoring its implications for the enslaved people in the new nation.”
Rabb ignores how the Declaration laid the foundation for a more perfect union. Ours was the first major Enlightenment Revolution based on the belief that our rights came not from the government but from God. It embraced the principles that would ultimately prevail in ending this shameful stain on our nation.
“Fascism is not new. These systems of harm are built into the very fabric of this nation,..You cannot kill the beast until you name it. And that is difficult for many people who want to embrace certain tropes, certain narratives, whether it’s the American dream or American exceptionalism or the Protestant work ethic or so many other myths that do us no — they are a disservice.”
Rabb is not the first figure on the far left to denounce the “American dream” and “the Protestant work ethic” as harmful “myths.”
He pledged that he would be “one of the few unapologetic reparationists going to Congress,” joining a growing number of Democrats demanding billions in reparations for black Americans.
Many on the left are using the anniversary to condemn our founding principles or to decline to celebrate our Independence Day. This includes such demonstrations in states such as Massachusetts, which declined to join the celebration on the Mall for the 250th anniversary.
Recently, we discussed how a Massachusetts church ended the long-standing celebration of the Fourth of July to focus on the “on-going process within the congregation to better understand our own whiteness.”
John Adams once wrote his wife Abigail to predict that Independence Day would be:
“celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the Day of Deliverance by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires and illuminations from end of this continent to the other from this time forward forever more.”
Adams was virulently opposed to slavery as were many of the Founders. Many openly discussed their hope that the new nation would address slavery after it succeeded in establishing its independence. Those lofty values were ultimately realized at the cost of hundreds of thousands of lives in the Civil War.
The claim that fascism is a system “built into the very fabric of this nation” is absurd and demagogic. This nation defeated fascism and remains the oldest and most successful republic in history. Indeed, the left is claiming to be fighting fascism while seeking to take over the Supreme Court in a court-packing scheme while limiting such core human rights as free speech.
In “killing the beast,” the far left is threatening to unleash the very forces that destroyed the contemporary revolution in France at the time of our founding. These voices are not new. They have been part of this republic — and other republics — throughout history. They are the voices of mobocracy that we rejected 250 years ago. That is precisely why Benjamin Franklin was right that this is, and will remain, our Republic to keep.
Jonathan Turley is a law professor and the New York Times best-selling author of “Rage and the Republic: The Unfinished Story of the American Revolution.”
More word salad.
The Democratic Party has truly lost its way.
Someone who has publicly stated that he (or she) rejects our founding documents, including the Constitution, cannot in good faith take the oath of office:
I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God.”
If there remains a Republican majority in the House and Senate, it should refuse to seat any avowed socialist or Marxist.
Terrorist Torn Between Going On Violent Jihad Or Getting Elected As Democratic Senator
At publishing time, Abdullah bin Khalid Al-Makki had decided to put away his bazooka and give the Democratic politician thing a go, knowing that he always had terrorism to fall back on.
https://babylonbee.com/news/terrorist-torn-between-going-on-violent-jihad-or-getting-elected-as-democratic-senator
In 1776 all of these guys, including the Founding Fathers, were also politicians. Every politician likes to be ambiguous so they don’t lose supporters. Everyone thinks the politician is on their side. Sort of a wink & a nod (not clear wording) to supporters to keep coalitions from breaking apart.
In 1776, Great Britain was the world’s greatest superpower with a military that eventually defeated another superpower France. Great Britain in 1776 was like the USA today. In 1776 America was like Ukraine, the nation being bullied.
The Founding Fathers faced execution (death) if the American coalition broke apart. Sort of that saying “the enemy of my enemy is my friend”. In 1776, France (Britain’s enemy) and American states, including slave states were the “friends” of the Founding Fathers.
These politicians “excluded” the actual words “slaves” and “African-Americans” in the Declaration of Independence and created a U.S. Constitution that could be amended in the future. This ambiguous language appeased the racists and slave owners, but the legal wording allowed slavery to be abolished by future voters.
If the Founding Fathers didn’t do this, the weak coalition with a weak military would have fallen apart. The Founding Fathers would have been executed and there would be no USA at all.
This U.S. Constitution allowed the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments (protecting all of us especially African-Americans) to be the supreme law of the United States. The original constitutional wording of “all men” was amended allowing women to vote in 1920.
If the Founding Fathers had been executed and their coalition fell apart in 1776, there would be no Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians, Catholics or Jewish houses of worship in the USA today. All of us would be forced to join the Anglican Church and severely punished for practicing any other religion.
Politicians like Trump do this ambiguous language today. Trump built a partial wall on the border that anyone could cut through with tools purchased from Home Depot, but the photographs really misled voters. It’s what politicians do.
I wonder what nation they would prefer. And if they disclose that they certainly should move there.
Great column. Speaking of stolen land, the Dems fail to point out in their support of Hamas, is that Islam reigns almost completely on stolen land, stolen a millennium ago, but definitely swiped from countless indigenous populations. Included are all of North Africa, all of the Eastern Mediterranean, even Iraq, Iran, and Palestine itself. The Dems have a bunch of talking points that aren’t even challenged anymore.
Our Declaration of Independence is the model document for most of the countries most livable countries worldwide. Its why people come here.
some of these leftist/ communist Who are heading to Congress actually believe that 911 was deserved by us It’s amazing that these same people can get elected in New york of all plaIt What the hell are they thinking about? How could anyone vote in a communist? This is mind-boggling.
Not surprising this comes from Pennsylvania. I admire Senators McCormick and Fetterman for their unwavering support of our country. What is beyond shocking and a perfect example of what Gad Saad wrote, “Suicidal Empathy,” a Jewish governor, Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania is anti-America. Can you imagine the fate of Jews if America did not exist?