Staff Reports
Rob Finnerty on Newsmax did what conservative hosts do best: he pointed a finger at liberal America and asked whether the Founding Fathers would even recognize the country today. Newsmax promos pushed the idea that parts of modern liberal culture have sunk into “Godless depths,” and Finnerty used the Founders as a moral measuring stick. Love him or roll your eyes, that line of attack lands with a lot of people — and it deserves a serious reply, not just a shrug.
Finnerty’s Charge: The Founders Would Be Stunned by Liberal America
On his show, Rob Finnerty used the Founding generation as a rhetorical cudgel against modern liberalism. He argued — in a chorus familiar to conservative audiences — that rising secularism, aggressive cultural change, and attacks on religious traditions are miles away from what America was meant to be. Whether you call it outrage or righteous alarm, Finnerty’s point is simple: if you believe the nation was born on certain moral and religious foundations, then seeing public life pushed in the opposite direction feels like a betrayal.
History Is Messier Than Sound Bites
But let’s not pretend the Founders were a single-minded choir singing one tune. Historians remind us the founders were mixed: some were orthodox Christians, some were deists, and many fought for a strong separation between church and state. Even a primary document often used in these debates — the Treaty of Tripoli — states plainly that the U.S. “is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion.” That fact complicates blanket claims that the Founders would unanimously condemn modern liberalism.
Why That Argument Still Sells
Here’s why Finnerty and others keep using the Founders: it works. A recent Gallup poll shows roughly three out of four Americans think the signers of the Declaration would be disappointed in today’s United States. The 250th anniversary conversation gives the claim extra traction. People feel changes in culture and politics, and anchors like the Founders make it easy to package that feeling into a sharp critique of “liberal America.”
Call for Clarity — and Better Arguments
Conservatives should keep making the moral case for faith, family, and free speech. But we should also demand accuracy. The exact Newsmax promo language that used the phrase “Godless depths” is part of the network’s marketing push; I couldn’t find a public transcript of that precise line, so let’s be careful about quoting without verification. Still, the larger point stands: many Americans worry about where the country is headed. If conservatives want to win that argument for real, we should use clear facts, honest history, and bold policy proposals — not just the allure of the past. In short: invoke the Founders when it helps, but don’t pretend they’d all sign off on every modern conservative cause without explanation.
