One of the most important things that the Founding Fathers (and Mothers – if you think I’m just being politically correct, do a quick read on Abigail Adams) recognized was the importance of establishing our great nation as one that is free of the problems brought on by having an official state religion. While having no objection to religious beliefs being held by the people of the United States, the Founders were almost entirely against the idea of the national government being able to say which religion is best and which are to be avoided.

Most famously, Thomas Jefferson wrote a letter to the Danbury Baptists Association of Connecticut, in response to a query from them, in which he outlined his belief in a wall of separation between church and state that cannot be too wide or too tall. The Founders feared the dangers to liberty that would inevitably come with one faith being officially favored over another.

James Madison, who is often (and rightly) called the father of the Constitution, was even more blunt. In 1811 he vetoed a bill that would have incorporated the local Episcopal church into the government, warning that such and act was both illegal under the Constitution and just a bad idea. Back in 1785, in response to a proposal to make a particular faith the tax-supported faith of Virginia, Madison took up his quill to write no less than 15 objections to the idea. And perhaps most clearly, he wrote: “The purpose of separation of church and state is to keep forever from these shores the ceaseless strife that has soaked the soil of Europe with blood for centuries.”

Which, of course, brings me to Colorado’s own Lauren Boebert.

It seems that, as reported in Colorado Politics, Representative Boebert told a little story to a group of supporters in which she flashed what she thought was wit and cleverness. After seeing Representative Ilhan Omar, a Muslim, entering a Capitol elevator, Boebert claims she said, “well, she doesn’t have a backpack, we should be fine.” Funny stuff, right? Joking that a fellow elected member of the United States House of Representatives might, because of her hijab and her faith, be a suicide bomber. But no backpack, so we are all safe.

Funny stuff, right?

Not so much. While her immediate audience laughed and applauded the anti-Islam joke, the video of her, well, racist and religious bigotry has not gotten good reviews. It lays bare the core of her beliefs and guiding principles. Due to the blowback, Boebert issued one of those “not quite an actual” apologies, in which she apologized to “anyone in the Muslim community” that she may have offended. Oh, and Rep Omar says the event never actually happened, so there is that.

I could (and likely will in future columns) go on and on about how the modern GOP has embraced deep racism and a host of other bigotries as a political strategy. And I suspect that Boebert isn’t saying anything she doesn’t believe. Back in her famous Rifle restaurant, she likely spouted off her intolerance to the dinner guest who likely applauded. But she’s not running a restaurant now. Rather, she is supposed to be the elected representative of an entire district: one that is bigger in size than several US states. But just like her political hero, a certain recently defeated president, she apparently doesn’t think she has any actual duty to represent those whom she disparages. While I rarely agreed with the previous GOPer from that district, Scott Tipton, at least he had some semblance of honor.

Boebert’s failed joke (maybe?) says a great deal about her. And the fact that she would think that it is a clever idea to repeat the bigoted words to supporters also tells us that she is not serious about actual representation. But at least the leadership of the House GOP condemned her for her bigotry, right?

Not so much…

Noted Anti-Trump GOP Representative Adam Kinzinger condemned her remarks, but the actual leadership of the GOP – still firmly in the grip of Trumpism – declined to defend the religious freedom of a fellow member.

So, it is quite clear that the Founders were pretty spot on when it comes to religion. If we allowed a formal state religion, and people like the modern GOP got to decide which faiths were OK and which should be banned, we need look no farther than the brand-new congresswoman from the Western Slope for a guide on how that would turn out.

And, tragically, in an era when a then-candidate for president could call for a ban on letting Muslims into the United States, were it not for the constitutional protections afforded us, we might live in a nation where one’s religious beliefs would also define one’s rights and liberty.

And for those of you who are quietly agreeing with the idea of, say, banning Muslims from the US, I’d ask you if you would still feel that way if a different religious group took power? How might you react if, say, protestants were denied the right to run for office?

The wisdom and brilliance of the Founders is that they understood the nature of humankind. We must not allow any one group to achieve dominance over another, be it based on religion, race, gender, orientation, or other factors which all too often divide us.

Jefferson was right and Lauren Boebert finds herself on the wrong side of history and of Mr. Jefferson’s wall. I have little hope she will reform, but I hope the voters of CD-3 take proper notice and decline to reelect a proudly self-proclaimed bigot.

Hal Bidlack is a retired professor of political science and a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel who taught more than 17 years at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs.