Counting To Ten(ther)

South Carolina Republican State Rep Mike Pitts is pretty serious when he says "We don't want your government money."  He's taking that quite literally.

Pitts, a fourth-term Republican from Laurens, introduced legislation earlier this month that would ban what he calls “the unconstitutional substitution of Federal Reserve Notes for silver and gold coin” in South Carolina.

If the bill were to become law, South Carolina would no longer accept or use anything other than silver and gold coins as a form of payment for any debt, meaning paper money would be out in the Palmetto State.

Pitts said the intent of the bill is to give South Carolina the ability to “function through gold and silver coinage” and give the state a “base of currency” in the event of a complete implosion of the U.S. economic system.

“I’m not one to cry ‘chicken little,’ but if our federal government keeps spending at the rate we’re spending I don’t see any other outcome than the collapse of the economic system,” Pitts said. 

Gotta love that tenther lunacy.  I was unaware that the Tenth Amendment read in part "And it shall be determined that the States shall be allowed free reign to do whatever the hell they deem appropriate."  Of course, not using US currency would be kind of unconstitutional, not to mention stupid:

“It violates a perfectly legal and Constitutional federal law, enacted pursuant to the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution, that federal reserve notes are legal tender for all debts public and private,” the expert said. “We settled this debate in the early 1800s. I appreciate the political sentiment but the law is blatantly unconstitutional.”

Pitts, however, dismissed that claim, saying that “adherence to the Constitution is a two-edged sword. The federal government has consistently violated the Constitution, especially the 10th Amendment and Commerce Clause.”

Constitutional issues aside, Pitts’ bill faces another hurdle. Critics point out that silver and gold coins can’t actually serve as a form of currency.

“You can’t put a set value on a pure silver or gold coin because it’s actual value fluctuates,” one expert said. “You can say a gold coin is worth $50 but it would actually be worth whatever the market says it’s worth, based on supply and demand. In reality, what you have is a bartering good, not a form of currency.”

Well you can put a value on it.  But that's unconstitutional according to Pitts.  Legal stupidity aside (not to mention the overtones of a state like South Carolina effectively seceding from the US economy) we have lawmakers now who think it's perfectly rational to try to have states abandon the dollar.  Even ten years ago this assclown would have become a national joke and asked to resign immediately by the state Republican party.

Now this guy's going to be held up as a hero by the Teabaggers and they're going to want all 50 states to have their own currency.

And the best part is the Village will take it all seriously.  There is such a thing as populism that is bad, you know.