Republican Senator Tom Cotton schooled Democrat Sen. Mazie Hirono today after she seemed to forget basic American history.
“You noted that Justice Alito chose 1868 as the historical basis for his decision overturning Roe,” Hirono said.
“And I agree with you, what is so special about 1868?
“And not only that, with the attitude or approach of originalism, the justices who take that approach go all the way back to our Founding Fathers and pretend that they know what our Founding Fathers meant when they drafted the Constitution.
“I use the word pretend because who the heck would know what our Founding Fathers meant?
“Is there any reference to AR-15 rifles in our Constitution? No.”
WATCH:
Democrat Sen. Mazie Hirono claims it’s ridiculous to refer to the Founding Fathers when interpreting the Constitution: "Who the heck would know what our Founding Fathers meant?" pic.twitter.com/10DiyknTVc
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) July 12, 2022
Enter Tom Cotton, who fired back during an interview with Laura Ingraham on Fox News:
“Gosh, how could you possibly understand, Laura, what our Founding Fathers thought the Constitution and the Declaration meant?
“Maybe it’s that James Madison and Alexander Hamilton wrote 85 different newspaper columns, now collected in something called the Federalist Papers.
“Or that Madison and Jefferson and Adams and Washington wrote letters and speeches and ordinances and resolutions that total up volumes and volumes of what they believed about America and the promise that America held for everyone.
“That’s exactly what justices should be doing.
“And that should also be what guides us in Congress.
“What guides our legislatures across the country, is fulfilling those founding ideals.
“Not simply dismissing them as if they’re somehow unknowable when the Founders literally wrote multi-volume books about what the Constitution means,” he said.
WATCH:
