Friday, February 26, 2010

Who Are the Tenthers? A Look at the Constitutional Radicals

The Tenthers—including some Oklahoma legislators—keep banging their drum, but it's an ugly sound. (Dixiecrats, anyone? These guys don't even like Lincoln!)  

For those of you who haven't been keeping up, the Tenthers are folks who think the Tenth Amendment offers the states protection from the nasty federal government—it's a whole new way to exert state's rights.

Unfortunately for the Tenthers, it's also a novel interpretation of the Constitution, one that's unlikely to pass muster in the courts. 

Worse, the whole moment raises the specter of George Wallace and other segregationists who advocated for the state's right to oppress its citizens. Who needs danged ole civil rights anyway?

State Sen. Randy Brogdon of Owasso is an Oklahoma Tenther, not a good sign for someone who's running for governor. (Question: Does Brogdon really want Oklahoma to secede from the U.S.?)

Brogdon and his fans might want to check out this report from John Avlon at The Daily Beast, which makes these folks seem more than a little scary. Read it here.

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