"Take my guns and I'll totally throw a wicked fit, dude."
—George Washington or someone else, who knows? Pretty sure it was Washington
Steve Benen over at MSNBC has a little breakdown of some of the Republican/Tea Party's convenient Founding Fathers misquotes.
The first hint of trouble came about a month ago, when Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) told supporters that “Thomas Jefferson said it best” when the Founding Father said, “That government is best which governs least.”
Thomas Jefferson never said this. Walker fell for a fake quote.
Soon after, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) told an audience, “Patrick Henry said this, Patrick Henry said the Constitution is about ‘restraining the government not the people.’” In reality, Patrick Henry said no such thing.
It's pointed out that the Tea Party fancies itself the intellectual heirs to our country's "Founding Fathers" and so quoting them is top of the list of things to do. However, whereas Steve Benen is diplomatic:
My suspicion is that these are honest mistakes. I rather doubt that any of these GOP presidential candidates are knowingly pushing bogus quotes and/or had anything to do with the original fabrication. It’s far more likely the candidates and their aides stumbled upon false information online and didn’t realize their mistake.
I am not. I do not believe the word "honest" should be used in this context. There is nothing "honest" about saying you have
any intellectual leanings and then not doing even the tiniest bit of research into the big thought quotes you are using—
especially in your incredibly original books.
The fact that these candidates want to believe the Founding Fathers said these things doesn't make them honest mistakes at all. This makes them intellectually dishonest mistakes. Attributing quotes to people incorrectly happens. It happens quite a bit. But, when you're sorta writing books, and then pointing to those books as the moral and intellectual foundation of your potential leadership credentials, you need to show a little more diligence.
Video of more "honest mistakes" by right-wingers below the fold.