Three Questions

Michael Gerson asks three questions of Tea Partiers, and since I, at least sympathize with them, I'll have a shot at answering them.

First, do you believe that Social Security and Medicare are unconstitutional?

He goes on to describe the chaos that would ensue if these programs were summarily shut down without further ado. As it happens, I do think those programs are unconstitutional, but having sucked a large number of people into them, the government owes us an orderly withdrawal from them. You don't throw grandma out on the street, but you inform the twenty-somethings that their retirement will be personally owned and self-managed from here on out. Some sort of gradation can certainly be worked out.

A second question of tea party candidates: Do you believe that American identity is undermined by immigration?

Notice that the word "illegal" is conspicuous by its absence. In the La-La land of cultural equivalence, a bone in the nose is as good as a walk on the moon. In the real world, there are cultures that condone lying, cheating, theft, rape, murder, and the rest, but this isn't one of them. You want to come here, you take a number and play by the local rules.

Question three: Do you believe that gun rights are relevant to the health care debate?

If the government can compel you to buy insurance, it can compel you to buy a Chevrolet, or forbid you from buying a Ford or a Smith and Wesson. It's none of their business, that's how it's relevant.