The New York Times, not content to rest on its laurels and let the Weekly World News lead in the category of “making stuff up” has decided to invent a new invocation of the Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy. Apparently there’s a group called the “Constitution In Exile” (which just so happens to be a completely invented group) which has the sinister goal of (cue vampy musical sting) RESTORING THE 10TH AMENDMENT!
Yes, a sinister and evil (and nonexistant) cabal of evil libertarians want to ensure that the federal government has limited powers! Is there no end to all the evil?! Why this is an assault on all we hold dear! We should get out the pitchforks and start burning copies of Reason post-haste!
This kind of unspeakably shoddy conspiracy-theory-laden manure belongs in something like Pravda, not in what’s ostensible the nation’s newspaper of record. David Bernstein, who could have easily provided Mr. Rosen of the Times with the facts, does an excellent job of pointing out Rosen’s revisionist history.
This piece was clearly shoddy, ill-researched, and designed solely to create some new left-wing conspiracy theory to hang around current and future judicial appointments. The idea that the Bush Administration, which is hardly a bastion of libertarianism in its legal outlook, is part of some dark and sinister conspiracy to eviscerate the federal government doesn’t even pass the laugh test. Bush has had plenty of time to restrain the growth of government, and neither he nor Congress have taken much initiative in that direction. To make that argument that Bush is some kind of libertarian radical is the most asinine argument one can make. The fact that the Times even printed this piece when it so clearly riddled with historical and factual inaccuracies only illustrates why The New York Times is like the National Enquirer with dripping pretension replacing salacious visuals.
