Charlie Meadows
Charlie Meadows

Last week, we told you the story of Charlie Meadows, a proud member of the John Birch Society who runs what we believe is the most powerful Republican “outside group” in the state of Oklahoma. This morning, we reported on a disturbingly cult-like conference that the JBS is co-sponsoring in Oklahoma City next weekend to discuss nullification and states rights. We learned about that Clouds Over America event from Meadows’s OCPAC email newsletter this week, which addresses the nullification issue within an intellectual framework taken straight from the JBS gospel.

In short, Birchers have always opposed a new Constitutional convention (“Con-con,” in their parlance) because they imagine that “liberals” (meaning all of them) are scheming to hold such a convention and do away with the Bill of Rights forever. After beating his straw man to death, Meadows makes the case for adopting a legislative strategy that has not been tried since before the Civil War.

(W)e must recognize there are “presently” only enough solid conservatives left in America to demand Christian values, the ideals of our founders, liberty and free market capitalism to dwell in about half the states. That might even require the conservatives that are wasting their efforts in the lost states to move to the conservative states for that to happen.

Bottom line, our Founders intended us to be a “union” of sovereign states. Allowing each state to be slightly to radically different from the others. That way, the states delivering basic services, maintaining civil order, at the least cost to their citizens and allowing the greatest amount of liberty, would be the kind of states in which most people would want to live. And states that did a poor job of delivering these basic tenants, might see the people flee their states. However, when the federal government rises up and mandates “sameness” in all the states, that competitive difference isn’t sufficiently allowed to exist. A federal government large enough to demand sameness, is a federal government large enough to become a tyrant. That folks is what Washington has become.

Therefore, I only see 1 of 3 solutions. Either we focus on NULLIFICATION with Oklahoma taking the lead and hopefully a dozen or more other states doing the same. That basically means Oklahoma’s Governor and lawmakers must simply pass laws to simply opt out of unconstitutional measures passed by Congress, edicts by the President or court decisions. Then we must govern ourselves as a sovereign state under good principles. If that doesn’t work, we need to give serious consideration to secession. Our other option is to bow our little heads to the almighty federal government and worship that tyrannical creation, rater than the Creator of all things.

Of these choices, submitting to the federal tyranny is unacceptable to me. I much prefer giving a solid effort to making nullification the focus of our efforts. An Article V effort is not only really risky, in the end, it will not work and will only become a diversion from the energy needed to get our lawmakers on board with nullification. Folks, it takes little courage to vote to call for a con-con. Lawmakers doing so can thump their chests and say they have done their best. On the other hand, it takes a lot of courage to provide real leadership and stand up to the federal government. It takes real courage to place the state (interpose) between the tyranny of the federal government and the people. What kind of leaders do you want representing you and your families?

Oklahoma just wants to be different. Who are we to insist that civil rights be uniform across all fifty states, or that the Fourteenth Amendment still apply to every American even when we cross a state line? Liberals, is what. Damned, evil, cowardly liberals who want to change the Constitution and force Obamacare and gay marriage  and atheism on poor little Oklahoma. Unless we stop, Meadows and his Bircher friends will be forced to secede from the United States. They may already be arming themselves in anticipation. Mr. Meadows is convinced that too few “real” Americans are left in the blue states, and they should all move to places like Oklahoma so a Second Civil War can have clear dividing lines. This alarming rhetoric recently got a measure of affirmation in Sean Hannity’s very public decision to leave New York and move to Florida, where he thinks his “extreme conservatism” will be more welcome, so do not think that this sort of language will not become more widespread.

As we explained last week, OCPAC and Charlie Meadows have had a real impact on Oklahoma’s Republican Party, which has largely adopted their Bircher agenda. We predict that the Sooner State will not be the only place where this seditious talk leaves the fringe and becomes a mainstream Republican idea, because the JBS has already succeeded in having its goofy legislation appear in legislatures all over the country. Charlie Meadows has a John Bircher dream for his state and yours. Are you excited?

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