Thomas Jefferson’s “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” was presumably inspired by John Locke’s “life, liberty and property.”  Locke’s thinking influenced the U.S. Founding Guys more than any other single philosopher, and Locke said government is obligated to protect the life, liberty and property rights of the people. You would think teabaggers/Republicans would know this and respect it.

However, if you pay attention you notice that they’ve reworked the order — property first, then liberty, but life gets bumped off the list unless you are a fetus. Mark Joseph Stern provides several examples of Republicans putting liberty and property ahead of life. These include putting a right to refuse vaccination ahead of public health and their frantic crusade to stop the government from paying for health care.

Republicans are currently cheering on an anti-Obamacare lawsuit that could strip millions of health insurance. They’re willing to put Americans at risk of death just to score points against a law they hate. … Many conservatives are cheerfully unconcerned by this lawsuit’s potentially fatal consequences. In one op-ed titled “End Obamacare, and People Could Die. That’s Okay,” Michael R. Strain of the American Enterprise Institute insisted that the Supreme Court should have no compunction about rendering a decision that will kill Americans. A higher mortality rate, Strain wrote, is “an acceptable price to pay for certain goals,” including “less government coercion and more individual liberty.”

Liberty trumps life, in other words. Better dead than taxed, or something. If anyone knows on what planet that makes sense, do raise your hand. The Michael Strain op-ed is a chilling thing to read, but you know this “acceptable price” stuff is conventional wisdom among the privileged crew he rubs elbows with. They’re never going to have to pay that price, of course. But they’re kicking some of us to the curb for the Greater Good, and we’re supposed to be grateful. Yay, freedom!

I’ve been particularly infuriated by reports that the Koch Brother-led Americans for Prosperity has been going around strangling any movement toward expanding Medicaid in the non-Medicaid-expanding states, most recently Tennessee. Apparently the Koch Boys love freedom so much they’re determined to kill any poor, sick hillbillies that get in the way.

So, obviously, liberty is ranked ahead of life. But I would argue that for all their rhetoric about liberty, in truth the U.S. Right puts property ahead of liberty. The late 19th century Supreme Court was notorious for putting property rights above civil liberty, so this is not without precedent. But the base has been well trained to unquestioningly support everything from Citizen’s United to more tax cuts for the rich at the expense of everyone else to climate change denialism, because it’s in the best interests of the 1 percent to do so, and those policies are not promoting anyone’s liberty. Indeed, if you pay close attention you may notice that a lot of their arguments for “liberty” are mostly in favor of unrestricted acquisition of wealth.

It’s property first, then liberty when it doesn’t get in the way of property, and life for the post-born can be bumped off the table as necessary.

Update: How could I have forgotten that gun rights also trump life?  Little children killing themselves with guns is the price we pay for the freedom to keep loaded guns anywhere we want, right?