Sarah Palin: First Amendment "Maverick"

Sarah Palin, who graduated from The University of Idaho with a degree in journalism, no less, must have been skinning a moose when they covered the First Amendment in class.

Memo to our would-be vice president: that’s the one that says that Congress shall make no law abridging freedom of the press or freedom of speech. It also guarantees your religious right to be blessed and protected in your church by a witch hunter — should you feel the need.

Sarah got the First Amendment terribly, frighteningly wrong in a radio interview on Friday:

Here’s what Sarah told the conservative radio host:

“If [the media] convince enough voters that that is negative campaigning, for me to call Barack Obama out on his associations, then I don’t know what the future of our country would be in terms of First Amendment rights and our ability to ask questions without fear of attacks by the mainstream media.”

Hello, Sarah! The First Amendment guarantees the media, and anyone else for that matter, the right to criticize government officials and political candidates who are engaged in fear mongering, praising Boy Scouts, defending torture or extolling apple pie.

Alas, Palin, who is clearly no dummy, is astonishingly ignorant. Talk about a child, student and American citizen left behind.

While this little radio episode is all over the Internet, it will be interesting to see how the “mainstream media” cover it, if at all.

It’s an embarrassment to the political system and American education that a politician so ignorant of the First Amendment could have risen so far — even to be governor of Alaska or mayor of Wasilla, let alone candidate for the vice presidency of the nation.

Meanwhile consider, in full, the First Amendment, a cornerstone of our democracy.

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.