As ThinkProgress has previously noted, there is a radical strain of conservativism, dubbed “tentherism,” that invokes the Tenth Amendment to claim that a whole host of uncontroversial federal government programs — like Social Security and Medicare — are unconstitutional. Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) has even adopted this philosophy to claim that child labor laws are not permitted by the Constitution.

Now, in an interview with Streetsblog Capitol Hill, one radical conservative has declared yet another common public good to be unconstitutional: bike paths. In an interview about federal transporation issues, Streetsblog asked Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA) about supporting legislation that would support things like bike trails. Hunter responded by saying that he doesn’t “think biking should fall under the federal purview of what the transportation committee is there for. If a state wants to do it, or local municipality, they can do whatever they want to. But no, because you have us mandating bike paths, you don’t want either.”

Streetsblog followed up by asking if he was okay with “mandating highways.” Hunter responded by saying that he doesn’t “see riding a bike the same as driving a car or flying an airplane” because “it’s more of a recreational thing“:

STREETSBLOG: I was just in an [Environment and Public Works] Committee hearing and there was some talk about the fact that some small amount of money in the [transportation] reauthorization historically gets used for things like bike trails. Some people think that’s waste; some people think biking is a mode of transportation. What do you think?

HUNTER: I don’t think biking should fall under the federal purview of what the Transportation Committee is there for. If a state wants to do it, or local municipality, they can do whatever they want to. But no, because then you have us mandating bike paths, which you don’t want either.

STREETSBLOG: But you’re OK with mandating highways?

HUNTER: Absolutely, yeah. Because that’s in the constitution. I don’t see riding a bike the same as driving a car or flying an airplane.

STREETSBLOG: How is it different?

HUNTER: I think it’s more of a recreational thing. That’s my opinion.

Hunter’s argument is puzzling. Neither highways nor bike paths are explicitly spelled out as government powers in the U.S. Constitution. Rather, both are justified by the General Welfare clause, which allows the government to “promote the general welfare” of the American people. Earlier in the interview, Hunter cited the postal clause of the Constitution as allowing for specific authorization for Congress to authorize certain forms of legislation. Yet this clause in question specifically cites the ability to fund “postal roads” — meaning that highways would not be considered, given that the postal service at the time obviously did not use automobiles, which would require highways.

And for the record, biking isn’t only “recreational.” In 2000, the Census found that nearly half a million Americans bike to work. In cities like Portland up to 4.4 percent of all commuter trips are made via bicycling. It’s likely that even more Americans would utilize bicycles if bike-friendly paths and lanes were expanded across the country. But that would hinge on legislators not falsely believing them to be unconstitutional like Hunter.

The conservative campaign against President Obama’s health care reform law has been built around baseless distortions and fabrications about the policy, such as its mythical “death panels” that would “pull the plug on grandma,” the false claim that the law is “job killing,” and the equally false claim that the law will “explode the deficit.” President Obama has largely avoided taking on this disinformation directly, but in a speech today sponsored by the pro-reform Families USA, the president lambasted these conservative falsehoods, saying the fear mongering “just doesn’t match up to reality.” And noting that conservatives tried to claim the law is “granny-threatening,” Obama joked, “I can report that granny is safe!”:

OBAMA: Now as important as what is happening right now, is what isn’t happening right now. You may have heard once or twice that this is a job-crushing, granny-threatening, budget-busting monstrosity. That’s how it’s been portrayed by opponents. But that just doesn’t match up toreality. [...]

And I can report that granny is safe! In fact, grandma’s Medicare is stronger than ever. And if she was one of the millions who fell into the donut hole last year, she’ll received a $250 check, or soon will, to help her afford her medicine, and a 50 percent discount on brand name drugs, as part of the affordable care act.

Watch it:

Conservatives are forced to resort to deception on health care because Americans overwhelming don’t want the Affordable Care Act repealed and favor most of its components. Meanwhile, Republicans have no clear plan to address health care on their own, should their doomed repeal bid actually succeed.

Delivering on his vision for a “new way,” Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R-OH) “is on pace to be the first governor since 1962 to have an entire Cabinet without any racial diversity.” Every one of his 22 full-time agency head appointments has been a white person. Only five are women. Dubbing diversity as “metrics that people tend to focus on,” Kasich said, “I can’t say I need to find somebody to fit this metric” because “it’s not the way I look at those things. I want the best possible team I can get.”

Yesterday, the Ohio Legislative Black Caucus held a press conference to express their waning patience with his dismissive attitude and “implore[] Kasich to make better strides to diversify his Cabinet.” But according to State Senator Nina Turner (D-OH), this time Kasich’s response was a bit more blunt. According to Turner, when the caucus offered him help in finding qualified minority applicants, Kasich told Turner, “I don’t need your people“:

TURNER: Today, in 2001, it feels more like 1811 in the state of Ohio under a governor who just does not get it. I want to read some of [Kasich's] quotes. He said, ‘I don’t look at things from that standpoint. It’s not the way I look at things. I want the best possible team I can get and hopefully we will be in a position that we are fully diverse as we go forward.” As we go forward, as we go along, by and by, someday. I remember Martin Luther King saying so eloquently that wait almost always means never. Through his actions and deeds, Governor Kasich has declared that Ohio is open for business, but if you are African-American you need not apply. If you are hispanic, you need not apply. If you are Asian-Indian, you need not apply. And Oh My God I have a few women but we don’t need many more, so for women, you need not apply.

And then to have the pure unadulterated gall to say that he can’t find anyone. In that same caucus meeting when I said to the governor “if you need help, we can help you” and he said, and I quote, “I don’t need your people.” Now as an African-American, I was kind of perplexed about “I don’t need your people.” I wasn’t quite sure whether or not he was referring to my ethnic group people or my people as in the 350,000 constituents I serve in this state that represent all ethnic groups, all religious groups. I didn’t understand what “I’m not going to hire your people” means.

Watch it:

Kasich is certainly not angling for an all-white cabinet. He did make offers to two African-Americans who declined to accept two separate Cabinet posts. And as Turner points out, it is not entirely clear who “your people” was referring to. Kasich’s spokesman confirmed that he made the comment but “insisted that he meant he was referring to Turner’s political party, not race.” But almost 20 percent of Ohio’s population is minority, and such a brazen dismissal of diversity — be it racial, gender, or political — betrays a worrisome disregard for a broad range of ideas, insight, and understanding in policy development which such diversity cultivates.

Unfortunately, Kasich’s ignorance is not limited to his cabinet. On top of likening cabinet diversity to “chasing quotas,” Kasich refused to attend the Cleveland Chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference’s 10th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Gala despite being in Cleveland the same day. He also eliminated “gender identity” in his extension of former Gov. Ted Strickland’s (D) executive order to protect state employees from discrimination based on “race, color, gender, national origin, military status, disability, age, genetic information, or sexual orientation.” And as for gender equality, Kasich offered the fact that he’s married to a woman and has two daughters as sufficient evidence of his commitment to diversity.

Should Kasich’s abysmal diversity standard continue to direct his decisions, his “new way” might lead Ohioans all the way back before the civil rights era. (HT: Plunderbund, Ohio Capitol Blog)