Glenn Beck: March to socialism - regulating church

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March 11, 2009 - 12:24 ET

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VOICE: The Glenn Beck program presents more truth behind America's march to socialism.

GLENN: That's right, our march to socialism. We told you yesterday about the Democratic co-chairs of the judiciary committee, Representative Michael Lawlor and Senator Andrew McDonald. They introduced a bill that would allow the finances of the local Catholic parishes in Connecticut to be run by lay councils. Basically what it would do is remove the power from the Catholic pastors and the bishops and they could only advise. They didn't have any control. The bishops wouldn't have control of their land or anything else. The government controlling the hierarchy of the Catholic church, I mean, I'm going out on a limb here. Call me crazy. Call me whacky. Call me Stalin. But isn't that a tad unconstitutional? Nah, just call me Andrew McDonald. It's a hunch. I'm not really sure if it's unconstitutional, but I thought I remembered something about the First Amendment and the freedom of religion. But I'm not a politician. I'm just an average everyday American. So what do I know? I'm not too big to fail. Today's update to the story is after we and others talked about this yesterday, the hearing that was scheduled on this bill suddenly cancelled, but the group of people assembling today in Hartford at noon to protect the freedom of religion, and I hope that there are a lot of people from other -- I know our cameras are going to be there today. I hope that people from other religions are there as well. This isn't a Catholic thing. But they cancelled this hearing suddenly. It's almost like somebody got their hands in the cookie jar. It's like, uh-oh. They had to run for the hills and the public spotlight was shined directly on their little scheme and they scurried and scampered under the refrigerator like a bunch of little cockroaches.

So what explanation did our fearless soldiers for socialism give for the obvious affront to the Constitution of free speech? Well, it originally came from some concerned constituents in lower Fairfield County: You know, we were just doing the work of the people. That's what they said. Really? Work of the people? Let me get this straight. Anytime somebody is a constituent and, you know, they voice a concern, you just go ahead and just propose a bill? Sounds like a good policy. You guys are on top of it. Let me ask you this: If the local chapter of, like, NAMBLA voiced some concerns, you know, about the rights of child molesters, would you guys just go ahead and just write up a bill for that? When the media firestorm hit Lawlor and McDonald's doorstep, they admitted the law was unconstitutional but they blamed Connecticut for the mistake. These politicians, man, they are the worst.

Quote: For reasons that are unclear, Connecticut has some generations-old laws on the books singling out particular religions and treating them differently from other religions and their statutes. That doesn't seem right. Wait a minute. What? I mean, it's so bizarre now with a public uproar over this that you notice that isn't right. Quote: In fact, many of our existing corporate laws dealing with particular religion groups appears to us to be unconstitutional under the rights guaranteed by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. If that's correct, any changes to that law would likely also be unconstitutional, end quote.

So wait, wait, wait. And so you guys did what any constitutional-loving lawmaker would do when they come across an unconstitutional law that's really, really generations old? You expand the unconstitutional law a little bit more? Don't worry, though. I mean, the meeting's been postponed. There's no way these guys are going to come back and try to bring something back after the people have rejected it. There's no way they are going to just tuck this in some way or another, you know, in the cover of darkness. It's just, there's no way, I tell you. There's no way.

VOICE: That was even more overwhelming evidence that we are destined to be a bunch of socialist pigs very, very soon on the Glenn Beck program.