In 2015, Michael Barber, an assistant professor of political science at Brigham Young University, conducted a study on political ideologies in the U.S. Senate (Utahdatapoints.com). According to Barber, Sen. Mike Lee was the most “ideologically extreme” senator of the 113th Congress and the most extreme U.S. Senator ever elected in Utah’s history.
It’s important to note that BYU is not known as a bastion of liberalism.
In 2020, Lee decided to inform the public via twitter that the United States is not a democracy:
“We’re not a democracy. The word democracy appears nowhere in the Constitution, perhaps because our form of government is not a democracy. It’s a constitutional republic.”
The Founding Fathers did have concerns about what they called a “pure” or direct democracy as practiced by ancient societies and what that could mean for minority rights. But that’s not what we mean by democracy today. Concerns about minority rights were the primary reason for the development of the Bill of Rights.
It is true that the word “democracy” is not in the text of the Constitution. Neither are the words “constitutional republic” as championed in Lee’s tweet. But it should be obvious even to Lee that the government architecture detailed in the Constitution, which begins with the words, “We the People,” is a democratic government; that is, a government that is legitimized by its citizens. Lee appears to have a sophomoric understanding of democracy. Perhaps this is why Lee had no concerns about being involved in the scheme to overturn the results of election.
Lee claims that he was not involved in trying to overturn the 2020 presidential election results. Yet, text messages from Lee to White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows demonstrate Lee working towards alternative electors in swing states to overturn the will of the people. Lee’s public explanation of these texts after they became public differ from his earlier narrative. It seems Lee failed a real test to prove his unqualified allegiance to the Constitution. Perhaps he should confer with Rusty Bowers or Liz Cheney to understand actual loyalty to the Constitution.
When first launching his campaign for the Senate, Lee claimed to be a constitutional “expert.” Lee now says we should be wary of experts. Lee warned against the “tyranny of expertise” at a recent event, adding:
“If America ever sees tyranny, it will come in the form of experts, masterminds, people who are so smart that people will defer to them in all things. And the only way that would ever work is if you accumulate all this power in the federal government.”
According to Lee’s own logic, we should be forewarned against his own supposed constitutional “expertise,” especially if his “expert” views become dominant throughout the federal government. Apparently, Lee thinks it’s not desirable for federal employees to be educated or considered experts in their field as they serve our country. In particular, the real problem for Lee appears to be scientific consensus.
What great civic, institutional or business leaders would think that way? Not many. Strange that Lee didn’t use hydroxychloroquine or ivermectin in lieu of taking the vaccine, as he was an advocate for their use in treating COVID-19. What threatens our country is the tyranny of extremism and stupidity.
Although only a few representative examples can be mentioned here, Lee consistently expresses divisive and extremist thoughts. Division and extremism lead our country down a destructive path. Lee is clearly part of the problem.
Kent Dean served Salt Lake County communities in public libraries for 30 years, including service as a professional librarian, library manager and library administrator. He is the founder and author of Ponder This…, a website providing information and commentary on social and political issues.
from The Salt Lake Tribune https://ift.tt/PAOC0N1
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