Tea partiers, in conjuncture with the Oklahoma legislature, are talking openly about forming a militia to oppose the federal government.
Really.
OKLAHOMA CITY April 12, 2010, 09:30 pm ET
Frustrated by recent political setbacks, tea party leaders and some conservative members of the Oklahoma Legislature say they would like to create a new volunteer militia to help defend against what they believe are improper federal infringements on state sovereignty.
Tea party movement leaders say they've discussed the idea with several supportive lawmakers and hope to get legislation next year to recognize a new volunteer force. They say the unit would not resemble militia groups that have been raided for allegedly plotting attacks on law enforcement officers.
"Is it scary? It sure is," said tea party leader Al Gerhart of Oklahoma City, who heads an umbrella group of tea party factions called the Oklahoma Constitutional Alliance. "But when do the states stop rolling over for the federal government?"
What's most ironic and disturbing is that this piece of news comes from — of all places — Oklahoma City, known in recent history as the site of the Murrah Federal Office Building bombing. Next Monday marks the 15th anniversary of when Timothy McVeigh's bomb killed 168 people… and McVeigh's beef was the same as those in the AP article — a supposedly overreaching federal government.
Thus far, the discussions have been exploratory. Even the proponents say they don't know how an armed force would be organized nor how a state-based militia could block federal mandates. Critics also asserted that the force could inflame extremism, and that the National Guard already provides for the state's military needs.
Right. So what are these "federal infringements on state sovereignty"? Social Security? Medicare? Military?
And what exactly will this militia do, even assuming they declare something to be a violation of state sovereignty? Violent overthrow of the federal government? I mean militias are, by their very definition, armed.
One gets the sense that a disturbing number of conservatives harbor revolution fantasies, seeing themselves as founding fathers. Like some bad movie, they want to act out and become heroes to their cause — America. They love America so much, they want to kill Americans. Bizarre.