Posted on 04/07/2014 5:06:12 AM PDT by Jacquerie
To Freepers, our statist government is a daily “fingernails across the chalkboard” experience. Why is Obama able to sweep judicial, and legislative powers into the executive? Why did our national government morph from one designed to protect our freedoms into one of increasing political and social oppression? Why did the federal government generally remain within its Constitutional bounds prior to WWI and not thereafter?
Thank the 17th Amendment. Tomorrow is its one hundred and one year anniversary.
It fundamentally altered the Constitution; it pulled the keystone from the arch of our Framers’ structure. The structure upon which our freedoms depend is not a Bill of Rights. It was and remains separation of powers. That separation began with a division of power between the States and Federal government, not with the division of legislative, judicial and executive departments within the Federal government.
In Federalist 51, James Madison contrasted the structure of ancient, simple republics and our new compound republic. As opposed to simple republics, in which the people granted power to a single government, in our Constitution power was first divided between the States and Federal governments. To quote Madison, “Hence a double security arises to the rights of the people. The different governments will control each other, at the same that each will be controlled by itself.” By “different governments,” Madison meant the States and new federal government.
Republican freedoms are not only threatened by oppression from rulers; the greater threat resides within the people themselves. Madison described this democracy as the tyranny of the majority: “If a majority be united by a common interest, the rights of the minority will be insecure.” One method to combat majoritarian tyranny was “by creating a will in the community independent of the majority . . .” A Senate representing the States provided Madison’s independent “will.” Our current Senate structure merely invites a republic destroying majoritarianism which, from their study of history, our Framers sought to avoid.
Consider the guarantees in our Bill of Rights. How many remain in force? When did the national (it has not been federal for 101 years) government gather its full steam assault on them? It began when the structural protection previously provided by the States was removed. Without the institutional means to secure our rights, provided by the States, the Bill of Rights became but unenforceable parchment barriers to consolidated government made possible by the 17th.
Obama has gathered tyrannical powers about the executive branch. No election can return them. The only way to possibly turn back our progressive march into a one party, one state hell, is to return the countervailing force of the states back to the senate. That can only be accomplished through a state convention to propose constitutional amendments.
Our state legislators have a positive duty to secure our freedoms. We have the positive duty to compel them. Article V.
The uber Yankee speaketh BS.
Your reality is to continue to lick the bottom of the Federal boot. What a pissant you are.
I thought he was banned.
Inanity = Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different outcome.
If we can ditch the 16th at the same time, we got a deal.
I get a private email from him every so often.
When are these naysayers going to finish their treatise in praise of the 17th amendment?
I get sick of the federal boot lickers club invading your well thought out thread. It is disgusting. Where is their thread on how well it has been going since the 17th passed? They are progressives, all of them.
Go find another thread to pollute with your progressive stance on the Constitution.
Agreement BTTT!
Agree. The 16th is the 17th’s evil sister.
There really is little time to stop our headlong leap into totalitarianism.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.