A Republic If You Can Keep It

vanity ^ | 12/12/2005 | Hopeful Patriot

[HopefulPatriot]

A Republic If You Can Keep It

Breathes there the man with soul so dead, 

Who never to himself hath said,

'This is my own, my native land!'

    The ink wasn't dry on the Constitution before one of the Founders who gave it birth expressed his doubts about the ability of Americans to preserve the Constitution that defined the United States. Three Franklin quotes provide the insight needed to understand his cynicism:

• "Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote!"
• "They that can give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty or safety."
• "When the people find they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic."

    There are no Democrats who understand and are committed to honoring the provisions of the Constitution. The heart and soul of the Democratic Party is socialism. Socialism and democracy are unequivocally and irrevocably incompatible with the Constitution of the United States. Almost by definition, Democrats are at war with the Constitution. Here is what James Madison, the acknowledged "Father of the Constitution" had to say about socialism and democracy:  

• "I cannot undertake to lay my finger on that article of the Constitution which granted a right to Congress of expending, on objects of benevolence, the money of their constituents."
• "Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide."

    John Edwards is correct; there are two Americas. The America that is seen by Democrats is an unconstitutional socialistic Utopian democracy. The America seen by Republicans is much harder to define. It is certainly run by a "little intellectual elite in a far distant capital" which barely qualifies it as a 'republic'. Far too many Republicans have become willing to accept or tolerate the premise that socialism is inevitably and inescapably now a permanent part of the American landscape. It also seems that there are increasing numbers of poorly informed or misguided Republican politicians who are embracing socialism for the same reason that Democrats brought socialism to America, to get elected and to stay elected. Socialism is unconstitutional and it is a mistake for Republican politicians to ever believe that conservatives will cheerfully support Republicans that condone socialism. Such a belief contains the seeds for disappointing, if not bitter losses in future elections. Republican politicians have failed to learn the lesson of Ronald Reagan's two landslide victories; conservatives will turn out and vote in over-whelming numbers for a genuinely conservative candidate. And it appears that congressional Republicans have deliberately chosen to ignore the lesson of the 1994 Republican Revolution; conservatives will turn out and vote in over-whelming numbers for a genuinely conservative agenda. Socialisticly leaning Republicans have more than earned the pejorative description of being a "RINO" as an acronym for Republican In Name Only. Regardless of party affiliation, in the absence of term limits, politicians seeking life-long careers in office, use the treasury to buy their constituents' votes for perpetual re-election. Socialism was created by, and is perpetuated by politicians. Socialism becomes their holy grail for re-election. Socialistic politicians effectively convert any republic into a democracy by surrogates.

    In truth, there is a third America. This America is only a memory, or more correctly stated, a mirage that is pictured only in the minds of conservatives. This mirage is an illusion because it no longer exists in the real world. It is the United States that was defined by the Constitution. Conservatives haven't yet been able to consciously admit to themselves or to even consider the possibility that they no longer live in an America that is the USA, but rather a country that is actually the USINO.

    It is a mistake in terminology and a mistake in logical thinking to allow the media or our educational institutions to be portrayed as representing or reflecting the mainstream. Mainstream Americans are conservative and still believe in freedom. The history of the past century is that the media has been nothing more than a propaganda organ for socialism and the Democratic Party. While Democrats and RINO's are the problem, it will be difficult to convince most conservatives of how grave the problem actually is until conservatives begin to recognize and begin to admit to themselves that they no longer live in the USA. The potential to correctly assess and address the problem will only be possible after conservatives begin to consider the possibility that they are actually living in the US In Name Only. There are three reasons why most conservatives have not recognized or noticed the transition from USA to USINO. First the transition was done in incremental steps, at a glacial pace over the course of a century. Secondly, the media has been incredibly successful in using propaganda to conceal the truth. And thirdly, our educational institutions became major players in the propaganda/brain-washing efforts that have successfully camouflaged the changes that have been continuously occurring, but ever so gradually. In lieu of thinking or questioning, Americans educated after 1950 have been conditioned to accept, rather than challenge, information provided by authority figures. This has been especially true when the information has been provided by the government.

Good News and Bad News

    It may not seem like it, but this article has actually been written to share good news with you. The bad news is that Franklin was right; we didn't keep it. The good news is that we can take it back if we respond correctly and with reasonable promptness. A small group of Freepers has devised the best plan ever put forward to restore the Constitution. You do not have to take my word for the quality of the plan. If you really are a Constitutional conservative, you are quite capable of deciding the relative merits of the plan for yourself. Even before you begin to plunge into the details of the plan in eager anticipation of disproving my claim that our plan is the best ever proposed, there are a few things that should be self-evident and some that should be considered:

• Recognition of the need to restore the Constitution means that in the last eighty years no one, and that includes Ronald Reagan, Newt Gingrich and Rush Limbaugh, has put forth a plan that has already worked. 
• The fact that the resolution of the problem is not already in sight, means that on balance, it is debatable whether we have even made any praiseworthy progress in spite of Ronald Reagan's leadership or his undisputed immense contribution.
• Ditto with regard to the 1994 Republican Revolution resulting from Newt's Contract with America. At best, these may have only slowed the pace of our descent into socialism.
• Measured in terms of either the growth of government intrusion into our lives or the growth of government spending, it is clear that we have lost ground. 
• If you have read the Gokhale-Smetters report and found it credible, you should recognize the possibility that the country could be poised for catastrophe.
• The lessons of history are unambiguous. All democracies end in bankruptcy or hyperinflation whenever the public learns to vote itself benefits. Remember the warnings of Madison and Reagan.

FreeRepublic's Mission 

    In March of 1999, Jim Robinson clearly stated FreeRepublic's mission. Five years later in March of 2004, Jim Robinson had this to say, "We oppose all forms of liberalism, socialism, fascism, pacifism, totalitarianism, anarchism, government enforced atheism, abortionism, feminism, homosexualism, racism, wacko environmentalism, judicial activism, etc...We are conservative activists dedicated to defending our rights, defending our constitution, defending our republic and defending our traditional American way of life."

    In one of our very first articles, we issued this challenge to every Freeper. Dismayed does not begin to describe our assessment of the response to either our challenge or the response to the series itself. Here is a quick look at the results:

• Our first article, Free Republic And Freedom, has been viewed 1,616 times.
• Our second article, Free Republic's Roots, has been viewed 1,655 times;
• The third, Another Ronald Reagan, has only been viewed 747 times.
• The most recent, Where's the Instant Replay? has been viewed a paltry 544 times.

The trend is clearly headed in the wrong direction. With that thought in mind, we have a few comments and some questions:

• FreeRepublic.com ~ Conservative News Discussion Forum, from Webster's: forum-an assembly for the discussion of questions of public interest.
• The topic we (a presently small but hopefully soon to grow number of Freepers) are proposing for discussion is restoring the Constitution.
• What is our mission? Free Republic is dedicated to reversing the trend of unconstitutional government expansion and is advocating a complete restoration of our constitutional republic.
• Within that topic, our small group of Freepers has a specific plan to restore the Constitution that we would like to present for discussion and improvement.
• Our small group has challenged the members of the forum to evaluate the plan we are presenting and to offer their thoughts on how to improve this plan.
• We have proposed that at the conclusion of our presentation, that those Freepers who think this plan, with or without improvement, is unlikely to achieve the goal of completing FreeRepublic's stated mission, should present the members of the forum a plan of their own making for discussion.
• We believe that FreeRepublic's mission is important enough to warrant a section of its own on the News/Activism sidebar where articles or relevant posts could be linked and available to all Freepers for extended periods of time. We have asked for this addition to the sidebar twice. Both requests were politely refused.
• In that same March 2004 article quoted above, Jim Robinson was discussing the War on Terror and had this to say, "Believing that the best defense is a strong offense, we (myself and those whom I'm trying to attract to FR) support the strategy of taking the fight to the enemy.."

Here are our questions:

1. Is the over-arching goal of conservatives the restoration of the United States Constitution?
2. If the best defense is a strong offense, isn't it time for FreeRepublic to go on offense in an effort to restore the Constitution?
3. If the answer to both questions is yes, should accomplishing FreeRepublic's mission be a continuing discussion for the forum until such time as the mission has been accomplished?
4. Would having a News/Activism Sidebar section entitled "Mission" or something to that effect, where relevant articles and replies could be linked for extended periods facilitate the discussion and presumably facilitate the accomplishment of the mission?
5. Would it facilitate the discussion of the mission and therefore presumably facilitate the accomplishment of the mission to have this discussion moderated and possibly archived and/or excerpted to separate the wheat from the chaff?
6. If there are enough "yes" answers to all of the above questions, I would like to ask the members of the forum if they would be willing to ask the Founder of our Forum, Jim Robinson, would he be willing to act as The Moderator for the FreeRepublic Mission Discussion?
7. Is there anyone who believes the goal is politically unattainable?
8. If the goal is not attained, have you considered the alternatives and the consequences?
9. What does this Freeper want for Christmas? How about the initiation of a serious effort to restore the Constitution?

    This Christmas, our small group of Freepers would like to give every Freeper the opportunity to give their children and their other family members the gift of a lifetime. You can give them FREEDOM, the same freedom that was the birth right of every American from 1789 until 1912, the same freedom for which countless Americans have bled and lain down their lives. Is it too much to ask, Will you take The Pledge?

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY!
                        

 

 

[Hank Rearden]

The plan that we are going to present on FreeRepublic is an outline of how we are going to turn ninety years of history, an almost $3 Trillion dollar government, and a country of 300 million people, 180 degrees in less than a decade. We believe that it can be done and we intend to show you how.

Let's do it. As long as "the plan" isn't "reelect Republicans", I'm in. 'Cause that's not working.

[An Old Man]

"The plan that we are going to present on FreeRepublic is an outline of how we are going to turn ninety years of history, an almost $3 Trillion dollar government, and a country of 300 million people, 180 degrees in less than a decade. We believe that it can be done and we intend to show you how."

So do I!

Semper Fi

[hosepipe]

[ You will not get an argument from us. But the one thing that Ann Coulter and other conservatives have failed to do, it to show you how to defeat some RINO's and at the same time move surviving RINO's to the right ]

WRONGO spongo.. Exposing them is stripping them naked..
Thats what Ann DOES.... AND it is the proper tactic..

Did I say shes a genius. Oh! well..

What IF republican congressmen/women STOPPED using the word democrat BUT used the word SOCIALIST instead.. on the floors of their chambers and on TV.. private consultaions everywhere..

True... thats the last you would ever see any republican on main stream TV.. BUT.. they then would be a threat.. Most Americans don't know they have swallowed socialism and are pregnant with socialistic ideas.. Most ALL of them..

Nope you're WRONG, Ann Coulter has their meddle and sticks the knife right where it belongs.. in the BABY.. The baby of socialism that America is carrying RIGHT NOW.. Lady Liberty has been RAPED and is pregnant..

[Jack Black]

Yes, I agree. And will there be any push back from the Constitutional defenders before the apogee is reached? That's still a question. My good friend and I who have discussed this topic with over many campfires and beers feels that no, definately no push back. Sheeple like acquiesence to whatever comes next (socialized medicine?). The outrage over the New London decision was short lived. (Kudos to Sean Hanity for going to the city in Florida where greed heads want to destroy an entire neighborhood.)

The Free State Wyoming and Free State (New Hampshire) project are also interesting. I agree with the criticism that there is no hope of holding the line in New Hampshire. Too surrounded by socialist thinkers, to many Mass voters moving to the border bedroom communities.

But Wyoming is an interesting play. It has the smallest population of any state, is arguably the freest and most libertarian of any state, and has some small counties that could be taken control of with enough new people moving and and harmonizing with the prevailing local trends.

It would be great to create one alternative in the USA to do things like abolish most government programs. Run with a miniscule and volunteer set of public officials, etc.

Boston T. Party wrote the book Molon Labe, which while very fanciful, outlines such a strategy. Also a web search for Free State Wyoming will show the discussion group.

That's the only semi-organized strategy I see that seems likely to succeed. Other than the second coming of Ronald Reagan, or the man on the white horse.

All things considered I think the pale horse may be the more likley one we'll see a rider on soon.

[Leatherneck_MT]

I'm with you. Please add me to your ping list.

[Leatherneck_MT]

"Both of the Big Stupid Government parties suck."

You summed up your entire post with that last sentence.

And

In my opinion, nailed the real problem on the head.

[USMC79to83]

"The plan that we are going to present on FreeRepublic is an outline of how we are going to turn ninety years of history, an almost $3 Trillion dollar government, and a country of 300 million people, 180 degrees in less than a decade. We believe that it can be done and we intend to show you how."

The Constitution is far too important to let slip from our hands. I'm in, too!

[USMC79to83]

"...I agree with the criticism that there is no hope of holding the line in New Hampshire. Too surrounded by socialist thinkers, to many Mass voters moving to the border bedroom communities..."

As a New Hampshire native, I'm dismayed that this appears to be so - I love the "Live Free or Die State." But there is no escaping the Socialist mindset in VT, MA, ME (and Quebec).

"...a web search for Free State Wyoming will show the discussion group...

I've adopted the West as my new home and this is the best news I've heard in quite a while. THANKS!

[Reaganghost]

"Free State Wyoming, Free State (New Hampshire) and it would be great to create one alternative in the USA to do things like abolish most government programs.."

These are the last ditch efforts after everything else has failed and before the second Revolutionary War breaks out. If these things happen, it will mean that all the battles to restore the Constitution will have been lost. It may be true that the socialists have been winning, but make no mistake, we certainly don't intend to lose and we will never surrender.

Americans still want to be free. When a group of candidates offers them a choice, the American people will choose freedom. Our plan will show you how FreeRepublic can be instrumental in recruiting candidates for office, yes just like "Another Ronald Reagan". We believe that we can recruit candidates made from the same mold as Ronald Reagan and cut from the same cloth as the Founders. Success not only breeds success, but it also intimidates the losers and the losers' clones.

Most Americans can still tell the difference between freedom and a free lunch. Part of the job of our candidates and part of the task for FreeRepublic is the clear concise definition of what Americans can expect if they depend on themselves versus what everyone should expect as government dependents. The problem isn't that the socialists have better arguments; the problem is that nobody has been presenting our arguments at all. Adding insult to injury, the media and our educational institutions have successfully demonized everybody that has even tried.

[HopefulPatriot]

"The Constitution is far too important to let slip from our hands. I'm in, too!"

Thank you Gentlemen! Democrats and Liberals were never understand why it took a marine to launch Toys for Tots..

[fire and forget]

Merry Christmas and thanks for the invitation. I've no time now, haven't been on Free Republic for weeks. I'll read when I can spare a few minutes.

[ol painless]

I like this one also.

http://www.libertydollar.org/

[Jack Black]

Well I'm with you on your goals. I think you should just go ahead and spill the beans on the plan at this point. Too much buildup is hookey. This isn't a pyramid scheme after all.

Free Republic is a wonderful cultural treasure for conservatives. But the focus and POWER that we had early on (I've been here since 1998) has largely disapated. This happens. It's unfortunate in some ways but its also a measure of success. Jim has elected to have a very, very broad based community and allow the widest possible discussions to take place, with only some minimal rules. It's amazing that it has worked so well.

Maybe you should for a Yahoo board to do what you want. Thats what Boston T. Party is doing with the FSW. (In fact there are several, one for 'lurkers' , one for people who have signed on).

FR is *NOT* about restoring the Constitution as a sort of mission (no matter what the outdated mission statement says) IMHO. It's about a building a place for conservatives to chat, about everything.

Here is a random list of FR topics:
Key facts about Stanley Tookie Williams case
Riots Erupt in Australia
Anti-Arab rioters smash cars, windows in Sydney
DA must prove DeLay purposely avoided fund ban
Italy tape: 'Joy' over beheading
Police Find Assault Weapon Near Supreme Court
Statement by the President [on Tueni assassination
Whirlpool to lay off 730 U.S. workers [Mexico Gains]
Was California Gov. Arnold ... Tookie Williams?
EU Official Calls for End to Death Penalty
Immigration booming as Congress grapples with border
Possible White House FREEP
Minutemen at the Polls
British Oil-Fire Cloud Spreads to France
Bush Says 30,000 Iraqis Killed in War
Crips Founder Williams Denied Clemency
Gang killings up, number of investigators down in LA
Warner Disney
Saudi Businessman Donates Millions to Georgetown and
Governor Declines To Stop Williams Execution
Bomb Ripped Apart Vehicle Carrying Canadian
Judge throws out Yosemite death lawsuit
USSC TO DECIDE CONSTITUTIONALITY OF TEXAS REDISTRICTING
Italian Player Accused of Fascist Salute (Drudge)
Japan Brokerage Must Compensate for Error
ESR's Tenth Annual Person of the Year
Donkeys vs. Christians
Investigation and Indictment of John F. Kerry
Illegal Alien Day Laborers in Shirlington
Report: Israel prepares to strike Iran
La. Governor Postpones New Orleans Vote
Vote for Alex (Freep this Poll-Vote for Little Girl
Death of an American City
A Serial Killer Shakes Up a City and a Cultural Myth
Left, Lefter and Leftest (Nemesis following hubris in
Economics for dummies
The Truth About the Chronicles of Narnia

What do you see? Lots of tabloid news, lots of celebrity news, book review, movie reivews, international news, business news. What you don't see is any particular focus on anything like restoring the republic. That might be why you come here but objectively it's now what this place is about anymore.

I actually responded to a thread on Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie and said something like "can't you do this elsewhere? what does this have to do with politics?" But its not my board to make those calls. Ditto the sports threads, daily vanity threads, pray for Bush threads, follow the talk radio threads, all this and more happily exists here.

This place is a lot more like Google News than any focused goal driven group. If that's what you want I think you need to go elswhere (and drop in here once in a while).

As I said, from what you've said I am broadly in support of your concerns and goals. Please accept this as the constructive criticism I intend it to be.

[An Old Man]

Jack, I'm dissapointed :<(

You didn't put this on your list "Spokane County Assessor Ralph Baker is sending a clear message to anyone with questions or complaints about their property assessments: Stay home .

Semper Fi

[Reaganghost]

"Well I'm with you on your goals. I think you should just go ahead and spill the beans on the plan at this point. Too much buildup is hookey...Free Republic is a wonderful cultural treasure for conservatives. But the focus and POWER that we had early on (I've been here since 1998) has largely disapated."

Your insight is excellent. Some of your other comments are also very salient, "..place for conservatives to chat..What you don't see is any particular focus on anything like restoring the republic." And, "If that's what you want I think you need to go elswhere (and drop in here once in a while..from what you've said I am broadly in support of your concerns and goals. Please accept this as the constructive criticism I intend it to be."

Our group considered everything you said, including your recommendation. We decided to make our case on FreeRepublic for several reasons:

• First, FreeRepublic is large enough and has enough band width to not only accomodate conservative chat, but also plenty of room for serious discussion of any number of conservative issues including the restoration of the Constitution. Since the virtual space of our discussion hall is essentialy infinite, there is no reason why all of these discussions cannot take place side by side without disturbing any other discussion. And on occassion, these side by side discussions might become resources for each other.
• Secondly, I suspect there are more conservative eyeballs that grace these pages than other conservative forum environments. Exposing our material to more eyeballs increases the odds that it will ultimately connect with the individuals that can actually effect the restoration.
• To some extent, the actions we would like to produce resemble the chain reactions of a nuclear reactor. If we can incite a reaction in one individual, that individual may contact and incite reactions in many others. Eventually, we might reach the people that can actually put our in plan into effect.
• Quanity of reactions is not the only thing offered by FreeRepublic. Important conservatives commonly peruse the site. If we capture the right hit on FreeRepublic, in truth, as you will see, we only have to change a single mind if the right individual happens to review our material and realize what we have to offer.
• It is literally true, we only need to convince a single individual of our plan, and assuming it is the right individual, that person will change the minds of all the other millions of minds that will need to be convinced.

As for the stringing out of the material, there are several reasons why we have chosen to do it, and a couple of reasons why it absolutely necessary. If you have paid attention to the number of views of articles posted on FreeRepublic, you have undoubtedly noticed that some can produce more than 100,000 views while others may produce less than a hundred. Some articles similar to some of these were published on another site with average hits in the high hundreds or low one thousand range without producing a critical mass reaction. We don't want to be a one shot flash in the pan; we want to generate a sustainable reaction that it will see itself through to completion. One of the prior articles alluded to our main reason for not presenting too much in a single article.

Slogans and sound bytes are great for selling Christmas cards, "When you care enough to send the very best," or winning elections, "It's the economy stupid." We admit that we aren't salesmen, but we do believe that to change 90 years of history in less than a decade and pursuade hundreds of millions of people to end socialism before socialism ends the United States is going to take more than a slogan or a sound byte. We are going to have to present a truly great debate that carries the day.

We hope you will join us in this effort and invite you and every Freeper to conisder taking The Pledge.

[writer33]

Ping!

[luvie]

Thanks for the ping...interesting stuff to read. I really NEED to learn more about the roots of FR. I just signed on and started talking and it's interesting to see where we came from and where we're going!

[hosepipe]

@23

[b4its2late]

"When the people find they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic."

People voting themselves money is the basis of the democrat party. So, as I see it, they've been in favor of destroying our republic for some years now.

[JDoutrider]

bttt