Modbert
Daydream Believer
- Sep 2, 2008
- 33,178
- 3,055
- 48
Iowa GOP jumps on the ‘Thirteenther’ bandwagon Iowa Independent
Good to know the Iowa GOP is keeping their eye on the ball and focusing on the real issues.
A provision in the Republican Party of Iowas platform calling for the reintroduction and ratification of the original 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution got some national attention this week, with the partys spokesman admitting the plank is focused solely on Barack Obama.
The current 13th amendment bans slavery, and Iowa Republicans are not in favor of its repeal. They are, however, interested in reintroducing an amendment originally put before the states for ratification back in 1810. It outlawed any person who accepts a title of nobility from a foreign country from ever holding political office. The amendment was ratified by 12 states but never got the 13th state that it needed, and thus, never became law.
But as Newsweeks Jerry Adler points out, for Iowa Republicans its really all about Obama.
That was just what the Iowa Republicans had in mind, according to [state GOP Communications Director Danielle] Plogmann, who wrote in an e-mail that the plank was meant to make a statement about the delegates opinion about Mr. Obama receiving the prize. (Presumably they didnt mind if, in the process, they were also making a statement about any American scientist or writer unlucky enough to win a Nobel.) Unfortunately for them, the Department of Justice looked into whether Obama needed Congressional approval to accept the Nobel under the existing emoluments clause, and based on the meaning of foreign state (which would not cover the Nobel Prize Committee) concluded that he did not.
Good to know the Iowa GOP is keeping their eye on the ball and focusing on the real issues.