Founders Report

“[It is] the people, to whom all authority belongs.”

Thomas Jefferson to Spencer Roane, 1821. ME 15:328

Is it just me or is everyone else getting tired of the arrogance and ignorance of our Commander in Chief as well?  In a recent interview on ABC with Diane Sawyer, President Obama had this to say:

“The one thing that I’m clear about is that I’d rather be a really good one-term President than a mediocre two-term President.”

President Obama’s arrogance in truly believing that it is possible, and his ignorance in not realizing that it is not, is truly astounding to me.  What kind of a statement is he sending to American citizens?  The very nature of our system of government precludes one from being a “really good one-term President”.  There are only two ways for that to be possible; die while in office and be popular enough to have been re-elected or be popular enough to be re-elected and decide not to run for a second term, and I don’t think either one will apply to our current President.  If neither of these apply then getting voted out of office means the American people didn’t like what you did and fired your ass.  Now, the last time I checked getting fired does not usually mean you were doing a good job.

Taking into account the nature of our system of Government a translation of President Obama’s remarks are in order. ” I’d rather be a really good one-term President than a mediocre two-term President” really means “I don’t care what you the people want.  I’m going to do what I think is best and you can kiss my backside and vote me out of office if you don’t like it because my ideology is more important than your freedoms.”  I think that about covers it and speaks for itself.  Arrogance is not only annoying, it’s dangerous.  With a statement like that there is nothing this administration does that will surprise me.  To this President the Constitution is not the “supreme law of the land” as article 6, section 2 states, it is a piece of paper that stands in the way of his utopian society.  His arrogance is dangerous because he and his friends on the left will do just about anything and ignore just about any law (at least the ones they don’t like) to make sure their agenda is pushed through, regardless of Constitutional constraints.  They are literally tearing our Country apart one bill at a time.  Maybe we should take a lesson from the failed Roman empire.

“The budget should be balanced, the Treasury should be refilled, public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed lest Rome become bankrupt.”

Marcus Tullius Cicero 55 BC

“Wherever the real power in a Government lies, there is the danger of oppression.  In our Governments the real power lies in the majority of the community, and the invasion of private rights is chiefly to be apprehended, not from acts of Goverment contrary to the sense of its constituents, but from acts in which the Government is the mere instrument of the major number ot the constituents.”

James Madison – 1778 Letter to Thomas Jefferson

I find it ironic that the younger generations are so enamored with President Obama.  Today’s generations, more so than any other in history,  have a strong independent spirit and do not want to be told what to do. However, the party they helped put into power wants nothing more than to tell them, and the rest of us, exactly what to do.  Today’s Democratic party has been hijacked by the far left, and their ideal is a world where they decide what is best for the collective.

The collective…sounds like something out of Star Trek.  Remember the Borg, a race where there was no individuality only the collective.  If you look at the policies of the left today they are all about what THEY feel is best for the collective.  The want to tell you when and if you can get medical care, how much energy you are allowed to use, what kind of car you can drive…and the list goes on.  How does this measure up with the independent spirit of our youth?  Are they really so blind that they cannot see what is happening?  Or does their strong sense of entitlement, that feeling of I want what I want and I want it now, override their independent spirit.  I don’t know the answer, but I do know that if we keep going down our current path we will know how the Borg feel.

“With respect to the words general welfare, I have always regarded them as qualified by the detail of the powers connected with them.  To take them in a literal and unlimited sense would be a metamorphosis of the Constitution into a character which there is a host of proofs was not contemplated by its creators.”

James Madison

“In every event, I would rather construe so narrowly as to oblige the nation to amend, and thus declare what powers they would agree to yield, than too broadly, and indeed, so broadly as to enable the executive and the Senate to do things which the Constitution forbids.”

Thomas Jefferson: The Anas, 1793

We can discuss the merits of National health care, Social Security, Medicare, Cap and Trade, the Department of Education, the Department of the Interior and almost any other current or proposed Federal program all day long.  However, that discussion seems to be accomplishing its intended task, which is taking our eye off of the truly important issue at hand.  What right does the Federal Government have to implement any of these programs?  The Constitution is very specific in the rights it extends to our Federal Government.  Article 1, Section 8 enumerates the powers.  Article 5 allows for amendments and the 10th amendment limits the powers to those enumerated within the Constitution.  All rights not granted to the Federal Government within the Constitution belong to the States or the People.

For too long now our elected officials have ignored the Constitution and gradually stripped our freedoms away.  With every new Government agency formed, a little more of our freedom disappears.  What would our founding fathers think upon seeing the behemoth that the United States Government has become?  Would they even recognize this as the country they founded?  I think, that upon seeing our current Federal juggernaut, they would expect to see a very long list of Constitutional amendments justifying the usurpation of States rights that has occurred over the past century.

Where are the conservatives in the Republican party?  What has happened to the politician with backbone?  What has happened to State leadership that has allowed the usurpation of rights?  Where is the outcry from the We the People?  Who will stand up and say “Enough, we want our country back?”

“Since the general civilization of mankind, I believe there are more instances of the abridgment of freedoms of the people by gradual and silent encroachment of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations.”

James Madison: Virginia convention on the ratification of the Constitution, June 6, 1788

“The Congress, whenever two thirds of both houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose amendments to this Constitution, or, on the application of the legislatures of two thirds of the several states, shall call a convention for proposing amendments, which, in either case, shall be valid to all intents and purposes, as part of this Constitution, when ratified by the legislatures of three fourths of the several states, or by conventions in three fourths thereof…”

Article V, Constitution of the United States

In reference to the Constitution, I often hear progressives say “It’s a living document.”  They feel that the interpretation of the document should morph and change to be “more relevant with the beliefs of today.”  To that I say, poppycock.  I would use stronger language, but I won’t stoop to their level.  This argument put forth by the left is nothing more than a smoke screen because they know that they will not be able to get three fourths of the State Legislatures to ratify their liberal amendments. To top it all off, the claim is belied by the document itself.

In creating the Constitution and the Bill of Rights the Founding Fathers put safeguards in place to make sure that this very argument could not be logically used.  Notice I said logically, because its use is widespread and widely believed by a gullible and Constitutionally illiterate public.  However, even a simple reading of the document by someone such as myself (I’m no scholar, just a regular guy) pokes holes in any such argument.

Article five of the Constitution provides for the possibility of amendments.  Just the provision for amendment in itself shoots down the argument of a living document.  If the document could morph as the left would have you believe then an amendment provision would not be necessary.  However, the Founders didn’t stop there.  Article six, section two says that the Constitution “shall be the supreme law of the land”.  Now, the last time I checked, laws do not morph.  They are firmly cast contracts that can only be changed through legislation.  This leads to the third hole in the living document argument.  Why would a legislative branch be necessary if the laws of the land were as pliable as progressives would have you believe?  The answer is it wouldn’t.  Three strikes, you’re out!!!

Our Founding Fathers were exceptionally wise men.  They crafted the Constitution to be a legally binding contract between the Federal Government and the States/Citizens.  They knew that power hungry individuals would do and say whatever they could to shift the balance in their favor.  But we have a powerful tool in our corner, it’s called our Constitution.  When you hear a politician make statements that you feel may not be right, just check the document itself.  Although years of progressive courts and politicians have made it seem difficult to understand, the Constitution is really not a very complicated document.  Let it speak for itself.

“This Constitution and the laws of the United States which shall be made in pursuance thereof; and all treaties made, or which shall be made, under the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law of the land; and the judges in every state shall be bound thereby, anything in the Constitution or laws of any State to the contrary notwithstanding.”

Article VI, Section 2, Constitution of the United States

“We cannot always do what is absolutely best. Those with whom we act, entertaining different views, have the power and the right of carrying them into practice.”

Thomas Jefferson, 1814 Letter to Thomas Cooper

I’m confused Mr. President.  Maybe I was absent the day you taught the class on double speak, so forgive me if I get this wrong.  If I am my brothers’ keeper and my sisters’ keeper, why am I castigated every time I dare criticize your policies?  Is holding one another accountable not part of being our brothers’ keeper?  I’m just a commoner, so maybe this is over my plebeian IQ is not able to comprehend things the way our overlords in Washington do.  However, while I may have missed your class on double speak, I think you missed the class in American history.  You know, the one where most of us learned that this is a nation founded on INDIVIDUAL liberties.

“No man is good enough to govern another man without that other’s consent.”

Abraham Lincoln

Our nation was founded as a Republic (No, we are not a Democracy as is so often stated in certain circles) and as such we have a representative form of government.  As part of that representative Government Mr. President, your actions are subject to scrutiny by the legal citizens of the United States.  I would normally include the press in the list of those keeping an eye on you, but they seem to have tingles up their legs and have forgotten that their job is to keep you in check, not sing your praises.  In short, it is our job as citizens to make sure that every elected official is doing what We the People want them too.  And We the People want to be the masters of our own destiny, the way our founders intended it to be.  We do not want the Government redistributing our money through Constitutionally illegal social programs.  We like taking care of each other, it’s just that we don’t think it should be compulsory; and neither does the Constitution.

“Think for yourselves, and let others enjoy the privilege to do so too.”

Voltaire

“No government can continue good, but under the control of the people.”

Thomas Jefferson to John Adams, 1819

It appears that our esteemed elected officials have forgotten who is in charge.  At every turn they appear to feel that they know better than the “lowly citizens” of this country.  On July 13th our President came back from an overseas trip and found his health care reform bill in serious trouble.  His response?

“I just want to put everybody on notice because there was a lot of chatter during the week that I was gone,” he said. “Inaction is not an option.”

Pardon me?  He is putting us on notice?  Who does this man think he is?  We are not ruled by a Monarchy.  We are a Republic.  Has he forgotten who he works for?  Every elected official in this country works for “We the People.”  According to most recent polls, when asked if they strongly oppose or strongly support current health care reform, a vast majority of Americans say they strongly oppose it.  I would say that We the People have serious doubts about what our leaders are doing.

Why is it then that they seem intent on cramming legislation down our throats so quickly that none of us will have time to even digest the content of the proposed bill?  They see what is happening in Massachusetts and are afraid they will no longer be in control; quick, push this bill through while we can.   Even more importantly they seem to have forgotten one minor detail; the Federal Government has no Constitutional right to run health care.  Which leaves no doubt in my mind that this is not about health care…it’s about control.  They have it, and the y want to keep it.  The question is, will we let them?

“Unless the mass retains sufficient control over those entrusted with the powers of their government, these will be perverted to their own oppression, and to the perpetuation of wealth and power in the individuals and their families selected for the trust.”

Thomas Jefferson to M. van der Kemp, 1812