Gagging On Sovereign Tea

I remember when State Sen. Mary Lazich harangued her fellow legislators over Wisconsin's possible loss of sovereignty when the Great Lakes Compact was being debated.

It was a confused and wacky argument, and, predictably, was dismissed by her colleagues, but every time you turn around these days, you hear these antiquated terms.

We heard it in Waukesha's Mayoral campaign when some candidates feared a water deal with Milwaukee would cost Waukesha its sovereignty.

It's echoed by tea partiers who claim that states' rights trumps the federal government's inherent and practical interest in national health care reform and ultimately fixing an economy clobbered by distorted health system costs.

And there is the disgraceful spectacle of Republican governors of Mississippi and Virginia declaring Confederate History Months - - and claiming that the celebration is to focus attention on states' rights, not to place to a racialized base.

Yeah, right.

I have an old friend who has said for decades that much of the country's domestic politics is just fighting the Civil War all over again.

These days, he's on to something.