Intro to ‘THE CONSTITUTION vs. THE CONSTITUTIONALIST’
Edited by John R. Houk
By J.B. Williams
Posted December 30, 2016
I am a great believer in the foundation of the U.S.
Constitution. And by foundation, I mean the rough Original Intent (more detail of Originalism) of
America’s Founding Fathers that were invested in framing our Republic’s
Founding Document.
That being said, I am hardly a Constitutional expert. Academically
I proceeded only to a Bachelor of Arts in History from a small college in the
central part of Washington State (the more Conservative side of the Leftist
State and in a day and time when Profs were fairly equal in Liberal and
Conservative viewpoints).
BUT, I can read the Constitution and The Federalist Papers (the
selling point of the Constitution). THIS MEANS lame duck President Barack
Hussein Obama – a self-described Constitutional expert – has gone to
great lengths to promote the concept of a Living Constitution which
essentially tosses out the Original Intent to be replaced with a make-it-up
as you go along rule of law to fit whatever Elitist concept of man-law is
valid for the day.
J.B. Williams has some thoughts on Original Intent that most
will agree with and some – including myself – thoughts Originalists might have
to think twice about.
JRH 12/30/16
******************
THE CONSTITUTION vs. THE CONSTITUTIONALIST
December 29, 2016
After many years of abusive
and tyrannical federal intrusions into state, local and private personal
affairs, protected freedoms and liberties, well beyond the constitutional
authority granted to the federal government in the U.S. Constitution, it has
become necessary to return to our founding principles and values, to restate
and enforce the Rule of Constitutional Law in preservation of our once free
republic.
It has also become socially
popular to proclaim the name of constitutionalist, an indication of
both knowledge of and reverence for our Charters of Freedom. Yet too
many constitutionalists are not even vaguely familiar with the Charters of
Freedom, often calling for alterations to our form of self-governance in the
name of constitutional conscience, but at odds with constitutional text, wisdom
and intent.
The Obama Administration has
indeed been historic in many ways, first and foremost, the failed but extreme
effort to “fundamentally transform” our sovereign Constitutional Republic into
a secular socialist member of a criminal global commune. No previous President
has ever done so much to destroy the republic or their own political party, Obama having lost the
Democratic Party more than 1000 political seats in less than
eight years.
The 2016 revolt of the
people that resulted in
the historic election of political outsider Donald J. Trump also
resulted in Republicans gaining control of both chambers of Congress, 2/3 of
the state governorships and all but 13 of the 50 state legislatures. In short,
the Obama era has been disastrous for both the country and his party.
Still, even Barack Hussein
Obama claims constitutional expertise and reverence, as he works day in and day
out to destroy everything the Founders created some 240 years ago. Like many
modern lawyers trained in Common Law [noun: common law is the part of
English law that is derived from custom and judicial precedent rather than
statutes;] instead of Constitutional Law based in Natural Law,
experts with a left-leaning agenda may be experts, but use that expertise to
undermine and subvert the Rule of Constitutional Law rather than uphold and
preserve it. Three great examples of this is demonstrated by the open assault
on States’ Rights, the call for congressional term limits and the end of the
Electoral College.
Because the vast majority of
Americans stopped being forever vigilant in self-governance long ago, many now
seek what they believe to be shortcut solutions to solve the natural
consequences of a society no longer informed or engaged in self-governance.
These notions are at odds with both constitutional text and intent.
THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE
People have referred to the
U.S.A. as a “democracy” for far too long. The Founders took great pains to
avoid establishing a pure “popular vote” only form of democracy, referred to by
our Founders as nothing more than “mob rule.”
To assure that the U.S.A.
would never be a pure democracy ruled by popular referendum alone, the
Electoral College was created to prevent an entire nation from falling under
the rule of “the mob” huddled in a handful of high population centers which
always lean left politically due to the inherent challenges of inner city life.
The 2016 election provides a
perfect example of exactly what the Founders had in mind when they established
the Electoral College. Of our 50 states in the union, Trump won 30, or 60%. Of
our 3142 counties across the country, Trump won 2523 (80.3%) to Clinton 490
(15.6%). Without the Electoral College, Hillary Clinton would have (allegedly)
won the 2016 election by popular vote (pure democracy), despite 80.3% of the
counties and 60% of the states voting against her.
I say “allegedly” because the
actual popular vote numbers are horribly tainted by vote fraud and illegal alien votes in
places like California. We actually don’t know (and never will know)
the real outcome of the legitimate popular vote, which is again, why the
Electoral College exists.
To eliminate the Electoral
College would be to destroy the Founders constitutional guarantee to every
state of the union under Section 4 of Article IV, a
republican form of government, as opposed to a democracy.
So, why do many modern
self-proclaimed constitutionalists demand an end to the Electoral College?
CONGRESSIONAL TERM LIMITS
Many constitutionalists seek
a quick fix for a general lack of public oversight of congress by arguing in
favor of congressional term limits. Once again, this concept is wholly at odds
with constitutional text and intent.
To be certain, past
alterations in constitutional intent for congress, such as the 17th Amendment which ended
states representation in the U.S. Senate by using popular vote instead of state
legislatures to elect senators, along with the power of incumbency, has made
the concept of term limits look attractive to many.
But as is the case with all
alterations to the original design and intent,
those alterations come at a high price. Some even seek term limits for the U.S.
Supreme Court, at risk of great peril. Members of that court or any
other can be removed from the court in an instant for anything deemed to be
“bad behavior,” which should certainly include failing to uphold and enforce
the Supreme Law of this land.
The House of Representatives (by congressional district) was originally
intended to be the most powerful branch of the federal government, as it was
designed to be the branch closest to the people with only two-year terms.
Members are term limited to two years of service, unless the people re-elect.
The U.S. Senate was originally designed to represent States’
interests only, which is why senators were to be elected by State Legislatures
(not popular vote) and each state assigned the same number of senators
regardless of population, two per state. The passage of the 17th Amendment eliminated
the U.S. Senate as a body representing State interests and essentially
eliminate states’ rights in the process. Senators are term limited to six years
of service unless reelected.
The problem is the people are
not forever vigilant. Incumbency has become so powerful not just because of the
money available to incumbent’s vs challengers, but because the people tend to
reelect repeatedly unless a senator is such a bad actor that they simply must
replace them.
The downside to additional
term limits is that it is not the incumbents being tossed out, but rather the
voters. The will of the people is overruled by the clock. No matter how good a
member of congress might perform, they are forced to leave when the clock runs
out. There are no guarantees that the seat will be filled with someone better
suited to the position, just because the clock ran out. In fact, more often
than not, we would end up with someone worse, as most decent and honorable
people do not seek public office at all.
Had the Founders seen a need
and benefit to additional term limits, they would have placed them in Article I of the U.S. Constitution.
They didn’t… So, why do many constitutionalists seek to alter the
Founders design when it comes to term limits?
STATES’ RIGHTS
The primary rights of every
state of the union is to be secure in their independent sovereignty and they
are guaranteed a republican
form of government, not a democracy.
So, when the federal
government becomes abusive or destructive of state sovereignty and rights, it
is the power of each state to check the federal government and force it back
into constitutional boundaries, alter or abolish it altogether.
For the past eight years of
the Obama regime, many states have sought to check the federal government
abuses by numerous means, from State Level 10th Amendment bills like The Balance of Powers
Act to individual issue nullification efforts,
or even chatter about State Conventions and
secession, all of it thwarted by left-leaning politicians and courts seeking to
expand federal authority beyond constitutional boundaries via broad
interpretations of federal supremacy.
Now that Trump will be taking
the reins of the federal government on January 21, 2017, even many democrat
politicians are suddenly supportive of 10th Amendment protections
against federal abuses of power – something they entirely opposed while their
dictator-in-chief was in power.
But once again, many
constitutionalists overlook the power of the 10th Amendment and the
states to force the federal government back into constitutional compliance in
their efforts to find a quick cure-all for federal tyranny. They know that the
federal government was created by and exists at the pleasure of the member
states, but fail to look to those states to solve federal abuses and expansions
of power.
The truth of the matter is
that no matter which political party or person is in power at the federal level
at any given time, none of them will operate within constitutional boundaries
unless forced to do so by the states and the people.
The Constitution vs. The
Constitutionalists
Not everyone who claims the
title of constitutionalist is one. Many have never even red the document much
less the underpinning for everything in it, Natural Law. Thus, many find
themselves working for “unconstitutional” solutions to problems easily remedied
within the original constitutional text and intent.
Political points of view and
related agendas drive the dialogue. People with progressive-leanings interpret
constitutional text entirely different than those with libertarian-leanings.
Those who think we are a democracy will interpret text entirely different than
those who know why we are a republic. The agenda drives the interpretation,
instead of the original text and intent driving the agenda.
No true constitutionalist
believes that the original document can be improved upon with additional
alterations. Every real constitutionalist knows that the document has been
altered far too much already. The solution is not to alter it further, but
rather to unwind some of the past alterations that have served only to
undermine the original text and intent.
When considering which
“constitutionalist” to follow in your political activism, look at who is
seeking to further amend the original document vs who is looking to restore and
enforce the original text and intent.
Despite the human tendency to
see ourselves as the smartest person in any room these days, the reality is
there is no one alive today who is wiser than the original Founders. There is
no one alive today who can improve upon the divinely inspired work of our
Founding Fathers.
Only someone who understands
this is a true constitutionalist!
______________
© 2016 JB Williams - All Rights Reserved
JB Williams is a writer on matters of history and American politics
with more than 3000 pieces published over a twenty-year span. He is co-author
of the just released book – TRUMPED – The New American Revolution – with co-author
Timothy Harrington, published by COFBooks.com. He has a decidedly conservative
reverence for the Charters of Freedom, the men and women
who have paid the price of freedom and liberty for all, and action oriented
real-time solutions for modern challenges. He is a Christian, a husband, a
father, a researcher, author and writer as well as a small business owner. He
is co-founder of action organizations The United States Patriots Union, a civilian parent
organization for The Veteran Defenders of
America. He is also co-founder of The North American Law Center, a citizen run
investigative legal research and activism organization focused upon
constitutionally protected Natural Rights under Natural Law. Williams also
co-hosts TNALC Radio every Sunday evening
at 5:00 PM ET with TNALC Lead Counsel Stephen Pidgeon and he receives mail at: jb.uspu@gmail.com
No comments:
Post a Comment