Like CRAZY TX Judge, Romney Also Went There On Obama, the U.N., and "American Sovereignty"+

RE-Posted from Ian Reifowitz at Daily Kos

Thanks to our friend Hunter, you should all be aware of the truly insane wing-nuttery represented by Lubbock County (Texas) Judge Tom Head.

Here's what Judge Head had to say:

“He's going to try to hand over the sovereignty of the United States to the UN, and what is going to happen when that happens?,” Head asked. 

“I'm thinking the worst. Civil unrest, civil disobedience, civil war maybe. And we're not just talking a few riots here and demonstrations, we're talking Lexington, Concord, take up arms and get rid of the guy.

"Now what's going to happen if we do that, if the public decides to do that? He's going to send in U.N. troops.

What's truly frightening is the degree to which this kind of paranoia is prevalent in the minds of Republican voters. Over at the Huffington Post, Nick Wing made an incredibly important connection between Judge Head's "prediction" and statements made by the titular leader of the Republican party, Mitt Romney.

While it might seem outrageous that such a bizarre conspiracy theory is being promoted by an elected official -- as grounds to support a particular policy no less -- Head isn't the only one. GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney appeared to give some credence to the same theory in response to a question at a town hall in Ohio last month.

Here's the quotation from Romney:

"Turning to the United Nations to tell us how to raise our kids, or whether we can have the Second Amendment rights that our Constitution gave us, I mean, that is the wrong way to go, right? Do not cede sovereignty," Romney said. "I’m happy to talk there. I’m not willing to give American sovereignty in any way, shape or form to the United Nations or any other body. We are a free nation. We fought for freedom and independence. We are going to keep freedom and independence."

This kind of talk is rampant, by the way, in the right-wing media. And if Romney's remark about the 2nd Amendment leaves you scratching your head, you're not the only one. In case you missed it, this editorial from the Washington Times op-ed page goes right for the jugular. It's called "The U.N. Is Coming For Your Guns." Here's the opening paragraph:

The United Nations is deliberating over a treaty that will place comprehensive limits on the international weapons trade. The language of the draft agreement is so expansive it wouldn’t take an Obama-appointed judge very long to extend the treaty to cover the domestic firearms market as well. If American jurists continue to be enamored by the popular trend to consider international precedence when making U.S. rulings, you can kiss the Second Amendment goodbye.

We have an elected Republican judge saying that President Obama will -- not might, will -- invite "U.N. troops" into our country and hand over sovereignty to the United Nations. We have the Republican nominee for President playing on exactly that kind of paranoia by promising he'll never "give American sovereignty in any way, shape or form to the United Nations," of course implying that Barack Obama will. That, by the way, is another of the many, many Romney attempts to "other" Obama and paint him as, in some way or another, "not American." 

 

What we have, folks, is one candidate for President who has sought to strengthen American national unity, to enhance the ties that bind together Americans of different races, cultures, regions, sexual orientations, and religious beliefs, and another whose campaign centers on exploiting the divisions and fears that separate us from one another.

 

That's the choice ahead of us this November.