Crazy Eyes: It's OK For States To Have Gay Marriage, But As President I'll Repeal It

ARIZONA: Teabaggers Introduce Bills Setting Up Interstate Pacts To Defy Feds

Tea Party-backed GOP lawmakers in Arizona have introduced bills that would create alliances with other states in order to defy the federal government. Ironically (or maybe not so, since we're talking about teabaggers), the federal government would have to approve the alliances.

The push to form interstate compacts, which have the power to supersede existing federal law if approved by Congress, is part of a broader effort at the Arizona Capitol to promote states' rights. Lawmakers have introduced bills that seek to limit congressional spending and federal authority on issues from elections to environmental inspections, and Gov. Jan Brewer lists federalism as one of her top priority initiatives this term. So far this session, Republican legislators have introduced more than a dozen bills that propose to create compacts, about three times as many as lawmakers introduced in each of the past two or three years. Among them are measures to allow participating states to build a border fence, regulate endangered species without federal interference and set up their own health-care programs.

The lawmakers behind the bills cite the Tenth Amendment, which stipulates that the federal government cannot issue laws on subjects not explicitly mentioned in the U.S. Constitution. And since the Constitution never mentions environmental protection, health insurance, etc...all those federal laws are therefore illegal.

TENTHER: Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) Says Child Labor Laws Are Unconstitutional

Newly elected GOP Sen. Mike Lee (UT) says that federal child labor laws are unconstitutional because as per the Tenth Amendment, only laws expressly laid out in the Constitution are legal. Lee is part of the new class of "states rights" Congress members intent on overturning all federal legislation not mentioned in the Constitution.

Clever Editing For Crazy Eyes

The Citizens United propaganda film Fire From The Heartland (trailer here) edits an encounter between Rep. Michele "Crazy Eyes" Bachmann to make it look like she totally pwned Treasure Secretary Tim Geithner. Here's what really went down.

ALASKA: Teabagger Candidate Joe Miller Calls Minimum Wage Unconstitutional

Joe Miller, Alaska's teabagger Senate candidate, says the minimum wage is unconstitutional. He's a Tenther, folks.

Miller said there should not be a federal minimum wage, since it’s not a power given to the federal government in the Constitution. It’s not an enumerated power,” said Miller, R-Alaska. “That is clearly up to the states. We believe -- the state of Alaska has a minimum wage which is higher than the federal level because our state leaders have made that determination. The minimum level again should be the state’s decision.”

A favorite of Big Oil, Miller also wants to defund the EPA. Here's his new campaign ad produced by the Tea Party Express.

GOP House Nominee Stephen Bailey Visits JMG To Attack Rep. Jared Polis Over Saxby Chambliss Comments

"Jared Polis recklessly slandered every Republican and Republican staffer with his comments -- guilt by an association not predicated by the bias at issue. This is a logical fallacy and it undermines the moral high ground on this issue. He hurts his cause when there is a valid point to be made and lashes out emotionally and insults innocent people. When an organization has as many people as a political party, it will include some who do not reflect the values of the organization and certainly not all members. I have heard anti-gay comments a few times at Republican events. I, or others, have spoken against those comments. The comments reflect the personal biases of a very small number of people and not of all Republicans.

"Republicans believe in constitutionally limited government. Our Constitution protects the rights of everyone equally. Those values are incompatible with persecution of individuals or a group of individuals that are not guilty of violating anyone's rights. Monitor Sen. Chambliss and the resolution of this intolerable act. Allow for time to ensure that the guilty party is identified. A rush to judgment could accidentally identify an innocent and damage their reputation. If there is no accountability after a reasonable time, then the Senator will deserve your contempt." - GOP U.S. House nominee Stephen Bailey, in a comment he left on this JMG post last night. Bailey's opponent is Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO).

RELATED: Endorsed by Ron Paul and Dick Armey's FreedomWorks, Stephen Bailey is a libertarian Tenther who believes that the federal government has no authority to impose any laws not specifically mentioned in the U.S. Constitution. Bailey's campaign site glowingly quotes Ayn Rand and he has signed on to the Tea Party-influenced Contract From America (their italics.) He also wants to abolish the Federal Reserve and force the losers of civil lawsuits to pay the legal costs of the winner, effectively chilling any response to corporate, medical, or law enforcement wrong-doings. In denouncing the concept of global warming, Bailey says, "Use common sense. Is the climate of your area substantially different today than 20 years ago?"

QUESTION: Has a GOP candidate for national office ever before taken to the comments of a gay blog to attack his opponent? I can't recall such a thing happening in the past.

Teabaggers Mum On DOMA Ruling

Although the Christianist right has been screaming blue bloody murder, we haven't heard much from the teabaggers about last week's DOMA ruling. According to the Washington Post, Tea Party libertarians and Tenthers are quietly thrilled with the ruling's affirmation of states' rights.

The silence is by design, activists with the loosely affiliated movement said, because it is held together by an exclusive focus on fiscal matters and its avoidance of divisive social issues such as abortion and gay marriage. Privately, though, many said they back the decision because it emphasizes the legal philosophy of states' rights. "I do think it's a state's right," said Phillip Dennis, Texas state coordinator for the Tea Party Patriots. The group does not take a position on social issues, he said, but personally, "I believe that if the people in Massachusetts want gay people to get married, then they should allow it, just as people in Utah do not support abortion. They should have the right to vote against that." Everett Wilkinson, state director for the Florida Tea Party Patriots, agreed: "On the issue [of gay marriage] itself, we have no stance, but any time a state's rights or powers are encouraged over the federal government, it is a good thing."

While Tea Party leaders acknowledge that many in the movement oppose same-sex marriage, they claim it is "not a majority" and that the issue "just isn't on our radar." Hmmm. One Florida Tea Party official claims that his group has several hundred gay members.

HomoQuotable - Jonathan Capehart

"Let me point out that the Gill case was not the only relevant one decided by Tauro. He also ruled that DOMA was unconstitutional because it trumped states’ rights to set their own marriage laws. It was a satisfying outcome. But his decision has gay legal eagles and federal court tea leaf readers a bit mystified and concerned. 'Perhaps more importantly, his Tenth Amendment arguments prove entirely too much,' Yale constitutional law professor Jack Balkin wrote last week about Judge Tauro’s ruling. 'As much as liberals might applaud the result, they should be aware that the logic of his arguments, taken seriously, would undermine the constitutionality of wide swaths of federal regulatory programs and seriously constrict federal regulatory power.' Balkin supports marriage equality, fyi.

"As nice as this decision is, it’s only the start of the long journey to the Supreme Court. All eyes are on the Justice Department and whether it will appeal the Tauro rulings to the Appellate division. I won’t be surprised or angered if it does. An administration traditionally defends the nation’s laws no matter its policy view of them. President Obama has made it clear many times that he wants DOMA repealed. (Got that, Congress?) And if the administration does appeal I hope it mounts the same limp defense it did in District Court. We can only hope that those same indefensible -- and unconstitutional -- rationales for unfairness will lead to the ultimate demise of DOMA." - Washington Post columnist Jonathan Capehart.