Tea Party legislation reveals anxiety at US direction under Barack Obama
The rise of the Tea Party has seen an increase in extreme legislation across the US, ranging in from a bill in Montana saying global warming is good for the state to a suggestion in Missouri to end restrictions on child labour.
Observers say that, taken collectively, the plans reveal an anxiety among grassroots conservatives about the direction of the US under Barack Obama Photo: AFP/GETTY
Earlier this month Utah's state legislature approved a bill that would recognise gold and silver as legal tender as alternatives to more foldable forms of currency. It needs only the governor's signature to become law.
Similar moves are under consideration in a dozen other states, where legislators are outraged by soaring deficits and the federal government's promiscuous dollar-printing.
The Utah bill is among an abundance of proposals made by Tea Party-backed Republicans who were elected to state assemblies last year.
Others include a bill in South Dakota to make every adult carry a gun, a bid in Arizona to nullify federal laws.
In Montana, House Bill 278 would authorise arming citizens' militias against invaders, even though the state borders Canada.
Wyoming and Tennessee are among 14 states that have either passed or are contemplating legislation to ban sharia law, though objectors say that Islamic justice has yet to be presented as an alternative to US law.
Many proposals in the states will never become law, and state legislators have a tradition of eccentricity which is regarded with a measure pride by politicians of all stripes as truly representative of the nation.
But taken collectively, the new plans reveal an anxiety among grassroots conservatives about the direction of the country under President Barack Obama, a fierce devotion to single issues – such as opposing Islam – and at times a yearning for a rose-tinted past.
Norm Ornstein, a scholar at the conservative-leaning American Enterprise Institute, said some bills were drafted to make a point, and some were offered by “lunatics who really think we ought to do these things”.
“We have always viewed this as the beauty of the laboratory of democracy. But a lot of it reflects our current tribal politics,” he said.
“And at a time when people are uncertain about the future and about America, you try and hark back to an era when things seemed to be so much easier and no one questioned America’s primacy.”
In Georgia, state assemblyman Bobby Franklin wants to ban driving licences. Citing the Magna Carta, he said that "taking on the restrictions of a licence requires the surrender of an inalienable right". He had no objections to 12-year-olds driving on the state's highways.
John Feehery, a Republican consultant, said: "The great thing about democracy is not the quality of all of the ideas, but the quality of the process. If Tea Party Republicans want to have a real impact on the process, they have to learn what the difference between ideas that make a difference and ideas that make us laugh."
Karl Rove, who was the chief strategist behind George W Bush's two election victories, has warned Republicans against supporting the "birther" conspiracy theory, which holds that Mr Obama was born outside the United States and is therefore not entitled to be president. He said it would make the party seem less serious to other voters.
Nonetheless there are currently 11 Republican-led states considering legislation to make it compulsory for presidential candidates to show their birth certificates before their name can be included on ballots.
Matt Bennett, whose role in the Bill Clinton administration involved liaising with state governments, remembered states launching bids for secession in response to the president's affair with intern Monica Lewinsky.
State houses and senates contained "a crazy quilt of people", he said.
"Some are well qualified and committed and some are total wackos."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/us-politics/8391504/Tea-P...
Many proposals in the states will never become law, and state legislators have a tradition of eccentricity which is regarded with a measure pride by politicians of all stripes as truly representative of the nation.
But taken collectively, the new plans reveal an anxiety among grassroots conservatives about the direction of the country under President Barack Obama, a fierce devotion to single issues – such as opposing Islam – and at times a yearning for a rose-tinted past.
Norm Ornstein, a scholar at the conservative-leaning American Enterprise Institute, said some bills were drafted to make a point, and some were offered by “lunatics who really think we ought to do these things”.
“We have always viewed this as the beauty of the laboratory of democracy. But a lot of it reflects our current tribal politics,” he said.
“And at a time when people are uncertain about the future and about America, you try and hark back to an era when things seemed to be so much easier and no one questioned America’s primacy.”
In Georgia, state assemblyman Bobby Franklin wants to ban driving licences. Citing the Magna Carta, he said that "taking on the restrictions of a licence requires the surrender of an inalienable right". He had no objections to 12-year-olds driving on the state's highways.
John Feehery, a Republican consultant, said: "The great thing about democracy is not the quality of all of the ideas, but the quality of the process. If Tea Party Republicans want to have a real impact on the process, they have to learn what the difference between ideas that make a difference and ideas that make us laugh."
Karl Rove, who was the chief strategist behind George W Bush's two election victories, has warned Republicans against supporting the "birther" conspiracy theory, which holds that Mr Obama was born outside the United States and is therefore not entitled to be president. He said it would make the party seem less serious to other voters.
Nonetheless there are currently 11 Republican-led states considering legislation to make it compulsory for presidential candidates to show their birth certificates before their name can be included on ballots.
Matt Bennett, whose role in the Bill Clinton administration involved liaising with state governments, remembered states launching bids for secession in response to the president's affair with intern Monica Lewinsky.
State houses and senates contained "a crazy quilt of people", he said.
"Some are well qualified and committed and some are total wackos."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/us-politics/8391504/Tea-P...
Tea Party: extreme legislation across America
A list of wacky legislations being proposed across the US.
Photo: GETTY
South Dakota: any adult 21 or older would have to buy a firearm "for their ordinary self-defence".
Montana: House Bill 278 would authorise arming citizens' militias against invaders.
New Hampshire: a volunteer "permanent state defence force" would assist with disaster relief and "defend the state against invasion".
Missouri: State Senator Jane Cunningham has proposed allowing employment of children under 14 and ending restrictions on work hours.
Arizona: a proposed law would let the state actually nullify federal laws that legislators believe are invalid.
Georgia: a Republican recently introduced a bill mandating that victims of rape, stalking, harassment, and family violence be reclassified as "accusers".
Nebraska: a "justifiable homicide" bill would allow homicide if committed by a person while resisting an attempt to harm an unborn foetus.
Nebraska: a "justifiable homicide" bill would allow homicide if committed by a person while resisting an attempt to harm an unborn foetus.
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