Opinion: What We Lose When Republicans Win

(Nov. 1) -- Republicans are set to win seats in both houses of Congress and take over at least one of them. However, as they win, America loses. Just what would America look like if the far-right anti-government tea partiers have their way? Stop spending! Cut taxes! These are a couple of rallying cries, but they disappear when the rubber meets the road.

Sunday night, MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell had on a bevy of tea party leaders, each of whom was asked just what should be cut to bring government down to the size they claim they want. Either they couldn't name a program they'd cut, or they named programs where the cuts would be insignificant and not produce the desired result. Louisiana GOP Sen. David Vitter said during debate that he doesn't agree with the premise that tax cuts need to be paid for. How's that for fiscal responsibility?

Brian Beutler at Talking Points Memo writes of six established laws, established components of our society, that the tea party candidates would like to undo, even though many of these candidate are and have been beneficiaries of these laws.

Go tell those who lost money in the stock market during the past three years that their Social Security won't be guaranteed because you want to take it private. George W. Bush said not privatizing Social Security was one of his biggest failures as president. However, Bush's failures aren't what he didn't do; they're what he did do. He did enough damage without taking benefits away from the American people.

Alaska Republican Senate candidate Joe Miller says the federal government has no business running Medicare and says unemployment benefits are unconstitutional. You know what's got no business running, Mr. Miller? You. For Senate. Especially given that, in spite of your position, your wife was a beneficiary of -- guess what -- unemployment benefits.

West Virginia Senate candidate John Raese says the minimum wage is unconstitutional. Raese is a big business owner, so it's good to see him looking out for the little guy.

Rand Paul of Kentucky doesn't like the 1964 Civil Rights Act; he says he doesn't object to all of it, just the part that gives ... civil rights.

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Nevada Senate candidate Sharron Angle believes the United Nations is unconstitutional. Of course, if she spoke there, she might make the same blunder she made in a classroom and mix up Latinos with Asians, telling a group of Hispanic students they looked "a little Asian" to her. You know who Latinos are ... the bad guys in Sharron Angle commercials.

Add to this Republicans like Lindsey Graham who want to repeal the 14th Amendment, which grants birthright citizenship. Congressman Paul Broun of Georgia wants to do away with the 16th Amendment, which calls for the direct election of senators, and the 17th, which allows the government to enact an income tax. Angle has spoken out against liquor being legal; that would mean she'd like to do away with the 21st Amendment.

I finally figured out the underlying thing that Republicans think we should do away with, the one thing they believe is, at its core, unconstitutional. And you know what that is, don't you: The one basic thing they find unconstitutional: the Constitution.