The Mount Vernon Statement vs. The Manhattan Statement

I can’t get excited about the Mt. Vernon statement, yet I am passionate about the ideas behind them. Surely, it must be possible to retell our founding principles without strangled or purple prose. Let’s try.

A truth once known does not become false due to the passage of time. An agreement is not made null because it has been neglected. A promise once made cannot be broken by arrogance.

We have not forgotten the self-evident truths and unalienable rights upon which this country was founded. No one is above the law. All have the right to life, liberty, and the unfettered pursuit of happiness.

We remember that Government derives its consent from the governed, that when Government turns inward and self-serving, we have the right to alter or abolish it.

We retain the agreement that Congress has the power of legislation, not the Judiciary, whose mandate is to uphold the law; and that the President is sworn to protect the Constitution.

We believe that Government should be limited and that its unchecked growth is a cancer and a path to tyranny.

We know that the rule of law is an unshakable foundation, but that rule by regulation is groundless and breeds corruption.

We know that life is not fair. Yet we trust each person to know his own business within the law.

Mt Vernon was a "nice" statement. (Nice is sort of dull adjective right? Perfect for this one). Anyway, I can see what they are doing, restating the Sharon Statement that started the Conservative Movement ... but this is a different time and different circumstances. That era "ignited" a Tea Party type atmosphere. Now we already have that atmosphere and along comes the statement ... horse pushing the cart?

I don't think people really understand what's going on with the TP movement. (And if you aren't INSIDE it WORKING on it, then you are only guessing too). The American Thinker nailed it the other day discussing this being a Populist movement ... therefore, by definition, leaderless, driven by an idea (The Constitution). This is what makes it impervious to the Alinsky threats (Carville & the Clintonistas). It is fun to watch everyone trying to "grab" the energy of the movement so they can use it for "their vehicle." The true energy can never be usurped, its is right there at the grass-roots level.

912 was an excellent example. 1,750,000 of us there ... at our own expense ... all of us SURPRISED by the thousands and thousands of people surrounding us. There were speakers, but no leaders. Nobody "led" me to the Metro that morning ... it was my "personal" energy and that of 1,749,999 other souls that caused the jaw-dropping event. To get that energy ... you have to get ME. To stop that energy, you have to stop ME ... and millions like me. I really don't think that can be done. (Other Thoughts at The Patriot's Flag).

Other folks thoughts? I'd be interested. I'm listening because this is fascinating. The last time there was an authentic populist movement was the era of Prohibition ... and "leaderless" it changed the Constitution TWICE. This phenomenon is worth studying, it is rare and fascinating.

I do not have anything unique to say about the energy of the Tea Party movement, but I do want to mention the Twelve Points, a more detailed statement of conservative principles. The Mount Vernon Statement may be able to inspire conservatives (or maybe not — we’ll just have to wait and see) and as someone pointed out in another thread a few days ago, it would be great for familiarizing people with America’s heritage of liberty or getting them to start thinking about it again. However, it leaves some important concepts to be defined by others, even though those are the very concepts that have been so horribly mangled by liberals and many self-described (but arguably non-) conservatives. The Twelve Points (http://the12points.com/p/twelve.points.html) explain those ideas. They are the sort of thing that could keep so many people from getting it all so wrong.

If the Twelve Points do not take off, I would like to see the Mount Vernon Statement accompanied by the Sharon Statement wherever it is printed or posted. Very little of the Sharon Statement is obsolete. All that has really changed is that international Communism is defeated. The best use for the Mount Vernon Statement may be to give the Sharon Statement new context, connecting the ideas that it expresses with the American Revolution and the present.

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