( CNN ) -- If it was just a political pander , it was a beauty . But if it was a serious statement of philosophy , it was chilling -- even scary . Joni Ernst , the Iowa candidate who has vaulted to within an inch of United States Senate due to her boasting of hog castration in this year 's most inventive political ad , was speaking to the National Rifle Association in 2012 . `` I do believe in the right to carry , and I believe in the right to defend myself and my family -- whether it 's from an intruder , or whether it 's from a government , should they decide that my rights are no longer important . '' Huh ? This notion -- that the Second Amendment gives citizens the right to fire upon federal officials , or their local police , or sheriffs or even U.S. military personnel -- is common among right wingers . But it 's one thing to hear , say , goofball Ted Nugent honk off that way . ( The Nuge , by the way , has boasted about how he avoided taking up arms in defense of his country during Vietnam . ) It is another to know that someone with those loopy views is one step away from the United States Senate . The Washington Monthly blogger Ed Kilgore has asked the right question -- the one any Iowa voter should be putting to Ms. Ernst : `` Since you brought it up , exactly what circumstances would justify you shooting a police officer or a soldier in the head ? '' Good question , Ed . Is it OK to do so if , say , the Supreme Court stops the counting of votes so as to give the presidency to the candidate who got fewer votes ? I do n't think so . How about segregation ? If ever American citizens were oppressed by their government it was African-Americans under Jim Crow . Thank God we had Dr. King and not Ms. Ernst leading the civil rights movement . Perhaps Ms. Ernst reserves her bloody right to truly egregious government actions , like ensuring affordable health care , even to folks with pre-existing conditions ? Lord , I hope not . As Michael Waldman notes in his excellent new book , `` The Second Amendment , A Biography , '' the Second Amendment was designed to ensure that citizen-soldiers would be the heart of our national defense . A standing army , such as we have now , would have been anathema to our Founders . Indeed , Thomas Jefferson , in his first Annual Message to Congress ( now known as the State of the Union Address ) , said , `` nor is it conceived needful or safe that a standing army should be kept up in time of peace . '' Should America be invaded , Jefferson said , the proper response was `` the body of neighboring citizens as formed into a militia . '' The Founders thought citizen-soldiers would be the military , acting on behalf of the government . They did not advocate armed citizens taking on federal officials . Do n't believe me ? Ask George Washington . Gen. Washington , as president , forcefully rejected the notion that American citizens had a revolutionary right to take up arms against their government -- even against the most hated government officials enforcing the most hated government program . President Washington and his Treasury Secretary , Alexander Hamilton , sought to enforce a tax on whiskey , which Congress passed in 1791 . A group of Pennsylvania whiskey distillers objected , violently . In what was known as the Whiskey Rebellion , they refused to pay the tax and burned the home of the federal tax collector . Washington personally led 13,000 troops to crush the rebellion ( the only time a president has commanded troops in the field ) . Washington was willing to shed blood to ensure no one took up arms against his or her own country . To argue that the Second Amendment allows citizens to turn their guns on their government is to repudiate the actions of George Washington , as well as the Constitution itself . I say this as a gun owner -- and I 'm not just talking about some puny 9 mm like the one Ms. Ernst brags about . At last count I have 22 guns . I use them to hunt , shoot targets , and bond with my family . My grandfather was a hunter and gun owner , as is my father , as am I -- as are my sons . But neither we , nor Ms. Ernst nor any American has the right to turn those weapons on American military personnel , peace officers or other government officials . To suggest otherwise betrays our Founders , our Constitution , and common sense .
Paul Begala : Iowa Governor Susan Ernst told NRA she has right to use her gun against government . He says : This is scary . Here 's a question for Ernst : Under what circumstances is it OK do this ? Founders : Citizen - soldiers might fight on behalf of government , not shoot at it , he says . Begala says 22 guns . Citizens do n't have right to use weapons on police , military , civilians .