Republican Representative Madison Cawthorn of North Carolina was criticized after he claimed the "Founding Fathers wouldn't recognize the America we live in today" adding they would be "horrified, and rightfully so."
You can see his tweet here:
Cawthorn appeard to imply the nation's framers would be "horrified" by progressive politics, particularly more inclusive rights for women, minorities, LGBTQ+ people and other marginalized groups.
But people born in the 18th century would not recognize the modern world at all. The nearly 300 years since the United States declared its independence from Great Britain have also seen remarkable, unprecedented technological advancements.
The Founding Fathers would never recognize a world in which regular vaccinations have wiped out many diseases, astronauts have gone to space, animals have been cloned and people have handheld computers they carry around in their pockets.
As many of Cawthorn's critics reminded him, the nation's Framers would indeed be "horrified" by this progress, including the fact a sitting, lame duck President incited an insurrection against Congress to try to retain power after losing both the popular and electoral college votes by large margins.
Cawthorn has repeatedly made attempts to appeal to the Christian fundamentalist base that comprises a significant chunk of today's Republican Party.
For instance, Cawthorn has long been criticized by the LGBTQ+ community for his opposition to the Equality Act, which would, among other things, add sexual orientation and gender identity to existing federal civil rights legislation.
Although the bill ultimately passed through the House of Representatives (and has yet to be taken up by the Senate), Cawthorn later said he voted against the bill because it would restrict the rights of parents in regard to healthcare for their transgender children, something which was not in the bill.
He was recently mocked after he claimed his preferred pronouns are "MA/GA."
Cawthorn's tweet was a reference to "Make America Great Again"—former President Donald Trump's controversial campaign slogan with roots in the White supremacist movement of the Ku Klux Klan.
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