Locked in a losing battle to retain her seat in the 15th District of the House of Representatives, Republican Congresswoman Deborah Pryce is lashing out with desperate wildness at her opponent:
She has problems with being particularly patriotic and God-loving, right? That’s my impression.
That’s what Deborah Pryce says about her opponent Mary Jo Kilroy, because as a Franklin County Commissioner back in 2002 Kilroy abstained from voting on a resolution that disagreed with a federal court ruling that the pledge of allegiance was unconstitutional for its mandated inclusion of the phrase “under God.”
Let’s ignore for the moment that Deborah Pryce is going hog-wild over an abstention, a long-accepted and honorable way of holding back both support and opposition regarding a measure that one considers to be of mixed value. No, let’s ignore that indication of Pryce’s desperate inappropriateness and jump right to the meat of it:
Deborah Pryce says that unless you agree with her on matters of religion, you aren’t fit for office. If you don’t “love God,” her God, enough, then you don’t belong in the Congress. That’s what Deborah Pryce is arguing.
But wait a minute: Article VI of the U.S. Constitution clearly states:
The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.
As Article VI requires, Deborah Pryce has sworn a solemn oath to support and defend this very same Constitution, the Constitution that prohibits the use of religion as a qualifier for office. Yet Deborah Pryce is ignoring what the Constitution says and plowing right ahead, applying a religious test to her opponent for not having the “right” religion in her eyes. That’s not only intolerant; it’s a betrayal of the oath Pryce swore when she joined the Congress.
It’s not just in this instance that Deborah Pryce has shown an inclination to ignore the American Constitution she swore to support and defend. Rep. Pryce’s Oath Of Office Index score is an abysmal 0 out of 100. That’s zero, zip, zilch, nada, nothing. At six moments during the 109th Congress, Deborah Pryce had an opportunity to support and defend the Constitution, but instead abrogated her responsibility and turned her back on a sworn oath. These six moments represent no mere abstentions or failures to act; they are instances in which Deborah Pryce took specific action to reject the U.S. Constitution. You can read the details on these legislative acts at Progressive Patriots, but to make a quick sum of it:
1. Deborah Pryce voted in favor of H.R 6166, the Military Commissions Act, despite the fact that it violates the Fifth and Sixth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution.
2. Deborah Pryce voted to reauthorize the ill-named Patriot Act, despite the fact that it unpatriotically violates the Constitution’s Fourth Amendment.
3. Deborah Pryce voted against the Farr Amendment. The Farr Amendment would have removed language from H.R. 418 that contravenes Article I and Article II of the Constitution.
4. Deborah Pryce voted against the Scott Amendment. The Scott Amendment would have removed language from H.R. 27 that violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments.
5. Deborah Pryce voted for the Hostettler Amendment, which added language to H.R. 2862 that contravenes Article I and Article III of the Constitution.
6. Deborah Pryce voted for H.R. 952, despite the fact that it violates the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution.
Deborah Pryce has consistently failed to do her patriotic duty to support and defend the Constitution. She seems to have decided that ignoring the Constitution is her job. And she dares to question the patriotism of her opponent? Shame on you, Deborah Pryce. Shame.
