Proving, once again, no idea is too ridiculous for the Leftists, the idea of making today’s American citizens who had nothing to do with slavery, pay restitution to other Americans who were never enslaved or never even knew anyone who was a slave, is starting to get traction. From today’s The Hill:

House legislation to form a commission to study whether black Americans should receive reparations for slavery is getting a significant boost from Democrats on the presidential campaign trail. Rep. Karen Bass (D-Calif.), the head of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), suggested that action on a reparations measure sponsored by Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) is all but certain, with Democrats now in control of the lower chamber and the idea gaining prominence on the national stage.

Aside from noting the source of the original bill, brilliant legislator Sheila Jackson (will the Mars Rover see the Flag our astronauts left?) Lee, many of us, including Pat Buchanan have some cogent questions.

Are the Democrats going to say this in their national platform in 2020? And how much will be the rest of America be forced to pay, and for how long? Who would qualify as a beneficiary of reparations, and who would pay the immense transfer sums involved? Would all black Americans, even the middle class and affluent, be entitled to reparations? How would the government go about proving that folks living here today had ancestors in slavery before 1865? The last 50 years have seen many marriages between blacks and whites. Would the children of such marriages qualify for reparations?

I have a few questions of my own. Are we just going to levy White Americans? Or, are we just going to track down every American who had slave owners in his family tree and forcibly take property from him to pay for this foolishness? What if on one side of that family tree there are slave owners, while on the other side there are slaves? Now what? What if there are both slaves and slave owners on both sides? Is that a “wash?”

I’m sure many of you discerning readers have plenty more questions regarding just how we might go about executing this absurd idea. I’d be glad to hear them in the comments section.

One final point. It seems as though we Conservatives always make the same mistake—immediately ceding the terms of the discussion to the Leftists. Tomorrow in Part II, “Why are we even having this discussion at all?” Stay tuned.

Mike Ford is a retired Infantry Officer who writes on Military, Foreign Affairs and occasionally dabbles in Political and Economic matters.

Follow him on Twitter: @MikeFor10394583

You can find his other Red State work here.