Morality Amendment to the Constitution

For the past week, I have listened to Republicans and the media credit Bush's "victory" to the religious right, which voted for Bush because their top issue was "morality" - meaning outlawing abortion and homosexuality.

Personally, I don't believe Bush and the Republicans have the slightest interest in outlawing either one. I believe they are simply playing a game of sucker with true-believing evangelicals - promising action they never intend to deliver, so they can keep their "base" fired up election after election. (I've heard Chris Matthews express similar sentiments on Hardball, although he would probably deny it if pressed.) 

Republicans have been playing this game in every election since Roe v. Wade was decided in 1973. After 1980, when Ronald Reagan won on an anti-abortion platform, and brought an anti-abortion Senate in on his coattails, rightwing Senators Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and Jesse Helms (R-NC) actually introduced "Human Life Amendments" to outlaw abortion. In a bizarre twist, they introduced two different versions and never reconciled them, so it never even passed the Republican Senate.

After 30 years of this, I'm sick and tired of this Republican game. So now that Republicans control the White House and Congress - with a mandate to legislate "morality" - I propose the following Morality Amendment to the Constitution.

Abortion shall be treated as murder under the criminal law of every state and territory. Sodomy shall be treated as rape under the criminal law of every state and territory.

Could such an Amendment ever pass? No - because the overwhelming majority of Americans do not support the criminalization of abortion and homosexuality. Here is the exit poll data on abortion:

The Republican position on abortion - always illegal - has the support of 16% of Americans. I believe the 26% who say "mostly illegal" have "fuzzy" views on the issue, and if they were presented with a clear "moral" choice - whether to put millions of women and their doctors in jail - they would overwhelmingly vote against criminalization.

I believe Republican leaders (who are all rich white men) know if they promoted such an amendment, the majority - led by women - would rise up and sweep them into the dustbin of history.

But Republicans believe Bush's razor-thin 51%-49% "victory" is a "mandate" to impose the "morality" of a minority onto the majority.

So I dare the Republicans - and the political "leaders" of the religious right (George Bush, Karl Rove, Ralph Reed, Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell, and James Dobson) - to stop lip-synching about "morality," and take specific legislative action to put their "morality" into the Constitution.

To put it in language simple enough for Bush and his brainwashed followers to understand: put up or shut up.

I dare you.