Ashleigh Kenny

Ashleigh Kenny

Ashleigh Kenny poses with Congressman Jack Kingston and the RIP the US Constitution t- shirt that is causing such angst in progressively liberal circles. Like those inhabited by Oliver Willis.As you can see the front of the t-shirt reads "RIP The US Constitution" while the back of it has a quote from Ronald Reagan: "In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem, government is the problem" Now it's certainly true that national health care (which is the cause of the current anxiety which led to the shirt being made) is not in fact a constitutional matter. It isn't mentioned there as something which the Federal Government can do nor is it mentioned as something it cannot. Given the powers that it has taken to itself over the decades it's certainly not something that the Supreme Court (which is the final arbiter of such matters) is going to say is unconstitutional.

The quote from Reagan though, well, you certainly can argue either way on that: the health care system is at least 50% run by government so it would be fair to say that government has caused at least 50% of the problems with it. Perhaps one’s perception of the shirt depends on his or her perception of our Constitution. Personally, I believe it is a fundamental document that was written to insure that the government never became greater than the people. When I look at today’s society, the government’s control seems to increasingly outweigh the people’s. I cannot help but feel that the Constitution has been theoretically buried. This design isn’t meant to point fingers, it’s meant to stir an awareness of what we are losing. It’s about the power of the government increasing, while the power of the people decreases. Very difficult indeed to say that she's wrong there, whichever side of the political aisle you lean towards.

Valdosta college student Ashleigh Kenny is causing quite a controversy not only in Georgia but across the nation with a t-shirt that she designed and is selling. The shirt front reads “R.I.P. The U.S. Constitution.” On the back is a Ronald Reagan quote, “In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem, government is the problem” The 21-year-old hopes to spread awareness with the sale of the shirts. She said, “Our government is getting too big. How big can be debated, but the truth is, the government is bigger than the people. Therefore, the constitution is under attack. No matter which way you look at it, it is.” She hopes to make a difference with the message, and she invites others of her generation. She wants her peers to throw on a t-shirt, walk around, and spread the word. She got national recognition when she appeared on the Bill Maher Show on HBO.