During a Congressional meeting in Ohio, Darrell Issa had this to say:

The amazing thing to me is that we in government don’t (garbled) the Constitution for the powerful. We don’t need laws for the powerful. We need the Constitution and laws for the weak. Ultimately the success of our Democracy is about the minority having rights, not the majority.

My first reaction was, “No laws for the powerful? How very Republican!” But then I looked again. That’s not what he was saying at all. Go take another look. It’s killing me that I don’t have the rest of the video yet. I would love to know what the full context here is because, as of right now, this is one of the most liberal statements I’ve ever heard.

Considering that Issa is a Republican weasel that is more interested in abusing using his subpoena power to fabricate uncover scandals in the Obama administration, I actually had to call someone to tell me that my interpretation wasn’t completely insane. It was not. In four short sentences, a Republican has articulated a fundamental truth about America in a very clear and precise way: The powerful do not need the protection of the law. Laws exist so that the weak will not fall victim to the powerful.

This is a direct repudiation of the fantasy of conservative laissez faire economics, conservative social politics and pretty much the entire concept of “small government.”

It has been suggested to me that Mr. Issa might have been speaking about the rich and powerful as being the minority that needs protecting from the mean old 99%. Considering the source, I can easily see that. Of course that just undermines the whole “small government/free market” premise anyway. If the “weak” 1% needs the government to “protect” it from the 99% then they don’t really believe in market forces or a weak government in the first place. According to their theory of how the world should work, if the “weak” can’t protect themselves, then tough noogies for them. No one has the obligation to stand up for them and they should work harder to be strong. Pull themselves up by the bootstraps, if you will. But that’s not what he’s saying here at all.

Another way to put it is from one of my favorite liberals:

“Here’s the thing about rights; They’re not supposed to be voted on. That’s why they call them rights.” -Rachel Maddow

Thank you, Mr. Issa. Whatever the full context of this statement is, you have done a beautiful job of explaining why your party is ultimately doomed. The Constitution protects the likes of  us from the likes of you and your GOP corporate cronies which is why you guys are taking such pains to undermine it at every opportunity.

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Written by: Justin "Filthy Liberal Scum" Rosario on November 15, 2011.
Last revised by: Matthew Desmond