But We Can Read What You Wrote, Campfield!

So, today Campfield says

The left went nuts! How dare I admit slavery was ever legal! How dare I ever admit that steps were taken to give former slaves rights after the civil war! How could I think the 14th was drafted to give former slaves rights and not every person born in the US?

And I’m looking around, wondering, “Which left is he talking about?” I’m pretty sure I have every lefty Tennessee blog in my Google Reader and I think I’m the only person who wrote about his post yesterday.  Sure, Sean Braisted and Goldni were poking fun at the post over at Tiny Pasture’s, but they were, same as me, making fun of his fear of babies and his inability to read the Constitution (or federal code, if the 14th amendment seemed unclear to him).

So, who are these mysterious lefties who are outraged at him admitting slavery was legal?  I made an aside pointing out that, though Africans were generally brought here legally, there were some smugglers and folks who would kidnap free blacks and sell them into slavery.  That’s a fact, too.

But let’s just pretend that there is some small group of Lefties who know enough to use the internet to faithfully read Campfield, but not enough to show up on the radar of anyone but him, who read his whole strange screed that seemed to be unable to differentiate between parents and children and which advocated undermining the Constitution through pretending that the 14th Amendment is somehow too complicated and mysterious to apply to everyone, and those Lefties didn’t get upset at all that, but somehow focused in solely on his slavery point.

Fine.  I’m willing to pretend.

My point is that Campfield did not say yesterday what he is claiming to have said today.

Yesterday:

The amendment to the constitution that is so confusing was put in place for descendants of slaves so they could become US citizens.

Today:

How could I think the 14th was drafted to give former slaves rights and not every person born in the US?

Those are not the same thing.  Descendants of slaves are different than former slaves.  Just like descendants of illegal immigrants are different  than illegal immigrants.  Parents are different than children.

I, if I am indeed the “Left” who was going nuts over this post, which it appears I might be, was not upset that Campfield noticed that there used to be slavery.  I am, in fact, not at all shocked that he seems to know a little history.  I was shocked that he seemed to think that the words of the 14th Amendment somehow mean something other than what they say.  And I’m entertained to no end to see him now trying to spin things so that he is the deliberately misunderstood victim of some smear campaign by the Left (or me or both, if those are the same thing) instead of the truth, which is him making the Constitution the deliberately misunderstood victim of a smear campaign by him.

And I eagerly await the moment when it dawns on him that he is attempting to do to the children of illegal immigrants exactly what we, as a nation, were afraid would happen to ex-slaves–denying them the right to citizenship, even though there were born here and are legally recognized people.

When will Campfield see that the very legislation he is so proud of trying to get passed is designed deliberately and specifically to deny legal personhood to illegal immigrants and their descendants?  No birth certificates for children born here who’s parents are here illegally?  One step towards stripping those children of their status as legal persons.  Arguing that there is a group of people in the United States, many of whom were born here, who are somehow outside the jurisdiction of the United States?  Another step towards stripping those people of their status as legal persons.  Arguing that the Constitution, which is the law of the land doesn’t apply to some types of people ON THIS LAND?  Yet another step towards stripping those people of their status as legal persons.

Will Campfield ever realize the bitter poetic injustice of his being a servant of the people of Tennessee while at the same time working to deny legal personhood to some of those people?

I doubt it, but you never know.