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Tea Party Edits Founders to Suit Its Own Agenda

Ian Millhiser discusses how the Tea Party alters the Constitution to serve its agenda on Fredericksburg.com.

Spend a week listening to the right, and you’ll think the Founders were all modern-day Tea Partyers. Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) thinks the Constitution forbids Pell Grants and federal student loans. Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) thinks Social Security and Medicare are forbidden. Justice Clarence Thomas thinks that the minimum wage, child labor laws, and the federal ban on whites-only lunch counters all violate the Constitution. And everyone on the right thinks that health reform is unconstitutional.

It’s enough to make you think they’re just making it up as they go along. It clearly can’t be the case that every single law disfavored by conservatives just happens to be unconstitutional.

The above excerpt was originally published in Fredericksburg.com. Click here to view the full article.

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Authors

Ian Millhiser

Senior Fellow