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The “Tenther” Smear
Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009I have post up over at Reason on this lame new meme from the left that tries to smear supporters of the Tenth Amendment by equating them with 9/11 truthers and Obama citizenship deniers.
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If that’s true, shouldn’t there also be Firsters, Fourthers, and Fifthers? And where do I sign up to join those silly movements?
It’s the subjective use they are promoting that offends me.
In for a penny in for a pound.
Or, STFU.
The intellectual dishonesty marginalizes them not their political postion.
I’m one of the few thirders. The third amendment gets no love.
You libertarians are delusional. It’s hard to believe anyone still overtly promotes the idea of limited government. The primary job of government is to secure our freedom, so the more government we have, the more secure our freedom will be. How can you bozos not see that?
Couldn’t someone equate the same argument that they are un-American for not supporting the U.S. Constitution and the principles of liberty? Not that they necessarily are. Just saying…
So, when republicans are in power, if I don’t support a war I’m not patriotic? When dems are in power, if I disagree with Obama I’m not patriotic? Different bullshit, same rhetoric.
Guys, guys, guys, this whole delusion of the “Constitution” must stop and you need to shit can the “Bill of Rights” along with it. The state does what it wants, when it wants and you can STFU. Check in with SCOTUS if you have doubts.
I salute your energy but just like socialism was always going to win out, the authority of the state was always going to grow past any constraints.
Isn’t the Obama administration pushing state level tort reform to help “solve the health care crisis”? That’s at least some sort of perverse federalist thought there somewhere.
Federalism was such a good idea, too bad it’s been FUBAR.
#7: +1
The US Constitution was born of mission creep. It’s passing overturned and betrayed the American Revolution and the only founding document worth revering, the Declaration of Independence. So, big surprise that it has failed to curb additional creep (or creeps). At the time of it’s passing, opponents of the Constitution predicted that it would fail to limit power but would encourage its growth. Clearly they were right and it never should have been adopted. We’d be wiser to heed the advice of the men who voted against it, scrap it, and adopt something more meager, rather than continue to stand against the tide of 220 years of history, pretending that the US Constitution will take us in any direction other than the one we’re headed in.
Geez. I guess I’m a tenther. And a firster, and a seconder, and a thirder… And an Article Oner, and an Article twoer…
The ‘left’ has seized on this tactic and is using it a lot lately. We have “deniers”, “birthers”, “teabaggers”, and now “tenthers” (”truthers” was a similar effort used by the ‘right’, or was that more universally accepted?). This implies a one-track approach to marginalizing opposition.
Having not heard of the “Tenthers”, I’m willing to go out on a limb and express skepticism. I just have a feeling this new felt swelling of support for the 10th Amendment is the result of some loudmouth talking head, and about as deeply rooted as a clump of moss on a rock.
Those damned General Welfare Clausers are at it again!
I was expecting better commentary from a site calling itself “reason.com”. Oh well.
I hadn’t even heard of a “Tenther” yet. I think it’s cute to presume that the government will suddenly retract back behind it’s constutional boundaries. Or maybe that “Smaller Government” bunch will finally win out, who knows?
I’ve been part of the “Smaller Government” bunch for a couple decades and have yet to bump into one who honestly believes that “government will suddenly retract back behind it’s constutional boundaries”. And if I did, I would want some of what they’re smoking.
Whoa, you mean the left does the same shit that the right does when they are in power? Say it ain’t so!
I guess my problem with conservative interpretations of the Tenth Amendment is that they seem to lop off the final four words (namely, “or to the people”). As such, they try to use it as an end-run around the Ninth Amendment, which protects unenumerated rights, by saying that states have in essence the power to violate unenumerated rights. Clearly this isn’t how the average libertarian interprets it, I’m just going from what I’ve seen in Scalia-esque jurisprudence…
In Mein Kampf, Hitler explained the believability of the Big Lie as compared to the small lie: “In the simplicity of their minds, people more readily fall victims to the big lie than the small lie, since they themselves often tell small lies in little matters but would be ashamed to resort to large-scale falsehoods. It would never come into their heads to fabricate colossal untruths, and they would not believe that others could have such impudence. Even though the facts which prove this to be so may be brought clearly to their minds, they will still doubt and continue to think that there may be some other explanation.”
There were bombs in the buildings, 9-11 was an inside job
Whatever the merits of the big lie theory, it can’t be used as the basis for believing something.
Which is why this quote is accurate and necessary:
“The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.” – Thomas Jefferson
I think it’s long past time …
BamBam you’re right but Jefferson could never have imagined the colossal omnipotent technological police state that America turned into so I don’t really see any way that it could ever be put into practice.
Well shit!
I read the William Saletan Slate article and started feeling warm and fuzzy about some of my fellow lefties starting to “get it,” then I read this. My mellow has officially been harshed. Dammit!
Progressives are starting to sound a bit too much like the Bush apologists did during the early stages of the “War on Terror,” and I don’t like it one bit. First, the incessant “Tea Bagger” jokes by people who should know better, then the knee-jerk racism charges (to be sure, some of the 9-12 protest folks are clearly racists, but it is a question of proportionality), now this. Will Ezra Klein or Ed Schulz just say “up against the wall, motherfucker,” at some point? If so, it will be a great recruiting day for libertarians.
#21, you don’t see how what can be put into practice? People can rise up and take over, even without all of the toys that are used against the people with their tax dollars (how funny is that, tax you to get tools to oppress you, so you are paying for your own oppression). The oppressors are outnumbered by a massive amount. Hell, even in countries like Thailand and Honduras people are able to get together and take a stand, even though it’s not taking a stand per Jefferson’s quote.
Unfortunately, the real Ninth Amendment is routinely ignored by courts, which use it for purposes never intended. A court reading the Ninth Amendment correctly would recognize that if a right would have been widely recognized by a common-law court in 1789, and if nothing had happened to explicitly revoke that right, the right should be enforceable today as it would have been in a common-law court in 1789. Obviously some rights have been revoked (e.g. a common-law court would have recognized a master as having certain rights over his slaves, while modern courts would not and should not) but in general, if a right would have been recognized then, it should still be today, whether or not it is explicitly enumerated.
Unfortunately, courts instead like to use the Ninth Amendment to enforce as “rights” things which have NEVER been regarded as such by the majority of the population. That’s not a legitimate role for the courts, but unfortunately they seem to have latched on to it.
Bill Hicks was right:
“You are free to do as we tell you! You are free to do as we tell you!”
FYI:
http://www.tenthamendmentcenter.com/
If you look the site over you will see that the Ninth is not completely overlooked in favor of the Tenth and the movement is within the states not directed at getting the federal government to recognize the Amendment, but to get individuals and each individual State, and its legislators, to recognize their power over the federal government. Particularly the power to ignore federal laws (the WoD, RealId, NCLB, etc.) which is a form of nullification.
I’m a fifther myself.
If you haven’t seen it yet go to youtube and search for
“don’t talk to cops” and watch parts 1 and 2.