Things We Saw Today: Sitting U.S. Senators Still Don’t Know The Difference Between The Constitution & The Declaration of Independence

Last night, Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) took to Twitter to (incorrectly) state that the Consitution doesn’t grant people the right to abortions. This issue is not that the Consitution says or doesn’t say anything about abortions, but rather that the quote she used is not even from the Constitution, it’s from the Declaration of Independence.

By the by, the Declaration of Independence, while an important document to study, is not some legal document we’re bound to today by any means. It was a statement that the 13 original colonies didn’t want to be a part of Britain, signed in 1776, and it outlines some of the reasons why. Maybe Senator Blackburn doesn’t understand this because Tenessee didn’t exist as a colony then? At the time the two documents were signed (over 11 years apart), this region was disputed (stolen) land from Native Americans.

Blackburn, the senior senator from TN, hasn’t really followed up on clarifying why she cited The Constitution when the extremely famous “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” comes from the Declaration of Independence. It’s probably because she’s multitasking a press tour around defaming Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson and spewing transphobic ideology. The closest we got to some “whoops” or double down was Blackburn’s account retweeting a reporter working for the far-right website Breitbart News this morning:

Regardless, the Constitution also doesn’t say any about forced birth or a number of other things Jackson advocates for. She is the same flavor of Republicans insisting that schools need to “go back to” focus on civics and not [insert anything Trump or Ron Desantis might say in all caps]. This is U.S. Government and American History 101 and even withstands white-washing and yet she doesn’t understand the difference.

(image: Disney Pictures)

Here are some other bits of news we saw today:

• The American Bar Association supports Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s nomination & other Day 4 recap tid-bits. (via NPR)
• Activision Blizzard face another harassment and discrimination lawsuit. (via Game Developer)
• South Florida HS students walk out in protest of Don’t Say Gay Bill. (via @EmilySuyamaa on TikTok)
• Spoilers for The Batman – Warner Bros releases 5 minute deleted Arkham scene. (via Variety.)

Anything we missed out there today, Mary Suevians? Let us know what you saw in the comments below!

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