It might seem at first blush as though CBS college basketball analyst and radio host Doug Gottlieb is attempting to take a page out of the conservative handbook, which correctly notes that the phrase “separation of church and state” appears nowhere in the Constitution.
But it turns out that was not Gottlieb’s basis for incorrectly positing that the “right to bear arms” is not in Constitution. Rather his claim derives from a fundamental misunderstanding of what the Constitution is and is not.
A tweet by Gottlieb that has since been deleted and exists only in Twitter replies illustrates:
Will this presidential election be the most important in American history?
Hey, @GottliebShow, why'd you delete this masterful tweet that illustrates your amazing command of the issue? ???????????? pic.twitter.com/aWwE5TZQ1h
— ???????? (@Beanah) December 21, 2015
The embarrassing (for Gottlieb) affair began Monday evening, when he decided to school his 212,000 followers on the evils of guns. He penned close to a dozen tweets, all of which have since been expunged, though Twitchy has copies of them in manuscript form. Here are several:
Meanwhile, using Gottlieb’s “logical” distinction between the Constitution and mere “amendments” opens a world of interesting possibilities. For example, the number of women voting in the upcoming primaries and 2016 general election can be stated in advance. It’s zero. The issue of women’s suffrage and the right to vote are not in the Constitution; instead they’re just an AMENDMENT to the document.” Ditto for the abolition of slavery.
So much for the Left’s claims about intellectual superiority.
