The New York Times reported last week that one of its favorite Republicans, the famously moderate New Jersey governor Christine Todd Whitman, "May Have to Move to Right," as the headline forebodingly put it. One of the "conservative proposals" she may end up signing to lure voters for her reelection would add some required reading to the public school curriculum. Gee, and what could that be? The Bible? William F. Buckley Jr.'s new novel? No, it's the Declaration of Independence, which apparently in liberal New Jersey precincts now passes for a founding document of the vast right-wing conspiracy.
As the Times reporter explained the "controversial" proposal: "The excerpt in question includes the phrase 'that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.' Some Democratic critics contend that the measure is really a subtle attempt to further the anti-abortion argument: They note that among the unalienable rights is 'life,' and opponents of abortion describe themselves as 'pro-life.'"