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Congressman Paul Broun, R-GA, is sticking by a tweet he sent out after the State of the Union. He wrote that the President does not believe in the Constitution, he believes in socialism.
There is nothing new about rightwingers launching the charge of socialism at progressives, Democrats and, you will recall, Dwight Eisenhower. The John Birch Society considered Ike a communist dupe. The charge that someone doesn't "believe" in the Constitution, however, is of more recent vintage. The choice of verb is interesting, no? Does anyone "believe" in the Constitution? Is it a subject of belief? More importantly, what I suspect Mr. Broun means is that the President does not share his interpretation of the Constitution, but that is something different, and such distinctions are not unimportant. I do not share all of President Obama's interpretations of the Constitution, most obviously regarding Roe v. Wade. But, I do not doubt the President's commitment to the Constitution and it is yahoo-like to do so.
