Cross-posted with links and video at PoliticalReformer.com
For several months now, Rand Paul has often been referred to as the Poster Boy of the Tea Party Movement. And, if he ends up winning the campaign to represent his state of Kentucky in the U.S. Senate, he may very well become an articulate national spokesperson for, and a leader of the Tea Party cause. If elected, however, Mr. Paul may not end up being the sole standout among incoming Tea Party Senators. That is a distinction that he would almost surely have to share with Mike Lee, a fervent, fellow gun rights supporter who just won the Republican Primary in Utah and is all-but-certain to win his general election race and join the U.S. Senate in January.
At first glance, some observers of politics, including many progressives, might be tempted to conclude that Mr. Lee is just another conservative from another conservative state — someone who is not very distinguishable from other current and future, right-wing Republican Senators. To be sure, Lee, a former clerk to Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, is a highly articulate, intellectually capable, and poised legal advocate. Throughout his campaign for the Republican nomination, he has impressed audiences by presenting arguments that appear to be straightforward and based on common sense. Lee’s ultimate policy goals, however, are anything but reasonable. Indeed, Mr. Lee typically relies on his extensive knowledge of the law and professional presentational style to mask an agenda that would make him one of the most dangerous extremists in the U.S. Congress.
Mike Lee’s Policy Agenda
As Lee has stated repeatedly in debates held throughout Utah, his vision is to:
● End all federal entitlement programs: Mike Lee is on record as having told the public that he would like to end all federal entitlement programs. As a matter of fact, Lee has stated that it is “unconstitutional” to redistribute wealth. And as he has pointed out, “every entitlement program that we have does that.” See the video below this article. Interestingly, Lee recognizes that there is currently insurmountable, national political opposition to many of his views. Therefore, on several matters, during his campaign, Lee has acted more like a mainstream conservative, rather than a radical. For instance, on Social Security, which he considers to be an entitlement along with Medicare, he has talked about raising the retirement age and reducing benefits — even though his actual objective is to end the program entirely. Lee also recognizes that he won’t be able to repeal healthcare, at least not right away. Though he’ll give healthcare repeal a shot, his second priority in what would be a six-year term is to repeatedly attempt an end run around the legislation and have Congress block funding for healthcare. Again, see the video below. Keep in mind that this is a man with a long-term plan: to use every possible procedure to chip away at every foundation of the U.S. social safety net until it is completely eviscerated.
● Raise Taxes on the Poor and Middle Class: Like many conservatives, Lee also favors replacing the current progressive income tax system with a flat tax. However, unlike nearly all of his Republican colleagues, who do not concede that a flat tax will disproportionately burden the poor and the middle class, Mike Lee has publicly stated that he supports the flat tax precisely because he believes that it will increase taxes on the poor and a large segment of the middle class, even as it reduces the proportional tax burden on the wealthiest. In fact, Lee has been very explicit in his view that nearly half the population of the U.S. must essentially be punished for paying too few taxes. As he puts it, once the federal government institutes the flat tax, that portion of the population will have “skin in the game” and understand why they too must support his goal of ending all federal social programs. As Mr. Lee tells his audience — or at least he did before he won the primary — he actually wants to eliminate the 16th Amendment to the Constitution altogether — thereby, removing the federal government’s authority to collect any income tax whatsoever.
● Undercut civil rights laws and other “good government” policies: Like many conservatives, Mike Lee is unabashedly clear in making the point that he supports states’ rights. But, of even greater concern is that he has a clear, overarching obsession with dismantling what the federal courts have determined to be a key source of federal power: the interstate commerce clause. Although his presentations may seem non-threatening to many Utahns (yes, that’s plural for residents of Utah), what most Americans do not know is that a wide range of laws, including critical civil rights protections, as well as the National Healthcare Law, would be gutted if this legislative power were to be significantly curbed. As Lee has made clear, ““having clerked and litigated at all three levels of the federal judiciary, I have become quite effective at sniffing out activist judges. I would love to lend my experience and insight to the Senate.”
Just as importantly, although there are limits on how far Congress can go in restricting the ability of federal courts to review cases, the U.S. Constitution does provide the legislature with the power to remove issues from the jurisdiction of federal courts, and Mike Lee intends to use his legal skill to “take decisions out of the hands of people in robes.”
In short, Mike Lee is focused on knocking out the key underpinnings of constitutional law and federal power that have helped to establish America (despite its serious flaws) as one of the fairest and most just nations in the world. Based on the above, his emergence as the likely next Senator from Utah should be especially alarming to civil rights groups and anti-poverty advocates across the country.
Mike Lee, the New and Improved Jesse Helms
An interesting aspect of Mike Lee’s presentations is that he often complements his dangerous prose by waving a copy of the U.S. Constitution in the air, as if the document were a magic wand that could immediately transform him into an infallible interpreter of constitutional law. Basking in the glow of his constitutional self-righteousness, Mr. Lee has made no secret of the role that he intends to play in the U.S. Senate. As he told the audience during a debate in Provo, Utah back on January 15th, “We need a ‘Dr. No’ right now in Washington, and I’d like to be that ‘Dr. No.’” As political observers will recall, ‘Dr. No’ is the moniker that the late North Carolina Senator Jesse Helms proudly wore for three decades, as he tied up civil rights bills — sometimes for years — and killed scores of other bills aimed to protect and sometimes save the lives of people of color, gays and lesbians, and millions of other Americans.
Like Helms, the Utah Republican nominee has already begun to master the ability to cleverly slip outrageous claims and distortions into what at times appear to be well-reasoned, objective presentations. For instance, consider his April 2nd debate in Provo, Utah, in which he told audience members that those who failed to purchase health care under the government’s new plan would “go to prison.” See the clip below this article. And, if you think that minorities and poor people are the only Americans that Lee Plans to target, think again. In Provo, he declared: ”The enemies foreign and domestic are those forces which would tend to stretch [the Constitution] out . . . tend to make this no longer a limited purpose federal government.” Clearly, Lee has a list of enemies of the United States, and that list potentially includes many millions of Americans.
The Challenge for Democrats
Years ago, Senate Democrats more often than not proved themselves incapable of adequately handling the far less intellectual, far less articulate Jesse Helms. Given that during the past 18 months, even an historic 59-seat majority has not been enough to significantly stiffen the spine of Senate Democrats – one can only wonder how they are going to fare when Mike Lee leads a new and even more determined brand of right-wingers into all levels of government next year.
The only good news coming out of the Utah Senate race is that Mike Lee has not truly been tested outside of the conservative political world in which he lives. Last night, the liberal blog, Think Progress, posted a clip from a recent interview in which Mr. Lee stated that he flatly opposed the current Democratic effort in Congress to raise the liability cap for oil companies above its current $75 million total — this despite the fact that we are now seeing an example of how an oil spill can cost tens of billions of dollars in damage (not that money is everything, but it is certainly important). MSNBC Host Keith Olbermann followed up by playing the clip for his national television audience. More light on Mr. Lee’s views and especially his long-term plans could go a long way in setting this candidate back on his heels.
Going forward, Democrats need to roll up their sleeves, put on their thinking caps, strengthen their resolve, and prepare to go toe-to-toe with Mr. Lee. Granted, Lee’s Democratic opponent in the Utah general election doesn’t have a chance for victory in this deep red state, and progressives certainly don’t want to waste limited resources on an un-winnable race. To be sure, there is a greater danger here — and that would be to allow Mr. Lee and his radical agenda to fly under the radar of the national spotlight. After all, once in office, given Utah’s extremely conservative electorate, it may be many years before Lee leaves Washington.
Make no mistake about it. Mike Lee is preparing to become a force to be reckoned with in the U.S. Senate and a key player among far right activists for years to come. The Democrats cannot continue to be caught flat-footed. This is a formidable extremist candidate against whom it is time to play offense.
See below: During the first few minutes of this clip, from the Provo, Utah Senate debate (courtesy of the Mike Lee 2010 campaign), Republican Senate nominee Mike Lee announces that one of his highest priorities is to end all federal entitlements. He also misleads the audience about the individual mandate included in the U.S. National Healthcare Law by saying, “We can make people buy something they don’t want to buy, and if they don’t buy it, they go to prison.”