Posted on 07/04/2002 6:16:32 AM PDT by B. A. Conservative
That said, I really think a repeal of the 17th would really help out. Make the Senators directly responsible to the State they represent, not the people who paid for their elections. If the state doesn't like what their Senator is doing, yank him out and send someone who will act in the best interests of the state.
hmmm...gotta think about that one. I don't see why "ideas" cannot be implemented incrementally.
Gotta run...will respond more to this one later.
If you want to stop the growth and intrusiveness of the Federal Government you must deal with unfunded mandates. This is where the government requires the states or individuals to spend money without giving them the money to do it. The states would love this. The liberals would scream bloody murder. That is enough of a reason to do it.
SECTION 1: The Federal Government of The United States of America, may not require the expenditure of any money, in any amount, for any purpose by any individual, corporation, or governmental body except that the Federal Government provides the money to be expended. The requirement may be in the form of, but not limited to, legislation, regulation, or judicial ruling.
SECTION 2: The Federal Government, for the purposes of this amendment, is defined as all members of the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches of government whether elected, appointed, or hired. A person is deemed to be a member of one of the branches of the Federal Government if they act in an official capacity for the Federal Government, whether or not they receive compensation, in whole or in part.
SECTION 3: This amendment shall not be interpreted to exclude the collection of information directly related to the collection of Federal taxes or the execution of Federal contracts for which goods or services are provided to the Federal Government.
SECTION 4: This amendment shall take effect on the first day of the second month following ratification by two thirds or more of the states.
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I know a lot of people won't like the part about taxes but the government does have legitimate duties and must be allowed to collect taxes.
Garde la Foi, mes amis! Jamais reculez á tyrannie un pouce!
(Keep the Faith, my friends! Never give an inch to tyranny!)
LonePalm, le Républicain du verre cassé (The Broken Glass Republican)
How's this for a real Declaration of Independence?
Garde la Foi, mes amis! Jamais reculez á tyrannie un pouce!
(Keep the Faith, my friends! Never give an inch to tyranny!)
LonePalm, le Républicain du verre cassé (The Broken Glass Republican)
The Republican Party is not the answer. Its leadership get their marching orders from the same people who control the Demoncrats. Any politicians who make it to the top have already been compromised -- or they wouldn't be there. That includes Dubya.
The only answer I can see is for tens of millions of Americans to understand this. The 2-headed-one-party system and state-controlled media represent a "rigged" game. I also have little confidence in the voting system. It's also rigged and the Republicans aren't trying to correct it. Lots of countries use "voting" to elect their leaders. What makes us think our voting system is any less corrupt than the others.
I realize that most Americans view my ideas as wacko and conspiratorial. So they will continue to go with the flow -- electing compromised or corrupted politicians who are mere puppets for the real powers -- the unseen power structure that we never get to hear or read about. But we can all see down which road that power structure is taking us. Can't we?
Keep it simple!
We are losing. We need a strategy that hits politicians where they cannot avoid getting the message and at the same time a message that appeals to huge numbers of voters without splintering the voting mass into small groups on pet issues.
And more importantly, this time we are advocating that the voter not enter the polling place thereby withholding their vote in state or local races. Depriving candidates in state and local races will put enormous pressure on the national Republican Party to adopt our Contract with Congress. It multiplies the power of a single vote and our voice with the national party by the number of politicians in state and local races. This is part of the leverage that makes this strategy superior to simply voting for third parties or third party candidates.
Please don't forget the KISS principle. And in the near term, state and local governments don't vote.
And thank you for this wonderful essay, B.A.Conservative. Your #4, especially, had me standing at my computer and cheering into the screen (not my normal Monday morning behavior, I assure you :).
Considering the state of our republic (and the degree to which our government no longer deserves inclusion under that particular label), it is difficult to pare down our grievances (against the current ruling class in Washington) to a short minimum requirement in order to win one's vote list. You've done a superb job in accomplishing just that.
Any additions to your concise list would result in a watering down of the sense of urgency to change those policies you would like to see changed (and the impact that such policy changes would have). And any further additions would also be dependent on a person's subjective definition of the immediate threat that other government abuses of power poses.
With that said, I have just a few suggested additions to your list (Did I shoot myself in the foot by prefacing my suggestions with the previous paragraph? So be it. Feet heal.... :)
(6) Resign from globalist-controlled international agencies (UN, World Bank, IMF, et al.), and re-establish senate advise and consent jurisdiction over the details of trade agreements, discouraging overseas investment which would jeopardize our own national security and prosperity.
(7) Abolish the Fed and return to an honest gold standard.
(8) Repeal all federal laws that in any way restrict, regulate or license the ownership of personal firearms to lawful citizens. And require that anyone who abuses his Second Amendment right by using a firearm in the commission of a crime be incarcerated for life.
(9) Allow states to identify and hold illegal immigrants for deportation, and expedite the deportation procedure.
(10) Remove the abortion issue from the (unconstitutional prerogative) jurisdiction of the federal courts.
Actually, both of our lists (and any others that anyone else might construct) can be pared down even further to: Rein in the powers of the federal government to those enumerated in the U.S. Constitution.
Sometimes there is unparalleled beauty in simplicity.
Davy Crocket did a couple of stints in Congress, then went out in a blaze of glory at the Alamo. I've heard his time in Congress was honorable, but have no way of knowing for sure. Nevertheless, he didn't stay in DC 'til death do us part'.
Maybe we can hatch a program whereby Senators and Congresspersons who leave after one or two terms are entitled to get a song and a movie written about them, provided they go off and die defending something worthwhile. For most of the current critters, it would work wonders for their service record, wiping loads of scandal, misdeeds, and outright treason from their public images; history would be much more forgiving.
As for the songs and movies, no one would be required to watch or listen. At the worst, they couldn't be much more disgusting than some of current hollywood stuff.
Printing, email, keep it going.....
I wish I had the faith that you apparently have. I am beginning to believe, that short of divine intervention, we are doomed -- at least in the sense of the loss of freedom among the masses. In fact, freedom is already gone. Only the illusion of freedom remains.
You started the thread by stating, "It is beyond challenge that most, if not all, of the problems America faces today originate in Washington."
The only issue I have with the statement is that I honestly believe that most of the problems America faces today were started long ago by the "people" in their continual abrogation of personal responsibility in all matters, especially when it comes to knowledge and participation in our republican form of government. The people in Washington originated here with us as we either directly or indirectly (through apathy or poor factual knowledge) send and re-send these mediocre types to "rule" over us.
Americans in the main are fat, dumb, and happy to give away freedom after freedom, just as long as they don't have to solve any problems on their own.
Granted the career politician and bureaucrat has not only counted upon the lazy nature of people, but added to insuring their (the pol's) maintenance of power by helping folks to rely upon someone else to "take care of them - cradle to grave". But the bottom line is that we (as the total electorate) deserve the government and politicians we have. Not until a sufficient majority of the electorate gets "sick and tired" of the sub par leadership we elect will things change and quite frankly my friend I am not optimistic at all that this will happen. We have traveled too far down the road of dependence upon "government" to solve our every problem and fill our every need to make the about face needed.
So again, I lay the blame squarely at the feet of the American people as a whole, while understanding that many who frequent this web site don't fit the description. But in reality we are a small and diminishing minority.
God Bless you for the good fight and keep it up.
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