Kelsey-Dummy-MemeLast week Senator Brian Kelsey finally decided to stand up to the federal government on Obamacare.  So, he got a copy of the book “Web Sites for Dummies” and handed it to Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius on her trip to Memphis.  How cute.

 Kelsey stated on Twitter that:

Sen. Kelsey Twitter

Perhaps if he hadn’t continually stalled his bill to ban the Obamacare Medicaid expansion in Tennessee (finally postponing it until 2014 at the behest of Governor Bill Haslam and the Republican establishment so that they could gauge which way the political wind was blowing) his actions might carry a little more weight.  Really, if he is so sure that Tennessee doesn’t want the Medicaid expansion, why hasn’t he worked harder to do something about it?

 Or perhaps if had actually stood up to the feds on something else, like Obama’s gun control agenda, instead of going to bat for a gravely mistaken interpretation of the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause (and a version of history pulled out of thin air) in an effort to quash any attempt by the state of Tennessee to stand up to federal gun restrictions.

But he only pretends to care about opposing Obama’s policies. This was proven when he demonstrated his complete lack of respect for the Constitution, the rights of Tennesseans, and the proper role of the State of Tennessee in the union of the several states that created the federal government.

Further, his actions as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee were outright tacky in trying to prevent Tennessee from standing up to the federal government by turning the committee meeting into a three ring circus.  First, Kelsey also gave a completely erroneous dissertation on history.  Then he attempted to prevent those testifying at the request of fellow legislators from giving their full testimony and answering questions posed by other legislators.  Finally, he turned off fellow legislators’ microphones in an effort to prevent them from voting.

View the video for yourself here.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vbcm5Uy0iTc

No, Senator Brian Kelsey’s record on standing up to the federal government is far less than stellar.  It’s atrocious.  So, all he’s left with to pretend he stands up against the feds for Tennesseans is tacky gimmicks and publicity stunts that do nothing to actually stand up to the federal government.  Maybe he needs a copy of “The Tenth Amendment for Dummies” so he can learn from the example of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison to get it straight.

Thanks, but no thanks Senator Kelsey.  When it comes to resisting unconstitutional federal actions, Tennesseans expect real substance, not just a show.

Lesley Swann