Sarah Palin and Jefferson Davis

The founding fathers weren’t trying to preserve American values, and when they wrote the Constitution they weren’t trying to limit the power of the federal government. The Constitution wasn’t the first document written after independence was won from the British. That first document was the Article of Confederation. The Articles of Confederation set up what amounted to an alliance of 13 countries with names like Rhode Island, New Jersey, and Maryland. It was all about states’ rights. It was scrapped in favor of the Constitution because the founding fathers wanted there to be more federal power. So, one document that the Tea Party folks (Palinistas, Bachmanites, whatever) are really drawing their strength and message from is the Articles of Confederation, a document abandoned after less than a decade of official operation in favor of one that strengthened federal power.

The other document the Tea Partyists really draw inspiration from is not the document that succeeded the Articles of Confederation, the Constitution. It is the Bizzaro World version of the Constitution. It is a Constitution that champions state’s rights. It was written by folks trying to preserve their way of life, the founding fathers that people like Sarah Palin and Michelle Bachman really seem to be inspired by. It is called the Constitution of the Confederate States of America. It starts out with this line “"We, the people of the Confederate States, each State acting in its sovereign and independent character..." It was supported by people like Lord Acton, who wrote the following to Robert E. Lee: “I saw in States’ rights the only availing check upon the absolutism of the sovereign will, and secession filled me with hope, not as the destruction but as the redemption of Democracy…. Therefore I deemed that you were fighting the battles of our liberty, our progress, and our civilization, and I mourn for the stake which was lost at Richmond more deeply than I rejoice over that which was saved at Waterloo.” It was all about supporting a threatened way of life.

Sarah Palin might talk about Thomas Jefferson, but her message is more Jefferson Davis. The problem for her and her supporters is that Jefferson Davis lost. The Articles of Confederation didn’t last more than a decade. We aren’t governed by the Constitution of the Confederate States of America, but by the Constitution of the United States of America. Unfortunately, it’s not just her problem. It’s our problem. Unfortunately, it’s time to fight this battle again. Here’s hoping the result stays the same.