God and the Garden State: Rick Scott plays religious freedom card

Sen. Rick Scott. Image via AP.

A U.S. Senator from Florida has picked a fight with leading Democrats from New Jersey over religious freedom — and just in time for Christmas.

The genesis of this effort: a call led by Scott and echoed by other Senate Republicans, including Sen. Marco Rubio, for a resolution supporting “religious freedom,” which Republicans framed as allowing unfettered congregation in church despite the pandemic.

The resolution calls out Democratic governors, familiar names totemized as villains of the coronavirus crisis, including New York’s Andrew Cuomo, North Carolina’s Roy Cooper, and most crucially for the purposes of this post, New Jersey’s Phil Murphy.

Friday saw Scott attempt to get unanimous consent from the Senate for this, but he was thwarted by New Jersey’s Sen. Bob Menendez, leading to a fiery media release from his Senate press shop.

“Religious liberty is our first freedom under the Constitution of the United States. Every elected official takes an oath to support and defend our Constitution and the rights enshrined within it. We’ve seen liberal governors and mayors across the nation go after religious institutions throughout the pandemic, so my resolution simply reaffirms the right to freely practice religion,” Scott thundered.

“It is absolutely shameful that Senator Menendez would not only lie about what is happening in his state, but also refuse to stand with houses of worship, who are entitled to the Constitutional right to freely exercise their religion, by blocking my resolution today,” Scott added. “We know many Democrats don’t respect the religious freedoms of Americans, but this is a new low. We won’t let them chip away at our rights, and we will never stop fighting for the liberties of all Americans.”

Menendez, notes a “fact check” from Team Scott, objected to the resolution’s canard that New Jersey “prohibited or severely restricted indoor services by houses of worship because they were not deemed ‘essential,’ but commercial establishments like marijuana dispensaries and liquor stores were permitted to remain open.”

Though the Senate deliberation is over, Scott is still pushing the narrative, as suggested by a Saturday Twitter exchange with Gov. Murphy that saw each in high dudgeon.

Murphy urged Scott to stop “lying about New Jersey.”

“Pass a stimulus bill. Do your job,” Murphy advised.

Scott responded in kind: “It appears liberal Governors like [Murphy] don’t like being called out for their flagrant attacks on places of worship and the First Amendment. I swore an oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States. You should try it sometime.”

This story will be updated if events warrant.