THE WEB THICKENS

A few years ago Glenn Beck spent some air time promoting the writings of W. Cleon Skousen, an eccentric far-right theocrat.  More recently. Mitt Romney recommended one of Skousen's books, I hope just to appeal to the Fundies.  What's a little more interesting is Skousen's connection to the Cliven Bundy clown show:

Bundy's statement brought to the forefront a theory that some on the far right have held for decades: that local sheriffs are ordained with an immense amount of power, going beyond that of even federal authorities. In the Bundy Ranch dispute, that theory is the driving ideology of some of the groups that have rallied to the rancher's side. Those include the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association and the Oath Keepers, whose members are law enforcement officials and military who have pledged to defend the Constitution against government overreach.

...Richard Mack, a former Arizona county sheriff and founder of the Constitutional Sheriffs, who had said Monday that the gathered self-described militia had considered using women as human shields if a gunfight with federal officials erupted.

The sheriff, who cited a 1984 class with W. Cleon Skousen, who the Southern Poverty Law Center described as "a leading light of right-wing radicalism, a theocrat who believed the decline of America began with passage of the 14th Amendment and its guarantee of equality for the former slaves and others," as his ideological awakening, lays out his worldview on the Constitutional Sheriffs site:

The county sheriff is the line in the sand. The county sheriff is the one who can say to the feds, “Beyond these bounds you shall not pass.” This is not only within the scope of the sheriff’s authority; it’s the sheriff’s sworn duty.

Mack also suggested that Cliven Bundy is on the same moral level as Rosa Parks.