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: 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.
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. However, the t-shirt is not purely and solely about national health care. As Ashleigh Kenny explains it herself: 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.
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.
