Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Glenn Beck: Founders wouldn't disagree with Secession

Glenn Beck is at it again. At this rate, I could probably listen to Beck's program every day and make a living writing this blog.

The latest comments by Beck are borderline treasonous -- he's advocating the right of the states to secede from the Union:
You can't convince me that the Founding Fathers wouldn't allow you to secede...the Constitution is not a suicide pact...[states] have a right to back out...You're telling me that states can't say, "Washington, we're not going to commit suicide with you."
Pretty strong words. Unfortunately, Beck is becoming a mainstream conservative talking-head in this country. He has a devoted listening audience who actually believe the things he says, that follow his logic (if you can call it that).

Beck forgets what the Constitution was in response to: the Articles of Confederation, which made it nearly impossible for ANY federal law to take effect. Under the Articles, each state had veto power whenever a proposal was brought forward, essentially making each state sovereign the way these conservatives probably would like the United States to be today.

It didn't work then, and it won't work now. It made trade a nightmare, made defense nearly impossible, and these conservatives want to go back to that?

I also hear a lot of states' rights arguments from the Beck-wing of the Republican Party. They seem to spout off this argument every time it works to their advantage -- but when a culturally liberal law is passed in one of these states, its up to the federal government to intervene (say, with gay marriage and DoMA or the right to die case involving Terri Schiavo).

Being upset over the proposed Democratic Party budget is one thing; threatening secession is way out of line. It's unpatriotic, which is surprising considering this rhetoric is coming from the party that once derided the opposition as un-American.

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