Breaking: Sen. Bernie Sanders does not understand the U.S. Constitution.
Well, O.K. This probably doesn't surprise you.
Article IV of the Constitution explicitly says, “No religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.” But on Wednesday, Sanders tore into a Trump nominee for the White House Budget Office based on his religious convictions.
The nominee, Russell Vought, wrote an opinion piece for the Resurgent in January 2016 where he stated that Muslims “have rejected Jesus Christ, His Son, and they stand condemned.”
While this may sound harsh on the surface, many have pointed out that this is a very basic tenet of Christian theology. Christians believe that you must accept Jesus Christ as the Son of God or you cannot be saved. If they didn't believe this, it wouldn't make a whole lot of sense for them to be Christians.
Not one for theological complexities, Sanders accused Vought of Islamophobia, saying, “Are you suggesting that all [Muslims] stand condemned? What about Jews? Do they stand condemned, too?”
When Vought very calmly and respectfully responded, “Senator, I’m a Christian,” the claws really came out:
“I understand you are a Christian, but this country are made of people who are not just -- I understand that Christianity is the majority religion, but there are other people of different religions in this country and around the world. In your judgment, do you think that people who are not Christians are going to be condemned?”
You can read a transcript of the full exchange here.
Sanders concluded that he could not vote for Vought because he is “not someone who this country is supposed to be about.”
In other words, Sanders thinks that a personal religious belief disqualifies Vought from serving his country in the Budget Office. Where are the Founding Fathers when you need them?
Good for Vought for staying so composed while Sanders accused him of religious bigotry simply for holding to the basic tenants of his faith. The great thing about America is that we can disagree on really important issues (like how to get to heaven) and still all serve the same country. To use Sanders' own words, that is what “this country is supposed to be about.”
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