Tea Partiers Forget Bills of Attainder are Unconstitutional: Whoops!

We'll know the Mad Hatters really care about the Constitution when they start heaping praise upon the small minority of elected officials who stood up to the unconstitutional "Defund ACORN Act."
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ACORN is troubled in a variety of respects, and can be criticized legitimately. But the organization shouldn't have to fend off the unconstitutional attack that's been launched against it by Congressional Republicans, with the complicity of most Democrats.

The Mad Hatters may be the self-appointed guardians of our Founders' will, from attacks by Democrats, RINOs and other loyalists of the Crown, but we'll know they really care about the Constitution when they start heaping praise upon the small minority of elected officials who stood up to the illegal "Defund ACORN Act."

House Minority Leader John Boehner offered the measure in September in the wake of the emergence of video showing ACORN employees taking the bait of right-wing activists posing as pimp and prostitute. It was conceived, concocted, and even named with one undeniable intention: to single out a particular organization for punishment, by making it ineligible for federal funds. It could catch organizations other than ACORN, but as noted by the Congressional Research Service, ACORN gets extra-special treatment:


The legislative record regarding this proposed act does appear to indicate that the Congress
identified ACORN and its affiliates as being likely to fall under its various provisions. There does
not appear to be an indication, however, of why, within the large group of entities that might be
subject to the proposed act, only ACORN and its affiliates will be subject to special rules
regarding joint and several application.

But a rudimentary survey of the the Constitution makes it clear that this isn't allowed, whether or not ACORN is deserving of eventual sanction for the actions of its employees. According to Article 1, Section 9, "No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed," with bill of attainder typically defined along these lines: "A legislative act that singles out an individual or group for punishment without a trial."

Perhaps learning how to read is now considered a form of judicial activism:

U.S. District Judge Nina Gershon issued a preliminary injunction against the government, saying it is in the public's interest for the organization to continue receiving federal funding. Gershon found that ACORN had was "singled out by Congress for punishment" without "any judicial, or even administrative, process adjudicating guilt."

Lord knows ACORN is far from perfect, but that doesn't mean the Tea Partiers, Beck, Palin, et al can get away with exploiting a tool which was used by the Brits to punish individual patriots in an attempt to stifle the American Revolution, and hence proscribed by the founders. The ban on bills of attainder now serves to enforce due process rights and to secure the separation of powers by preventing a legislature from assuming the role of the judiciary; both are essential concepts enshrined in the Constitution and rightfully celebrated. Seven senators and 75 representatives -- all Democrats, except for independent Bernie Sanders -- mustered the courage to buck both the right wing and their own party's leadership and vote against the measure, but were decried as "corrupt," and worse, for doing so.

The Tea Party is not made up of the broadest-minded membership, but so severe an irony cannot be lost on them: Can Mad Hatters say "Mea Culpa?" (Don't worry guys, the phrase is Latin, not French.)

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