Whoopi To McCain: Should I Worry About Being A Slave?
Sep 12, 2008 Political
John McCain went on The View for some unknown reason and he was discussing wanting judges that interpreted the Constitution the way our Founders intended. Whoopi Goldberg said “Should I be worried about being a slave, about being returned to slavery because certain things happened in the Constitution that you had to change?”
John McCain said that he understood her point. I assume that the point is, if you go strictly by what the Founders laid out then slavery was part of the equation. This would be true if the Constitution had not been amended and Goldberg stated as much when she said it had to be changed. The Constitution INCLUDES the amendments so it should be a moot point. The original Constitution did not ban slavery and it was practiced in this country. The 13th Amendment states:
Section 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.
Section 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. Cornell Law School
McCain’s answer should have been; “No Whoopi. While I understand your question and your point, you do not have to worry about being a slave. Those very Founders had the sense to put in a means of amending the Constitution, which you alluded to, and the citizens of this country made slavery illegal using that process so you have a Constitutional protection against being a slave as provided by the 13th Amendment. When I say I want people to interpret the Constitution the way the Founders intended, I mean including the amendments they had the sense to provide for.”
I think the exchange, especially McCain’s acquiescence, left the impression that our Constitution is outdated and would make people slaves if we strictly followed it. I think this is especially true for the dim witted idiots that watch The View. The problem is, McCain allowed Goldberg to play the race card unchallenged.
As an aside, involuntary servitude would include mandatory community service as a requirement for graduation from high school, which Barack Obama advocates. The question for school kids might be, if Obama gets elected, should I worry about performing uncompensated labor for someone else’s benefit?
Tags: 13th amendment, john mccain, slavery, stupid question, whoopi goldberg