The NY Times Caucus Blog is reporting that Republican candidates are getting an interesting question “Is the federal government working on a NAFTA superhighway extending from Mexico to Canada?

Most haven’t heard of it, Mitt Romney said he didn’t but would stop any attempt to. So what is the deal? As The Caucus reports the story is nothing more than an urban legend but has made its way to the Republican candidates on several different occasions. Basically several local committees and policy groups around the country have “considered” such a plan. The Congress though, not so much.

This is exactly the kind of environment where conspiracy theories start. There is some documented evidence of people considering far out ideas (local legislatures consider a lot of really far out ideas) and different policy groups and “think-tanks” advancing them. The liklihood of them ever actually following through is pretty minimal and the federal governments involvement, beyond wondering what the heck people are going “out there” is pretty limited. Not so say conspiracy theorists who make the next leap.

How did it get to the presidential candidates? Well looking at Congressional Testimony on the Web site of Congressman & ‘08 candidate Ron Paul (whose followers are quickly spreading the Paul message on the Internets), I think you can figure out where its all coming from.

Add to it this Lou Dobbs clip:

This editorial by Patrick J. Buchanan advancing the Lou Dobbs story AND add to that an endless host of Web sites and commentaries (some even putting Giuliani at the center of such a plan) and you see how these things spread.

Which leads me to wonder if a Republican YouTube debate were to occur, would a question of a NAFTA Superhighway make its way in? How about one dealing with Roswell, NM?