Fake Ass History

Someday, someone's going to have to explain to me what Michelle Bachmann is talking about when she claims America's founders worked tirelessly to end slavery. (Starting at 1.05 on the video, till about 2.20.) Someone's also going to have to explain to me why the Tea Party operatives cannot seem to explain why she is saying the things she says. Simple question, really.

Did the Founders end slavery? No. They included the ability of already-free people to govern themselves, and built in the mechanisms to expand the idea of freedom to others. But on the slavery question, at that moment? They punted. It does not insult their memory to state the fact that they were men of their time, with weaknesses and sins commonplace at the time.

People who think otherwise are caught up in the romanticism of history, and being fooled by it. Or worse, trying to fool people with it.

Which is why I think that Tea Party spokesman kept trying to change the subject because he didn't want to say that stuff on air from his own mouth. He is committed to the revision of history, from the real dirty messy history we own to the clean, shiny utopia that puts campaign donations in his coffers. Another simple answer, to be sure.

Yeah, Matthews is a fiery interviewer who always swings for the fences, but when he connects (and he absolutely did in this case) he knocks that sucker out of the park.

And, yeah, people are riled up about it. And it ain't just "the left."*

They should be. This latest blatant confusion of actual US History with "shit-that-didn't-happen" is becoming more and more the norm. I'm tired of all these political leaders trying to fool America about some utopian past that never happened.

That's why some folks took notice when these clowns up and read a fake version of the US Constitution, as some sort of Congressional pep rally, ignoring things that actually went on in this country.

You can't write the 3/5's Compromise out of the Constitution. You can't write slavery out of American History. Those who try deserve nothing better than our scorn.

Of course, you could simply assume that the 3/5ths Compromise was the Founders' attempt to end slavery......because I guess they voted for it in order to end it...or something.

(* Unless, of course, "the right" draws a circle around themselves and considers anyone who disagrees with them "left wing.")

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