Roots

Those Tea Partiers are at it again. They are now proposing repeal of the 16th and 17th amendments to the Constitution. Let's look at the positive and negative implications.

The 16th amendment allowed the Federal Income Tax. If the Tea Partiers get their way and income tax is eliminated so are those irritating H&R Block ("We find deductions you didn't even know you had.") commercials that make us feel like ignorant dolts every April. That's a good thing. Paychecks for hard-working Americans automatically increase and income for those parasites on the dole doesn't. That's a real positive.

On the negative side, our brave men and women in uniform might have to provide their own firearms and ammo for the national defense, but that's why we have the 2nd amendment. Let's see those Socialists and Liberals try to limit our god-given right to bear arms when that is all that stands between us and the those Redcoats burning down the White House. It worked so well in 1814.

The 17th amendment requires direct election os US senators. Previously, state legislatures were allowed to choose senators. If we go back to the good old days, rich guys who want to buy a senate seat do not have to spend millions on TV advertising showing them as wholesome family men while their opponents are creepy-looking threats to all that real Americans hold dear. With less than a half-million in well-placed "campaign contributions" to the right state legislators, you too can join the storied ranks of Daniel Webster, Henry Clay, and Dan Quayle. Or, if you're from Illinois, talk to my buddy Blagojevich. In these tough economic times, we need to be more efficient and spend less to "elect" our senators. That's a real positive.

Being naturally negative, Liberals would claim that "the people" should vote for their senator rather than a bunch of politicians picking him in a smoky back room in the state capital. Well, if that's such a great idea, why isn't it in the original Constitution along with slaves being counted as 3/5 of a person and those flighty women not being allowed to vote? It's not as if things have changed since 1787.

Thank you, Tea Partiers for reminding us of our roots.