They Are For Whatever Returns Republicans To Power

One of the lesser known platforms of the Tea Bagger crowd is their support to repeal the 17th Amendment. Effectively the repeal would strip voters from the ability to elect U.S. senators.  But Tea Bagger support for repeal is much more cynical.

Back in the old days, when cavemen ruled the world, state legislatures elected white men (yes only white men) to serve in the U.S. senate. Citizens did not directly elect members of the senate. That is how the Constitution was framed. The purpose was to give state government's more power and federal oversight. And when only land owning white men could vote, having state assemblies elect other land owning white men really was not that big of a deal. It worked well, for the elites at least.  Then came this silly notion that people were responsible and slightly literate.  Crazy I know.

The charge to repeal the 17th Amendment mainly stems from the notion that we have moved too far away from the Founder's original intent.  It's a leading battle cry from Tea Baggers and so-called conservatives.  My answer to that and to them is yes thankfully we have.  The Founder's intent was for blacks to be property, to have no rights and no claim to the Constitution.  Should we go back to that too?  The Founder's intent was for women to be second-class citizens with very little rights and no right to the vote.  Why not repeal the 19th Amendment while we are at it?  Well, actually, keeping blacks and women from voting are subsidiary stances of the Republican Tea Bagger faction as well.  It is their reason for existence.

Lest we forget...

Back in February at the Republican Tea Bagger conference, former GOP representative Tom Tancredo stated we should go back to invoking literacy tests before allowing people to vote.  Anyone with half a brain would realize literacy tests were the backbone of Jim Crow.  The tests were effective impediments to preventing blacks from voting.  More importantly, and the real reason Tea Baggers are for repeal is that blacks largely vote Democratic so let's go back to Jim Crow and closer to our Founder's intent.  It's a simple step in their minds.

Since women overwhelmingly voted for Barack Obama, we should limit their contribution too.  Don't forget either that the current Republican Governor of Virginia actually believes that women with jobs destroy the family.  And needless to say, one of the leading Republican "thinkers" of our day proudly believes women should not have the right to vote because it is bad for society.

Returning to the Founder's intent, they believe, will restore federalism and the proper alignment of society.  But most of all, they want to return to what they believe to be the Founder's intentions because they think it will benefit Republicans the most.  That's their true cause.  These are people that believe anyone who disagrees with them is an enemy.  That the president is an illegitimate and illegal occupant of the office.  And that everything under the sun is a conspiracy to keep them from returning to the good ol' days our Founders created.  Just so long as it keeps them in power that is.