Posted on 05/08/2009 7:41:16 AM PDT by Congressman Billybob
Sometimes even when you attend an event, and take part in it, it still takes time to understand it. I had the honor to speak at the Knoxville Tea Party, as Ben Franklin, a printer from Philadelphia. The visible, massive driving force for that and all 750+ Tea Parties with 1+ million people in attendance was taxes. But the real issue was larger and deeper than taxes.
When the mainstream media attempt to deal seriously with this phenomenon, they phrase it as “conservative” as opposed to “liberal.” Sometimes it’s no such thing. The Tea Parties are related to the present issue of the “rebranding” of the Republican Party.
Long ago, when ice covered the Earth and the last dinosaurs were staggering to their deaths, I was in advertising. “Rebranding” meant putting a new name and a new slogan on an old product that the people demonstrably did not want. That change was intended to market the goods despite endemic defects.
If “rebranding” is all that the Republicans do, it will be a fraud. It will fail. It will deserve to fail. And, the nation will be the worse for the lack of any competent opposition to present trends in the US government.
With the defection of Arlen Spector, the Democrats now solidly control two of the three branches of the federal government. Control of the third branch, the Judiciary, is now at issue. One of the leading candidates to replace retiring Justice David Souter is Judge Sonia Sotomayor of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. She gave a 2005 speech at Duke University which was taped. She said that “the Appeals Courts are where policy is made.” She added, “I know this is on tape and I should never say that, because we don’t make law. I know.” And the audience tittered.
This gets us to the heart of the matter. It is the fundamental theory of American government, as embodied in the Constitution, that it is the business of Congress, not the courts to write or rewrite the laws. This would-be Justice has made it clear that she will deliberately violate her oath of office to protect the Constitution if she gets on the Court.
She will be biased, in favor of some legal parties and against others, based on who they are. In that, she fully represents President Barack Obama. He has said both as a candidate and now that he wants judges who have “empathy” for certain parties. In plain English, he wants judges who are biased in his chosen direction. And that, in turn is a frontal assault on the whole Constitution, which was written to provide “equal justice for all” in our courts.
It is also a direct assault on the Declaration of Independence. Governments “derive their just powers from the consent of the governed.” Federal judges are appointed, not elected. So, there is no “consent of the governed” when unelected judges write laws, or worse, revise the Constitution by their votes alone,
Taxes are only a symptom of the larger problem. The attack on the Constitution is the basic issue. Dr. Thomas Sowell has addressed this at length and with eloquence. His latest column is ‘Empathy’ versus the Law: Part IV, where he writes:
“For more than a century, believers in bigger government have also been believers in having judges ‘interpret’ the restraints of the Constitution out of existence. They called this ‘a living Constitution.’ But it has in fact been a dying Constitution, as its restraining provisions have been interpreted to mean less and less, so that the federal government can do more and more.”
This is not a “conservative” or a “liberal” or a “moderate” issue. It is a matter of national survival. If the Constitution is destroyed as a limitation on the federal government, the essence of the United States will be gone. Labels and forms will remain, but in reality the US will be nothing more than the majority of the world’s 192 governments, a tin pot dictatorship with a meaningless constitution.
It is that serious, that immediate, that important. I’ve looked at the backgrounds of most of the possible nominees to replace Justice Souter. Whoever the President named will certainly be confirmed, regardless of whether he or she is an enemy of the Constitution. When that person is named, I’ll readdress the subject. In the meantime, please read Dr. Sowell’s four columns on this subject.
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About the Author: John Armor practiced law in the Supreme Court for 33 years. He now lives on the Eastern Continental Divide in the Blue Ridge of North Carolina. John_Armor@aya.yale.edu
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John / Billybob
Isn't rebranding illegal, as in rustling?
‘If “rebranding” is all that the Republicans do, it will be a fraud. It will fail. It will deserve to fail. And, the nation will be the worse for the lack of any competent opposition to present trends in the US government.’
I wish I had said that!
If the Obama Administration continues on their path to destroy the Constitution. There is no “United” in United States of America.
It's there already.
America -- a great idea, didn't last. Too many did too little for too long.
John / Billybob
It is the fundamental theory of American government, as embodied in the Constitution, that it is the business of Congress, not the courts to write or rewrite the laws.
What's truly frightening, is I didn't understand this concept until I graduated college and did a lot of learning on my own.
Unfortunately, the vast majority of folks today would rather spend that time watching Dancing with the Millionaires, than read up on history and our Founding Concepts. They can't imagine what's wrong with a "nice, smart, empathetic" judge changing laws so that the outcome makes people feel warm and fuzzy.
Too many decided a free ride on their neighbor's work and money was a great deal and voted the ride in.
We all know that education and journalism are ultimately the problem. If the courts turn completely as well . . .
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