On the electric Twitter machine, historian Michael Beschloss reminds us that, on this week in 1781, the Articles of Confederation were established, a failed system of government to which almost the entire conservative movement is an homage, one way or the other. The Articles also failed to include a Bill of Rights. (The Constitution wouldn't have had one, either, if not for the mother of all flip-flops by Mr. Madison.) This last part seems to appeal to He, Trump.

Presidential candidate Donald Trump said Friday during a rally in Texas that he wants to "open up our libel laws so when [reporters] write purposely negative and horrible and false articles, we can sue them and win lots of money." The GOP frontrunner suggested that when he becomes president, places like The New York Times and The Washington Post, "the most dishonest media outlets I've ever seen in my life," will pay for their unfavorable coverage of his campaign. He continued, "I think the media is among the most dishonest groups of people I've ever met. They're terrible." Once he's able to rectify the issue of "horrible" media coverage, he said, "When The New York Times writes a hit piece, which is a total disgrace, or when The Washington Post, which is there for other reasons, writes a hit-piece, we can sue them and win money instead of having no chance of winning because they're totally protected."

I'm sure that the rest of the "constitutional conservatives" who spent Thursday night in a silly pissing match over who was the most conservative conservative of all will leap to the microphone to point out that the current Republican frontrunner now has stopped flirting with fascism and is now taking it out to dinner and a show. He's done everything at his rallies short of turning the crowd loose on the press pen, and I guarantee you that's coming if he starts to slide. Hey, Ted? Marco? The actual Constitution awaits your defense.

Charles P. Pierce Charles P Pierce is the author of four books, most recently Idiot America, and has been a working journalist since 1976.

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