Monday, Jun. 13, 2011

Christine O'Donnell, 2010

For all her talk about being a "constitutional conservative," Delaware Republican Senate candidate Christine "I'm not a witch" O'Donnell seemed more than a little fuzzy on the First Amendment during an October 2010 debate with opponent Chris Coons. As the Democrat argued that public schools should teach only evolution, not creationism, O'Donnell lashed out against Coons for "how little" he knew about the Constitution. As the moderator tried to move on, O'Donnell circled back to the exchange and incredulously asked Coons, "You're telling me that the separation of church and state is found in the First Amendment?" Coons responded with the relevant section of the Constitution while the crowd, mostly students and legal professionals from debate host Widener University Law School, broke into gasps and laughter.