Senators, Please Read Article VI

The Senate Democrats on the Judiciary Committee would've fit right in as inquisitors ferreting out heresy a couple of centuries ago, but what was condoned centuries ago in Europe, imposing a religious test on those seeking public office, has been unconstitutional in this country since 1789.

Unfortunately, Senator Cory Booker and several of his colleagues seem unaware of that fact.

The following is taken from a piece by Tyler O'Neil at PJ Media:

On Tuesday, Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), a 2020 candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, asked Trump judicial nominee Neomi Rao, an Indian-American former law professor, if she considered homosexual relationships to be sinful.

Booker seized on Rao's 2008 article opposing the Supreme Court decision Lawrence v. Texas, which decriminalized homosexual activity. He then directly asked her,

"Are gay relationships in your opinion immoral?"
"I am not sure the relevance of that," Rao responded.
"Do you think gay relationships are immoral?" he continued.
"I do not," Rao said.
"Do you believe they are a sin?" Booker pressed.
"My personal views on any of these subjects are things I would put to one side," the nominee said.
"So you're not willing to say whether you believe it is sinful for a man — for two men — to be married?" the senator pressed once again.
"No," Rao responded.
"Excuse me?" Booker said.
"My response is that these personal views are ones that I would put to one side. Whatever my personal views are on the subject, I would faithfully follow the precedent of the Supreme Court," the nominee said.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) slammed Booker for his line of questioning, arguing that questions about what is sinful should be utterly off-limits in confirmation hearings. He cited the Constitution's ban on a religious test for public office, and declared, "I don't believe this is a theological court of inquisition."

"The Senate Judiciary Committee should not be a theater for twisting nominees' records or views, nor should it be an avenue for persecution," Cruz declared. "We have seen a growing pattern among Senate Democrats of hostility to religious faith.

I was deeply troubled a few minutes ago to hear questioning of a nominee asking your personal views on what is sinful. In my view that has no business in this committee."

Booker is only the latest in a series of Democrats whose hostility to Christian nominees and Catholics in particular has emerged in confirmation hearings. Senator Dianne Feinstein made it known to all and sundry that the Catholic views of Amy Coney Barrett should disqualify her from the federal bench.

An article by Carrie Severino at National Review Online provides some examples:

During Barrett’s confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee in September 2017, Senator Dianne Feinstein pointedly told the then-nominee, “the dogma lives loudly with in you, and that’s a concern.” The “dogma” to which she referred was Barrett’s Catholic faith, and Feinstein’s not-so-subtle suggestion was that an observant Catholic could not also be a fair and impartial judge.

Severino continues:

Senate Democrats have continually engaged in questioning that test the limits of the Constitution’s Article VI prohibition on “religious tests” for holding government office.

Their latest target is Brian Buescher, a federal district court nominee from Nebraska. Following Mr. Buescher’s November 2018 nomination hearing, Senators Mazie Hirono and Kamala Harris submitted questions for the record interrogating Buescher about his affiliation with the Knights of Columbus—a fraternal service organization of the Catholic Church that claims two million members worldwide.

The Knights are an arm of the Church and one of the world’s great charities, having made billions of dollars in charitable contributions and given millions of hours of volunteer service. Their mission includes aid to the poor, support for people with physical and developmental disabilities, and assistance to victims of natural disasters.

There have been numerous others who have been subjected to this line of inquiry. Severino lists them for us:

• In November 2018, Senator Feinstein submitted written questions for the record to Paul Matey (Third Circuit) asking about his affiliation with the Knights of Columbus.
• In October 2018, Senators Feinstein, Leahy, Blumenthal, Whitehouse and Harris submitted written questions for the record to Allison Jones Rushing (Fourth Circuit) asking about her involvement with Alliance Defending Freedom, a Christian nonprofit organization “that advocates for the right of people to freely live out their faith.”
• In May 2018, Senator Kamala Harris submitted written questions for the record to Peter Phipps (W.D.P.A.) asking about his affiliation with the Knights of Columbus.
• In March 2018, Senator Feinstein submitted written questions for the record to Michael Scudder (Seventh Circuit) noting his membership in the St. John the Cross Parish and asking about his involvement with the parish’s efforts to establish a residential crisis pregnancy center as cited in a parish bulletin.
• In June 2017, Senator Whitehouse (D-RI) submitted written questions for the record to Trevor McFadden (D.D.C.) about his personal views on issues of same-sex marriage and abortion in light of his church membership.
• And the church bashing has not been exclusive to the Senate Judiciary Committee: during a nomination hearing before the Senate Budget Committee in 2017, Senator Bernie Sanders accused Russell Vought—a Christian and President Trump’s nominee for Deputy Director of The White House Office of Management and Budget—of being an “Islamaphobic” on account of his religious views.

Not only is this line of interrogation in conflict with Article VI of the Constitution which explicitly states that “no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office under the United States,” it's also grossly hypocritical. None of these senators would ever dream of posing such questions to a Muslim nominee.

Catholic Christians, however, notwithstanding that their views on abortion and gay marriage are more moderate than those generally held by observant Muslims, are considered legitimate targets for the senators' bigotry.