My Messiah colleague Dr. John Fea (associate professor of American History) had an interesting Op-Ed piece on AOL today. It was entitled Memo to Tea Partiers — The Founders Were Elitists. Here is a little snippet to give you a flavor:

In our current political climate, which is dominated by the loud voice of the tea party, anyone who calls attention to the electorate’s woeful lack of knowledge can expect to be labeled “elitist” or “out of touch.”

But what these populists forget is that many of the Founding Fathers — the same Founding Fathers whom tea party supporters appeal to on a regular basis for their views on government, religion and the Constitution — were the most “elitist” politicians in American history.

Dr. Fea goes on to defend this position. I have found his historical posts to be quite helpful in sifting through the many claims about what the founders said, meant, and believed. If you want more from him, check out his blog (The Way of Improvement Leads Home), or the link in my blogroll on the right.