In a jaw-dropping display at a Senate hearing, Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) went on a bizarre tirade rejecting one of the core principles of America: that our rights come from God. The former 2016 Hillary Clinton running mate went so far as to compare the founding idea of God-given liberties to the theocratic, rights-oppressing regime of Iran.
Kaine’s comments come as shocking not just for their content, but for their sheer audacity. The Declaration of Independence — written by fellow Virginian Thomas Jefferson — explicitly states that Americans are endowed by their Creator with “certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” The document frames liberty as inherent, not granted by government.
But during the hearing, Kaine dismissed this fundamental idea as “extremely troubling.” He ranted that the notion of rights coming from God is “what the Iranian government believes,” equating America’s founding principles with the Sharia-law-based oppression of religious minorities in Iran. “It’s a theocratic regime that bases its rule on Sharia law and targets Sunnis, Bahá’ís, Jews, Christians, and other religious minorities,” Kaine declared, bizarrely positioning the American understanding of natural rights alongside one of the world’s most brutal dictatorships.
Kaine didn’t stop there. He directly attacked the Declaration of Independence, insisting that the document’s affirmation that “rights do not come from our laws or our governments” is somehow dangerous. “The statement that our rights do not come from our laws or our governments is extremely troubling,” he said, apparently blind to the irony that this principle underpins the very freedom Americans enjoy to speak, worship, and vote.
Conservative commentators were quick to react. Attorney and X personality Laura Powell called Kaine’s remarks “incredible,” noting the absurdity of a Virginia senator rejecting the core principle of Jefferson’s document. “Incredible that the current Senator from Virginia rejects the core principle of the Declaration of Independence,” she wrote.
Daily Wire commentator Matt Walsh also weighed in, condemning Kaine’s rhetoric as a direct repudiation of the oath he swore to uphold the Constitution. “This is a remarkable moment from Tim Kaine,” Walsh tweeted. “He just announced that the core foundational principle of our country, affirmed in the Declaration of Independence, is ‘extremely troubling’ and ‘theocratic.’ He should be immediately removed from office. Anyone who rejects our nation’s foundational principles is obviously not fit to serve.”
Indeed, Kaine’s remarks represent more than a gaffe; they reveal a broader progressive disdain for the very framework that made America exceptional. To equate God-given rights with a brutal Islamist dictatorship is not just historically ignorant — it is a direct affront to the millions of Americans who cherish liberty as a God-given endowment, not a government privilege.
As conservatives continue to push for accountability in Washington, Kaine’s comments may become a rallying point for those alarmed by the left’s growing hostility to the very idea of God and natural law as the foundation of American freedom. In a moment that should have been a sober discussion about governance, Kaine instead broadcast a radical rejection of the principles that built our nation.
