It’s amazing how much national attention a Louisiana governor can get when he disregards The Constitution.
Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry, who I have described as a “right-wing radical” Republican, signed legislation in June that requires The Ten Commandments to be posted in every public school classroom in the state, defying the 1980 U.S. Supreme Court decision ruling that posting The Ten Commandments in a public school classroom is unconstitutional. Landry’s comment to ignoring The Constitution was “I don’t see what the whole big fuss is about.” Wasn’t there a time when Republicans showed a collective respect for The Constitution? Now, many Republicans who I consider “right-wing radicals” don’t seem to care about The Constitution if it gets in the way of the ideology they have invented.
Landry’s decision to post The Ten Commandments has led to national attention with media outlets like NBC. CNN, NPR, Axios, and AP News publishing stories about the brazen move. Landry is showing signs of using the voters of the state of Louisiana and the money of the state’s taxpayers to gain national attention for a role in perhaps the Trump Administration should Trump win in November. The defiance of The Constitution will certainly send the Ten Commandments issue to the Supreme Court and Landry is pushing for the new, conservative Court to reassess the constitutionality of posting The Ten Commandments in public classrooms.
If The Ten Commandments are posted in public school classrooms and if parents have children who might be offended by their posting, Gov. Landry suggested the ridiculous idea for parents to “Tell your child not to look at them.” What a simple and wonderful idea for all Republicans and Democrats! If you see anything that offends you just don’t look at it. If you are upset when your children might see drag queens in part of the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics, just tell them not to look at it. If a parent is ever concerned about their children seeing gays or transgender people in public holding hands or exhibiting PDAs - just tell them not to look at it. What a revelation this is!
The state of Louisiana is already being sued over the new law of displaying The Commandments. A coalition of Jewish, Christian, Unitarian Universalist and nonreligious parents are suing the state. Landry is costing the hard-working citizens of Louisiana money by pushing a right-wing agenda.
Landry’s ego may be writing checks his intellect can’t cash. Landry’s appeal is generally limited to “right-wing” Republicans and thoughts he may have of being a serious presidential candidate in 2028 seem predicated on the “right-wing” faction of the Republican Party growing and younger generations, like Millennials, which make up the largest proportion of the U.S. population, falling in line with a more extreme right view than their current political leanings is not likely.
Perhaps as a way of appealing to a larger percentage of citizens, Gov. Landry and the state’s AG Liz Murrill, presented posters of examples of The Ten Commandments that could possibly be posted. The examples included a presentation relating to the play “Hamilton” and the late liberal Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. But it’s still The Ten Commandments.
On my talk show a few listeners tried to accuse me of not respecting The Ten Commandments because I do not believe they belong in the classroom. Because I respect the Supreme Court ruling and the separation of church and state and I do not believe The Ten Commandments should be in public classrooms does not mean I don’t respect and try to follow the Commandments every day.
And remember - when you see something you find offensive - gays or drag queens in public or the naked bike ride - all you have to do is don’t look at it.
