To the Editor:

There seems to be some confusion in people’s minds about the nature of the Tea Party movement. Is it racist? Is it elitist? Is it exclusionary? Is it astroturf funded by the Koch Brothers? (All nonsense designed to mislead, by the way). What do these people believe, anyway?

We believe in “We, the People,” that is, the United States Constitution. It’s not perfect, but it’s what we’ve got. Only, we don’t have it. Various Courts, Congresses and Presidents (I don’t blame Obama -- he’s just doing the same thing as Bush, who did the same things as Clinton, who did the same things as Daddy Bush, etc) have enacted laws which are not permitted anywhere in the Constitution.

The Tea Party proposes to throw out anything in the Federal Government that is not allowed in the Constitution. And we want to shut down the “Commerce Clause” loophole that permits practically anything that affects commerce. We want a Federal Government which does 10 percent as much as this one, which pays out 10 percent as much as this one, and which taxes 20 percent as much as this one (because it’s about damned time for some fiscal sanity, which means paying your bills). Ten percent is achievable even if it’s just a start.

And yes, we presume to speak for “We, the People” because that’s what the Constitution says. “We, the People” have a government that is limited by the Constitution. If you don’t like what it says, then amend it. But don’t torture the Constitution until it gives you what you want. Have an honest, open discussion about it. You want national health care? Great, write up an amendment and we’ll talk about it. You want to restrict my right to keep and arm bears? Great, propose an amendment and we can talk about it.

But don’t ask for laws that blatantly alter the plain meaning of the Constitution.

Russell Nelson

Potsdam