>> Continued From the Previous Page <<
That was apparently too much for Kaine. He shot back: “The notion that rights don’t come from laws and don’t come from the government, but come from the Creator, that’s what the Iranian government believes.”
Kaine wasn’t finished. He claimed Iran’s rulers “do it because they believe that they understand what natural rights are from their Creator,” and then went so far as to label the idea that rights come from God “extremely troubling.”
Ted Cruz Reminds Kaine of Jefferson
Texas Senator Ted Cruz was quick to respond. He reminded Kaine that the very foundation of America is rooted in the belief that rights come from a Creator, not bureaucrats.
“This radical and dangerous notion is literally the founding principle upon which the United States of America was created,” Cruz told the committee.
Then he invoked one of Kaine’s own state’s most famous figures. “And if you do not believe me, and you made reference to this, Mr. Barnes, then you can believe perhaps the most prominent Virginian to ever serve, Thomas Jefferson, who wrote in the Declaration of Independence, ‘we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, and that they are endowed by their Creator.’”
Cruz cut right to the heart of it: “Not by government, not by the Democratic National Committee, but by God.”
Catholic Bishop Sounds the Alarm
Kaine’s words didn’t just anger conservatives. They drew fire from Catholic leaders too. Bishop Robert Barron of Minnesota issued a blistering rebuke on X.
“If the government creates our rights, it can take them away,” Barron warned. “If the government is responsible for our rights, well then it can change them.”
He didn’t hold back. “It just strikes me as extraordinary that a major American politician wouldn’t understand this really elemental part of our system. God help us. I mean that literally, God help us if we say our rights are coming to us from the government, that gives the government, indeed, godlike power.”
What’s Really at Stake
This exchange wasn’t just a philosophical spat. Kaine openly rejected the central truth that separates free societies from tyrannies.
If rights come from government, then government can strip them away at will. That’s the exact model used by dictatorships in China, the old Soviet Union, and yes — Iran.
Even worse, Kaine is a Catholic who should know better. The Catholic Church has always taught that human dignity is rooted in being made in God’s image. Yet Kaine is willing to hand your rights over to the whims of politicians like Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer.
This is why the Left feels no hesitation about trampling your free speech, limiting your religious liberty, and undermining your Second Amendment rights. They don’t believe your rights are God-given at all. They believe rights are political favors to be granted or revoked.
A Dangerous Path
We’ve already seen this mindset in action. During the COVID lockdowns, Democrats treated your right to worship, work, and travel as “privileges” to suspend at their discretion. That was a test run.
The Founding Fathers knew exactly where that leads. It leads to unlimited government power and eventual tyranny. That’s why they built America on the principle that rights are given by God, beyond the reach of politicians.
Tim Kaine has now made it clear: he rejects that principle. And disturbingly, he’s not alone. Many on the Left want to move America back to a system where your rights depend on who holds office — a system our forefathers fought a revolution to escape.
