First, Mr. President, Do No Harm

Calvin Coolidge spent the majority of his life in politics. He was unrepentant in his commitment to individual liberty as espoused by the Constitution. Which meant he understood the value of government getting out of the way of private enterprise. Of allowing individuals to pursue their dreams without undue interference from the government. Coolidge understood that business and, therefore, America prospered when citizens knew what to expect from government. So his first determination was the politicians version of the Hippocratic oath to "do no harm," to keep government from meddling with the private sector. His second was, when things were going well, to" change less."

Coolidge would have been a stellar case study for Jim Collins, author of Good to Great, Why Some Companies Make the Leap...and Others Don't. Good to Great, published in 2001, is the finest business book I've read. Collins didn't chase the latest business or management fad when he conducted the research that lead to writing the book. He followed the facts. Much of what he discovered was counter-intuitive to the prevailing wisdom. For example: "Larger-than-life, celebrity leaders who ride in from the outside are negatively correlated with taking a company from good to great. (10) Or: "The good-to-great companies did not focus principally on what to do to become great; they focused equally on what not to do and what to stop doing." (11) Finally: "The good-to-great companies paid scant attention to managing change..."

Enter the current Administration. Personality-driven, striving to do something, anything (read: Health Care "Reform") in order to be perceived as great. Change for change sake, Change. Change. Change. Oh yes we can! Constitution be damned. Well, of course they have said those words, not overtly. The Administration, the Congress has quietly declared war on the Constitution and therefore, every American, through a kind of clandestine guerrilla warfare. In the dead of night, on Christmas Eve, while Americans are struggling through a severe economic downturn, serious unemployment, just trying to put food on the table push the legislation through, quickly!

It doesn't take much imagination to see where the blueprint for this kind of, well, audacity comes from. Take a moment to read the words of FDR's second inaugural address. If you are like me, they will take your breath away. Critical readers will challenge the assumptions made as a matter of fact, those who understand liberty and the intention of our founders will challenge each conclusion as fantastic in the original sense of the word.

"Government is competent when all who compose it work as trustees for the whole people. It can make constant progress when it keeps abreast of all the facts. It can obtain justified support and legitimate criticism when the people receive true information of all that government does.

Nearly all of us recognize that as intricacies of human relationships increase, so power to govern them also must increase—power to stop evil; power to do good. The essential democracy of our Nation and the safety of our people depend not upon the absence of power, but upon lodging it with those whom the people can change or continue at stated intervals through an honest and free system of elections. The Constitution of 1787 did not make our democracy impotent.

In fact, in these last four years, we have made the exercise of all power more democratic; for we have begun to bring private autocratic powers into their proper subordination to the public's government. The legend that they were invincible—above and beyond the processes of a democracy—has been shattered. They have been challenged and beaten.

...and in so doing we are fashioning an instrument of unimagined power for the establishment of a morally better world. (emphasis mine.)

I imagine we will pull out of this mess, eventually, no matter what this Administration imposes. But the remedy is clear--get government out of the way, free up business to do business, to hire, to grow and Mr. President, please stop doing harm.

Our dear reader ZERO doesn't get the whole 'consent of the governed' ... Here is the part from the Declaration of Independence that applies:

That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

It's easy to understand -- And covers redistribution of wealth ... In the USA the people are PERMANENTLY the sovereigns.

a few Calvin Coolidge Quotes:

— — —

Advertising is the life of trade.

After all, the chief business of the American people is business. They are profoundly concerned with producing, buying, selling, investing and prospering in the world.

All growth depends upon activity. There is no development physically or intellectually without effort, and effort means work.

Any man who does not like dogs and want them about does not deserve to be in the White House.

Christmas is not a time nor a season, but a state of mind. To cherish peace and goodwill, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas.

Civilization and profit go hand in hand.

Collecting more taxes than is absolutely necessary is legalized robbery.

Don’t expect to build up the weak by pulling down the strong.

Duty is not collective; it is personal.

Economy is the method by which we prepare today to afford the improvements of tomorrow.

Four-fifths of all our troubles would disappear, if we would only sit down and keep still.

Heroism is not only in the man, but in the occasion.

I have found it advisable not to give too much heed to what people say when I am trying to accomplish something of consequence. Invariably they proclaim it can’t be done. I deem that the very best time to make the effort.

I have never been hurt by what I have not said.

I have noticed that nothing I never said ever did me any harm.

I sometimes wish that people would put a little more emphasis upon the observance of the law than they do upon its enforcement.

If I had permitted my failures, or what seemed to me at the time a lack of success, to discourage me I cannot see any way in which I would ever have made progress.

If you don’t say anything, you won’t be called on to repeat it.

If you see ten troubles coming down the road, you can be sure that nine will run into the ditch before they reach you.

In the discharge of the duties of this office, there is one rule of action more important than all others. It consists in never doing anything that someone else can do for you.

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