As the constitutional claims of the tea party have become more and more extreme, we here at the Constitutional Accountability Center have been troubled by the lack of push-back from serious conservatives to some of these embarrassingly wild and unfounded claims. This failure of adult supervision has allowed claims that should truly remain on the constitutional fringe to flourish in conservative legislatures around the country.

In his op-ed, entitled "A pledge that compromises our oath," Senator Marsden asked his colleagues, "How can you take your oath of office in the General Assembly knowing that you have a prior allegiance to a special interest that dictates how you will perform your duties?"