The historic theme in the Declaration of Independence, which is mankind has basic human rights that come from God, has been taught to generations of students since the country’s founding. Yet that view, a unique one in 1776 in a world run by kings, was dismissed by Sen. Kaine at a Senate confirmation hearing Wednesday.
“The notion that rights don't come from laws and don't come from the government, but come from the Creator, that's what the Iranian government believes,” Caine told Senate witness Riley Barnes, a State Department nominee.
Barnes was appearing after being nominated by President Trump to lead the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor at the State Department.
What set off the Senator was an opening comment from Barnes. He was quoting Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is known for his strong Catholic faith and for not being afraid to reflect on it and defend it.
"We are a nation founded on a powerful principle,” Barnes, reading from his opening remarks, said. “And that powerful principle is that all men are created equal, because our rights come from God our Creator — not from our laws, not from our governments.”
Barnes, further quoting Rubio, said Rubio views the role of the State Department as upholding the principle that every person is “made in the image of God” and possesses “an inherent dignity.”
Caine, however, who claims to be Catholic, seemed troubled by the quote. He compared it to the theocratic Iranian regime that oppresses other faiths, including Sunni Muslims.
“And they do it,” the Senator continued, “because they believe that they understand what natural rights are from their Creator.”
Not done yet, the Virginia senator told the nominee it was “extremely troubling” to hear the argument that our rights don’t come from our laws or our government.
Kaine’s comments haven’t gone unnoticed. On the “Washington Watch” program, Hillsdale College constitutional government professor Dr. Matt Spalding said the idea that basic human rights don’t come from a king is a fundamental principle for the United States of America.
“All these rights – our equality, consent – all these things," Spalding said, "depend upon a source outside of ourselves, outside of history, outside of our particular subjective whims, outside of government.”
As far as a motive behind Kaine’s surprising comment, Spalding said mankind is rebellious and rejects the idea of a “Supreme Judge” who will hold us accountable for our actions.
“And they want to so much to get rid of that influence that they, essentially, erase it completely,” Spalding said.
Kaine, who has been in politics since the 1990s, is perhaps best known as Hillary Clinton's running mate in 2016. He has been in the U.S. Senate since 2012 after serving as Virginia governor and lieutenant governor.
Kaine’s lecture to Barnes was followed by a lecture to him from a Republican senator, Ted Cruz. An upset-sounding Cruz told the Democrat what he had called a “radical and dangerous” idea "is literally the founding principle upon which the United States of America was created."
Cruz, an attorney known for his knowledge and defense of constitutional rights, pointed out a “prominent Virginian” named Thomas Jefferson had written the Declaration of Independence and its statement that "all men are created equal, and that they are endowed by their Creator.”
"Not by government, not by the Democratic National Committee, but by God," Cruz said.
Kaine, perhaps best known as Hillary Clinton's running mate, was viewed at the time as a pragmatic, non-radical Democrat.
