Ralph Waldo Emerson captured Teabagger logic perfectly: “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines.” There is no consistency.
Last November, Arizona voters foolishly approved an unconstitutional Neo-Confederate ballot measure, Proposition 122, which added a provision to the Arizona Constitution to allow the legislature and residents to “reject a federal action that the people determine violates the United States Constitution.”
This is otherwise known as interposition and nullification. You may recall that America fought a bloody Civil War over this. The 14th Amendment forever put an end to this discredited theory, except in the minds of Neo-Confederate dead-enders.
Now comes Teabagger Rep. Bob Thorpe (R-Flagstaff), the guy who stood with Cliven Bundy in his armed standoff with law enforcement officers last year, and who supports the sovereignty movement and the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association of former Graham County sheriff and “Patriot” movement leader Richard Mack, Far-Right Anti-Government Group Plans Political Takeover Of Arizona County, with a proposal that any voter-sponsored initiative that proposes anything that conflicts with federal law could take effect only if approved by 75 percent of those who cast ballots.
Thorpe does not get irony. He does not understand that his proposal directly conflicts with Prop. 122, which this anti-federal government radical vigorously supported last year.
The intended target of Thorpe’s proposal is the initiative by the Marijuana Policy Project to get Arizona voters to adopt a Colorado-style law legalizing the recreational use of marijuana. The Arizona Capitol Times (subscription required) reports, Lawmaker wants voter initiatives conflicting with federal law to get 75% approval:
A Flagstaff lawmaker is hoping to throw a new roadblock in the path of those who want to legalize marijuana in Arizona.
Only thing is, his plan may be too little – and too late.
The measure by Republican Rep. Bob Thorpe would spell out that any voter-sponsored initiative that proposed anything that conflicts with federal law could take effect only if approved by 75 percent of those who cast ballots. Right now, a simple majority is all that is needed.
Thorpe told Capitol Media Services he has one particular measure in mind: a proposal by the Marijuana Policy Project to get voters here to adopt a Colorado-style law legalizing the recreational use of marijuana.
He pointed out that marijuana use remains illegal under federal law. Yet Arizona voters decided in 2010, by a margin of just 4,340 votes, to allow the use of the drug for medical purposes.
And now there is an effort to expand that.
* * *
[Thorpe] said if Arizona is to thumb its nose at federal law, it should require more than a simple majority vote. [That’s hilarious, Dude!]
But the change Thorpe wants would require an amendment to the Arizona Constitution. And that has to be approved by voters, something that would go on the ballot in 2016 – the same election where voters would be deciding whether to legalize recreational use of the drug.
What that means, Thorpe conceded, is that even if voters approve his change, the marijuana measure approved concurrently could become law with a simple majority.
“I might be late to the race on this one,” he said. But Thorpe is undeterred, saying he thinks it should be more difficult for voters to propose and approve their own laws and constitutional amendments.
Well, now this is a consistent theme among authoritarian conservatives. Super-majorities are undemocratic, and a means for a tyranny of a minority to maintain power over the majority. Thorpe’s disdain for the constitutional right of Arizona citizens to enact their own laws by initiative and referendum should result in the disdain of the voters kicking his sorry ass out of office.
Thorpe acknowledged that his position on federal supremacy, at least on the issue of drug use, could be seen at odds with stances he has taken in prior years challenging federal authority. And he said he is a supporter of the concept that the states are sovereign and the federal government has only the powers the states have given them through the federal Constitution.
But he sidestepped the question of where the federal government gets the right to tell voters of Arizona – or any other state – that they cannot use marijuana.
“My concern is almost larger than just marijuana,” Thorpe said. He said once the state goes down this path, what’s to stop voters from deciding to allow the use of heroin and LSD.
If Thorpe gets legislative approval of HCR 2027, that does not end the matter. As a constitutional change the last word belongs to voters.
That’s exactly right. You will have the opportunity to vote down this fool’s proposal. And you folks in District 6 need to pull your head out of your ass and stop electing idiot Teabagggers like Bob Thorpe, Brenda Barton, and Sylvia Allen. What the hell is wrong with you people?
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Bob Thorpe is an irony by default. If you ever read his silly little book. “Reclaim Liberty: 3-Step Plan for Restoring Our Constitutional Government” you’d know what I mean. It’s maybe, at best, at a seventh grade level. I being generous.
What’s sad is I actually campaigned for this clown because I couldn’t stand the idea of one of his opponents, Doug Ballard, whom I know personally, going to the state house. But you know what? The lesser of two evils is still evil. That’s why I’m now a registered Libertarian. Screw the status quo and the morons that the put up for public office.