GROW UP AMERICANS!!!!

Michael Savage says that liberalism is a mental disorder.  Well, if liberalism is a mental disorder, then the level of political correctness that this country has gone to is outright insanity.

We have become a country where politicians are afraid to answer questions because everything that they say will be dissected to determine whether there was hidden racism somewhere in the answer.

We have a country where Yale University can have students who claim that the Halloween costumes actually frightened them and caused them distress.

We live in a country where the president of the United States takes time from lesser issues of national security and the budget to express his opinion about the term “Redskins” as sports teams and school mascots because some pathetic and mindless sheep actually believe that the term “Redskins” which is used as a term of pride and reverence is somehow derogatory.

We live in a country where students were sent home for wearing US flag clothing on Cinco de Mayo because it might offend people on the holiday which is only the celebration of ONE SMALL TOWN in another Country.

We live in a country where many cities are considering, or have passed laws, which would allow a man to go into a woman’s restroom just because he feels like a woman that day.  I do not care who you are, that is opening Pandora’s box at a level of stupid that will come back to bite them.

Political correctness is absolutely destroying this country.  It is creating a nation of weakness where people want the government to stomp out any chance that they might get offended…GROW UP!  Life can be offensive.

>If you are offended by a team using the name “Redskins,”
>If you think that anything and everything said by one race about another is somehow racism…even if it is not negative in any way
>If you somehow get offended by someone being patriotic
>If you are one of those college students who claim that someone handing out free copies of the US Constitution made you uncomfortable….

There is a simple solution.  Walk away from this computer into your bathroom.  Somewhere in there, there should be a mirror.  Get your nose real close to the mirror.  YOU ARE NOW LOOKING AT THE PROBLEM!

The problem is that your parents and society gave you an excuse to be weak.  They gave you an excuse to whine and complain about everything no matter what it is. GROW UP!

>If the name “Redskins” offends you…choose another team, root for their competitor or do not watch the game at all.
>If the flag or the Constitution truly bothers you…move your America hating butt out of this country.  There are plenty of places where many share your hatred…go there.
>And if someone says something that you think is racist, homophobic, islamophobic, etc., DO NOT LISTEN!

It is not the role of government to protect your weak feelings.  GROW UP!
Not everything is offensive.  GROW UP!
Get over yourself and GROW UP!

Why the 17th Amendment Must Go

Earlier I discussed that the 17th Amendment was not passed according to Article V of the US Constitution.  In this post, I will discuss why it was a bad idea.

Prior to the 17th Amendment, US Senators were chosen by the legislature in the state that they were to represent.  That is how the founders laid it out and they had good reason.

The US House of Representatives was called that because the representatives were supposed to represent the people who elected them.  This has been referred to as “The People’s House.”

The US Senate, however, was supposed to protect the interests and rights of the state government that they represented.  The US Senate was there to defend the states from encroachment by the federal government.

The 17th Amendment was sold to the American people as a way for the voters to have more control over the federal government.  It did just the opposite.  Having US senators elected by voters made them really no different than US representatives.  They have voters to answer to.  Voters have different interests than do state governments.

Were the 17th Amendment legally ratified, it would not change the role of the Senate to guard the rights of the states.  However, when the entity that they are charged to protect the rights of, (state government) has absolutely no say in who is sent to protect those rights, then it is absurd to think that the senators would stay true to the states over those who choose them.

This is how so much power has been stolen by the federal government.  The senate no longer stands for the rights of the states.  It has become nothing less than an entity of the federal government fighting against the states for federal powers.

We need to get back to a place where the US Senate is beholden to the state governments as the founders designed it.  This was so important to the founders that the last line of Article V dictates, “and that no State shall be deprived of suffrage in the Senate without its consent.”  In other words, if it was not unanimous, then it could not be forced upon state legislatures.  The fact that the state still has suffrage is not the same as the State having suffrage.  The difference in the capital letter on “State” in Article V is the difference between the people of the state having representation and the State government having a vote through THE STATE’S elected representative.  It is the only amendment to the US Constitution that would require 100% approval.

States that have not ratified the 17th should stand against it and return the power of the Senate back to protecting the states from federal usurpation.  They have the most basic right to simply ignore the 17th and not participate because they have never agreed to it.

States where the 17th was ratified still have the right to ignore the 17th, but for a different reason.  They have that right because it was never passed according to Article V, therefore is null and without force by definition.

As voters, it is our job to demand that our state legislatures do exactly that.  It is our state legislature’s duty to protect the voters from usurpation by the federal government.  They cannot do that effectively if State powers are not protected.  State legislatures have the power, the right AND the duty to protect the citizens of that state from federal over-reach.  That includes nullifying the 17th by simply declaring that it is invalid and that the state legislature will return to selecting the US Senators in their state.

Call your state legislators today.  Demand action…and be clear that you will find someone who WILL do their job if they are unwilling.

NO MORE: “I Only Vote in the General”

“The establishment chooses the candidate.”
“The establishment chooses the president (or politician at any level).”
“My vote doesn’t matter.”
“I only vote in the general.”
“They’re all the same.”

Do you believe any or all of these?  If so, then it is very likely that you are part of the problem.  Let’s face it, our country is going to hell.  However, we cannot place all of the blame on the politicians, on the RNC, DNC, media, money-men behind the scenes, etc.  A large part of the problem is voter complacency.  If you only vote in the general election or do not vote at all, shame on you.  If you are not regularly contacting your legislators and letting them know when they have done well and when they have done wrong, shame on you.  If you are not attending rallies which are important to you, shame on you.

Let’s face it, the federal government thinks that it can do absolutely anything that it wants.  Presidents have proven this by using executive orders to create law…which is unconstitutional.  Legislators have proven it in their votes, their actions, and even their words when legislators like Nancy Pelosi and Pete Stark have literally said it in one way or another.  The US Supreme Court has proven it by legislating from the bench.

Why do they think this?  Because we do not stop them.  We have a Congress with an approval rating that has been as low as 9%, yet we re-elect them at a rate of near 90%.  What is wrong with this picture?

Part of it is the mistaken belief that it is the legislators from the other states causing the problem, not our own.  Believe me, if you ask your legislators, they will do all that they can to convince you that it is true.

Here is reality…there are 435 US representatives and 100 US Senators.  The vast majority are weak, corrupt, bought, threatened or any combination of these.  That is why National Vote Out Incumbents began.  We saw that there are way too many legislators who will not follow the Constitution.  They swore an oath to do so and they refuse.  They deserve to be fired.

This will not happen in the general election.  Time has proven that election after election.  There are several reasons for this.
1.  The establishment wants it that way.  They do not like having to corrupt new politicians too often.  Once they have their hooks in a politician, they like to keep them there.
2.  The money people have already bought them, too.  Buying a new politician is much more expensive than  maintaining one that they have already corrupted.
3.  So many people only vote in the general election and will only vote party-line.  In a republican area, a republican will almost always win.  In a democrat area, the democrat will almost always win.
4.  When the “good-ol’-boys are the only ones voting in the primary, you will always see the same people elected in the primary.  They are very much party loyalists and it is blasphemy to unseat an incumbent in your own party in their minds.
5.  Lesser of Two Evils – So many voters cringe at the very thought of someone from the other party winning.  If a known pedophile were running within their party, millions would vote for that pedophile so that the other does not gain a seat. – And that is EXACTLY what the establishment wants. People who put party ahead of anything.  This is dangerous and is a huge part of why we are so screwed up at this point.  Take the current election.  There are people who think that Jeb Bush is a very bad choice, but will vote for him in the primary if the media and the GOP convinces them that Jeb is the only one that can defeat Hillary.

First, Jeb is actually the least likely to defeat Hillary, but that is for another post.

Now, let’s say that, God forbid, Jeb gets the republican nomination.  A lot of republicans will vote for Jeb because they consider him the Lesser of Two Evils.  They will actually blame conservatives who stay home or vote third-party if Hillary wins.  There are two points here that you really need to let sink in.

1.  In this scenario, it would be those who voted for Jeb that helped Hillary get elected.  Conservatives are screaming right now that they will NEVER cast their vote for a RINO.  This is several million voters who will stay home or vote third party.  This alone should tell those party-line voters that, if they back a RINO, they will lose.  Therefore, it only makes sense to back a conservative if they want a republican in the White House.  Who are they going to believe?  The media that told them that only McCain could win in 08 and only Romney could win in 12?  Or are they going to believe those who are tired of voting for the lesser of two evils and are demanding more?
2. Jeb could actually be worse than Hillary.  That is right.  Jeb Bush could do more damage to this country than Hillary could even dream of doing.  How?   Jeb has a very liberal agenda which is, on many topics, exactly the same as Hillary’s.  Now say that Hillary tried something like blanket amnesty.  She would be fought by every republican in Congress for partisan reasons.  If the republicans maintain both houses, it would likely even fail.  On the other hand, if Jeb, who is a huge supporter of amnesty, were to push it, he would get the democrats and a lot of “toe the line” republicans to follow and it would pass in a “bi-partisan” way.  Jeb could get basically any liberal agenda item he wanted passes and that is UGLY!

So, here is what we must do.  TAKE PART.  Learn about the politicians who are running in this primary season.  Take the time to learn their positions.  Focus on the local and state elections because turning this disaster around will start at the local and state level.  It is very likely that you can get the ear of a local or state politician long enough to learn his/her take on things such as states’ rights, nullification, repealing the 17th Amendment, etc.  Quiz them.  Use tough questions.  Get them to actually answer.  Do not settle for a lot of words which say nothing.  If they are incumbent, find out their voting record and demand answers for those that they voted against the people/Constitution on.  There is no excuse.

Then, show up at your state’s primary election and vote only for those who understand and will TRULY fight for the Constitution.  In races where you could not find one…vote against the incumbent every time.  Why?  Because they have already proven that they will do uphold their oath.  When we start firing them for not doing their job, the next batch will take note.

I encourage you to pick up a copy of “How to Train Your Politician”  and read it before the next election.  In the meantime, get involved.  Attend legislative sessions, host a fundraiser (for a challenger of course), contact your legislators when they do well and when they do wrong.  They are there to represent us.  If they do not know our demands (as their employers), we have no justification to complain.

And remember….when it doubt…FIRE THEM ALL IN THE PRIMARY!  Will we lose a few good ones?  VERY FEW.  And the benefits FAR outweigh the losses.

 

 

OVERTURN IT! The 17th Amendment Was Never Ratified

First, what is the 17th Amendment?   It is the one that made it so we elect US senators in the same way we elect US representatives.  We the people choose them on election day.

Second, what is so wrong with that?  It gave us more say in how our government is run, didn’t it?  The answer is NO!  But that is how it was sold the the American people.

The reality is this.  Congress set up the US House of Representatives and the US Senate completely different for a reason.  Representatives were to represent the people of their state.  The Senate, however was set up to represent states rights.  That is why the state legislatures were to choose them.

When we went to direct elections of US senators, the senators then…in theory…were beholden to the people.  We already had representatives.  If we were going to do away with the body which was supposed to represent the states, why not do away with it altogether and save the money?

When the senators were beholden to, and held accountable by, the state legislatures, they were more likely to defend the rights of the states over encroachment by the federal government.  That is what we need to get back to.

Here is the kicker.  It is simple.  We do not need another Constitutional Amendment to overturn it because it was never correctly ratified according to the Constitution.  You see, the founders believed in the separation of Congress so much that they made it nearly impossible to do what the 17th has done.

Article V deals with amendments to the Constitution.  The last line of Article V states:   “no State, without its Consent, shall be deprived of its equal Suffrage in the Senate.”

To reword that simply, no state shall be denied its vote in the Senate without consent.  This says nothing of the people’s vote, but the State.  Therefore, if any state legislature did not ratify the 17th, that State was deprived its vote in the Senate without its consent.

The Founders knew that this would be attempted by a central government with a lust for power.  They did make it possible, but they made it to where every state would have to agree or it would not happen.  Unfortunately, the federal government has never been good at remaining within the constraints placed upon it by the Constitution.

However, any law which is repugnant to the Constitution is null and without force.  That is by definition, and has been also confirmed by the US Supreme Court.

This is exactly why it would be easy for any state that has not ratified it to declare that their senators will be elected by their state legislatures and other states would follow.   The 17th Amendment was never passed according to Article V of the Constitution.  It is therefore null and without force, and any state has the authority…and the duty to reject it.

We CAN Rein In the Federal Government

In the Kentucky Resolutions of 1798, Thomas Jefferson stated emphatically that it is the right and duty of the states to nullify federal laws which violate the US Constitution.  He spelled it out, in no uncertain terms, why it is absurd to think that the Supreme Court has the role to decide the Constitutionality of laws.  Simply put, this is letting the created (federal government) dictate to the creators (states and people), what powers the federal and state governments have and what rests with the people.   It is also a conflict of interest to have a branch of the federal government decide what powers another branch of the federal government has.

In Federalist 46, Madison described a process for reigning in federal overreach:

• The disquietude of the people; their repugnance and, perhaps, refusal to co-operate with the officers of the Union;

In other words, civil disobedience by the people or outright refusal to obey the unconstitutional encroachment.

• the frowns of the executive magistracy of the State

In other words, governors standing against such encroachment.

• the embarrassments created by legislative devices, which would often be added on such occasions, would oppose, in any State, difficulties not to be despised; would form, in a large State, very serious impediments

In other words, states writing resolutions or even laws which declare that the state will not follow the unconstitutional encroachment.

• and where the sentiments of several adjoining States happened to be in unison, would present obstructions which the federal government would hardly be willing to encounter.

In other words, if several states unite against the overreach of the federal government, the federal government would not be willing to fight against those states.

If you want an example of this playing out, look at the Real ID Act of 2003.  It was signed into law by GW Bush.  It was rejected initially by 14 states that declared that they would not comply.  This was supposed to be enacted by 2005, then 2007, then 2009, then 2011, then 2013, then 2015, now 2017.  The federal government continues to quietly continue the act because the states continue to refuse.  The last count that I saw was 26 states refusing to comply.

Yesterday, I read that the Kentucky Governor-elect, Matt Bevin has stated that he will tell the EPA to “pound sand” with regulations on coal which they have no authority to create and no enforcement arm to enforce.

It falls upon the voters to find, educate and elect governors and state legislators who understand that the authority does rest with them.  The duty does rest with them.  And that they are elected to uphold that duty to rein in the federal government and stand united against such encroachments.

All is NOT Lost. It is NOT too late. We CAN Take Our Country Back (part 2)

First, my apologies for the long delay between part 1 and part 2.  Life got in the way.

That being said, it is definitely time to move forward in taking this great country back.

In case you missed it, in Part 1, I talked about voting for conservatives no matter what.  In the primary, we should be firing almost 100% of incumbents because they have at best let us down and in most cases betrayed us.  For more details, read Part 1 here:  Part 1

The next step in taking our country back is at the local and state level.  It is a matter of finding those candidates who understand the US Constitution, and the very strict limits that it placed on the federal government.  Most importantly, they must understand and have the guts to utilize the power that they have to take back powers that were never delegated to the federal government.

Keep in mind that the federal government is NOT a party to the US Constitution. The states are parties to the Constitution. The federal government is a creation of the Constitution. For the federal government to rule over the states is the created ruling over the creators.

This is why it is so critical to elect people to state legislatures who are constitutionally sound and principled and educate them that the Constitution was written to protect the rights of individuals and states, not to limit those rights.

The federal government is drunk on its own power and will not willingly give back the powers which it has stolen.  We have a Congress which actually believes that it can do absolutely anything that they want to do.  It is time for the states to rein in the federal government.  They do have that power and authority.  They are lacking in knowledge and guts.

This is where you come in.  We must first educate ourselves as to the limited power that was placed with the federal government and the massive power which was left with the states and the people.  I am not simply referring to the power of the ballot box.  I am referring to the states having the power to restrain the federal government.

Examples of this power include legislative nullification and jury nullification.  If you want to take this country back, you must educate yourself on these processes, then educate your state legislators.  I am not talking about the incumbents.  I am talking about the ones that you will be voting into office in the upcoming elections.  I am talking about the new batch.

Know that you are fighting an uphill battle as most of them have been educated by the public indoctrination system and they have been lied to.  It will take some convincing for them to take off their blinders and see the basic truths of the Constitution.  There are a lot of lies out there, such as misinterpretations of the Supremacy Clause, claims that nullification has never been upheld in federal court, and that the Supreme Court is the final authority on the Constitutionality of law.  The truth about these issues are:

>The Supremacy Clause did not state that the federal government is superior to the states.
>The Supreme Court has no authority on matters of nullification.
>The US Constitution left the power of judicial review (Constitutionality of law), with the states.

I suggest reading:

Nullification – by Thomas Woods – Nullification
Most anything written by KrisAnne Hall – KrissAnne Hall
I Want My Country Back – Jon Colson – might be a shameless plug, but if I did not believe it, I would not have written it. – I Want My Country Back

Then get out there and educate your candidates.  Get out there and help those candidates who understand and have the guts to pursue states rights get elected and let them know that you have their backs.  Donate not to your party but to individuals who have the knowledge and guts to fight for liberty.

All is NOT Lost. It is NOT too late. We CAN Take Our Country Back (part 2)

If holding our elected representatives accountable through at the ballot box is step one, then it is logical that step two would be to let them know exactly what we expect them to do.  I once read that a US Senator (I do not recall which one), said that when they are overwhelmed by constituents calling, emailing, faxing and sending letters for a specific action, legislators listen.  He was then asked how many times he has been overwhelmed in his ten years as a Senator.

His response……ONE.

So it must take a lot to overwhelm a politician, right?  He was asked what most would consider overwhelming.

His response…….about 1,000.

This was a Senator with around 400,000 constituents and he had only received communiction via all mediums combined passionate about a single topic once in 10 years.  That is pathetic.

I encourage you to contact your legislators and do it often.  Most would agree that they are doing a very bad job…the roughly 10% approval rating is proof of that.  When they are doing a bad job, contact them and tell them what you expect them to do.  Contact them often.  Make them not want to hear from you anymore.  Be respectful, but also let them know that you are not their subject.  They are representatives of the people, not rulers over them.

I would also suggest that you contact them to let them know when they have done something right.  Even politicians like to hear that they are appreciated when they do something right…or that we have their backs when they make a stand for what is right.

Most of them have given us several ways to contact them.  You can find contact information on your legislators at senate.gov or house.gov.   For your state legislators, just Google  your state and legislature (ex.  Idaho Legislature).  There you can find contact information as well as what bills they are considering and the status of those bills.

Many also have ways to connect them through social media, email, etc.  Many have Facebook pages where they boast about doing things that most people oppose, some have Twitter accounts.  If we are not letting them know that we do not approve…then those who do are out there congratulating them.

If we do not contact them; if we do not let them know exactly what we expect of them, they can come to no conclusion except that we are happy with the direction that they are taking us.

What are you waiting for I am sure that your legislators have done something wrong today….let them know.

Constitutional Sheriffs: The Third Leg of Nullification

Think of a stool.  If it were on two legs, it would be wobbly.  Four is unstable on any surface that is not level.  A three legged stool, however, sits solidly on any surface.

Nullification has three legs; nullification by state legislature, nullification by jury and nullification by law enforcement officers.

Nullification by state legislature is the state declaring to the federal government that they have overstepped their Constitutional authority and the state will not comply.

Jury nullification is where a jury refuses to convict someone who is clearly in violation of a law and all evidence proves him guilty, but the jury decides that the law is unjust.  Most people do not realize that, as jurors, they have the right and power to judge not only the accused, but also the law itself.

Law enforcement officers have similar authority.  Just like they can issue a warning when they catch someone speeding, it is their option whether or not to arrest someone who is in violation of any law.  They can do this because they are giving the person a chance or they can do this because they disagree with the law.

This is where the term Constitutional Sheriff comes from.  Sheriff Richard Mack of Graham County Arizona began the Constitutional Sheriff movement after federal agents came to his county and told his department how they would comply with the newly passed Brady Bill.  The Brady Bill was a violation of the 2nd Amendment, and for federal agents to tell a county sheriff’s department that they must enforce the law and how to enforce it was an encroachment upon his authority as the county sheriff.

Sheriff Mack decided to sue the federal government.  Six other sheriffs joined the lawsuit and it went all the way to the US Supreme Court.  They won the case.  The Supreme Court ruled based on the 10th Amendment that the federal government was overstepping its authority.

This was the beginning of CSPOA – Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association.  Since then, over 500 county sheriffs have joined to stand and defend the 2nd Amendment and more than 300 have received extensive training on the rights of the people and the limits on the federal government as written in the US Constitution.  That number continues to grow.

Constitutional sheriffs and peace officers are the last line of defense in their own counties against abuses by the federal government.  They have sworn to protect the citizens of their counties from such violations of the Constitution.

What is our role in all of this?  First and foremost, it is to elect a sheriff in your county that understands the US Constitution and is committed to defend it.  If you are not sure how to tell, this link is a quiz that you can ask any candidate for county sheriff to fill out. http://www.countysheriffproject.org/index.php/sheriff-survey   If they will not, then they are likely not a Constitutional sheriff.  If they do, look at their answers.  If the appropriate answer is not clear to you, feel free to contact me at jon@yourvn.net and I would be happy to discuss their answers with you.

We must take this country back from the ground up.  It begins with We The People.  Next is our city and county officials, followed by state legislatures.

If your sheriff is not a Constitutional sheriff, I urge you to show up at the primary and then the general and vote against him/her.  Continue to do this until you find one that is upholding his/her oath to uphold and defend the Constitution and then you have found one that you should elect and keep electing until they will no longer serve.

I would also encourage you to visit the CSPOA website and look around.  See what they are doing.  Learn about their role in preserving the Constitution.  While you are there, if you have the means, make a donation.  Sheriff Mack recently had a heart attack and is unable to work.  His commitment to CSPOA is the cornerstone of the organization.  Helping him with a donation of any size is a declaration that you are with him and appreciate all that he has done to protect your rights.

Together, we CAN take this country back.

All is NOT Lost. It is NOT too late. We CAN Take Our Country Back (part 1)

It is probably a very good thing that I am an optimistic person by nature.  Otherwise, I would likely fall to the same level of belief that I read out there every day.  I see comments like, “Our vote doesn’t matter because they have already selected who will win.”  Or, “When the illegals are given amnesty, there will not be another republican president ever again.” Or, “Why bother? Congress is going to do anything that they want anyway.”

And there is a lot of truth to these comments.  I usually fire back with a question of my own.  “What are YOU going to do about it?”  Otherwise, I might say, “Are you sick enough of it to actually do something yet?”

We CAN fix this.  We CAN get the country back to the Constitutional Republic that the Founders created.  The process is actually quite simple, but it is anything but easy.

The first step is at the ballot box.  We must change our thinking.  For far too long we have believed the lies that the establishment has told us.  We either stay home because we think that our vote doesn’t matter or we vote for the “lesser of two evils” (LO2E) as we watch our freedom eroded away with every new Congress.

Congress has roughly a 10% approval rating yet gets reelected almost 90% of the time.  It is our fault.  Staying home or voting for the LO2E gives politicians the confidence that they can do pretty much anything and get away with it.

We MUST show up on Election Day, and not only for the general.  We must show up in the primary, the general, for bond elections, special elections, etc.

We also MUST hold our elected representatives accountable with our votes.  We can no longer afford to vote for the R or D.  If you are a die-hard Republican you must realize that voting for a politician who has strayed from the party platform repeatedly is not voting for a Republican.  It is voting for the letter R.  There is no such thing as a big-government, fiscally wasteful Republican.  That is a Democrat who puts an R after his/her name for election purposes.

The consequences of not holding them accountable with your vote are making the party worse:

• The politician thinks that you voted for his liberal agenda and does not change.
• The GOP thinks that you voted for his liberal agenda and backs more liberals.
• The party shifts farther and farther to the left even though the voters are shifting more and more to the right.

The only way to fix this at the ballot box is to vote against those who put an R after their name and vote for big government, big spending, and erosion of your rights.  We start this in the primary election.  You vote against the incumbent and share with all of your friends and family why you plan to do so.  If we can get the word out enough, then we have succeeded and the challenger should get elected in the general.

If we do not succeed in the primary, then we need to stick to our guns and vote against the incumbent in the general.  Unless there is a limited government, limited spending and pro-Constitution candidate who put a D after his/her name, this does NOT mean voting for the Democrat.  It also does not mean staying home.  Some people think that staying home is a protest vote.  It isn’t.  It is a non-vote.  They do not know why you stayed home.

A vote to fire an incumbent in your party means voting for a third party candidate that fits what you expect from an elected representative.  If there is not a third party candidate that fits, or not one at all, write one in.  This way, when the votes are counted, there is a record of what you expect.  Not voting does not let them know what it would take to get your vote in the next election.

Some will claim that voting 3^rd party is voting for the Democrat.  This is absurd.  They will claim that you are taking your vote from the Republican.  My comment is always, “Of course it isn’t.  It was never theirs because they never earned it.”

Will voting third party or write in lead to more democrats getting elected?  Perhaps in the short term.  Let nobody tell you that it is your fault that the democrat got in.  It is those who refuse to vote for the ACTUAL republican…you know the small government, reduce spending, Constitution loving republican.  They cause a democrat to be elected by voting for a democrat who happened to put an R after his/her name.  Then, no matter if the D or R wins, a democrat wins.

The long term (and this only means 2-3 election cycles), results of holding politicians accountable:

• If the incumbent loses, everyone knows why and the next republican elected (whether then or in the following election), knows that you demanded an ACTUAL republican.
• The GOP follows the votes. The entire purpose of the GOP is to get republicans elected.  If they see that the voters are demanding small government, limited spending, Constitution loving republicans, they WILL back them.  We have spent decades proving that we will vote for any old “R.”  Why would they not focus solely on the moderate voters?
• The party turns back to the right, the country turns back to the right, and we begin to take this country back to a country with a government for, of and by the people.

Watch for the second step of turning this country around coming soon.

The Country Has Capsized. We MUST Turn it Right Side Up

I have begun a post on nullification and the 10th Amendment several times.  There is just too much information for one blog post.  Today, I write this as a basis for nullification and posts will follow with more specifics.

First and foremost, the entire system of government in this country has been flipped over.  It is upside down in our minds, in our terms and certainly in our laws and application of laws.

In our minds, most people see the hierarchy of our system of government this way:

• Federal government over the state government
• State government over the local government
• Local government over the people.

In our words, we even refer to those we elect as “elected leaders.”  Today, Rush Limbaugh pointed out that we thought that we had elected conservative “leaders,” but got more of the same.

NO MORE!  WAKE UP!  This is not a “leadership government.”  It is a REPRESENTATIVE government.  The Declaration of Independence states that, in order to secure our rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,

• “That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,”

This phrase, along with the design of the US Constitution makes it very clear that the founders created a form of government with an opposite hierarchy than what most people believe today. The founders created a government that put:

• The people above the local government
• The people and the local government over the state government
• The people and the state government over the federal government.

This is the only way that it can even be said that government derives their powers at the consent of the governed.

So, what is the remedy if government tries to grow beyond the consent?  The people have the right to say no.  The states also have the right to say no.  The states created the federal government through a compact between the states.  The federal government is a creation of that compact, not a party to it.  The federal government has no say in what powers it has, the states do…and ultimately the people do.

The very idea that the US Supreme Court has the power to determine not only what powers the federal government has, but what powers the States have is ludicrous when you consider that the federal government was created by the States and is not a party to the Constitution but a creation of it.

That is where nullification comes in.  If the states are who determined the original powers of the federal government, it is still the states that determine the current powers of the federal government. If the federal government steps outside of the limits placed on it by the Constitution, it is within the power of the States, and it is the DUTY of the states, to declare that power to be outside of the Constitutional restraints, and therefore, null and without force.  That is why nullification is the right of the states.

As for the people’s right to nullify it comes in two forms.

1.  Nullification by removing those who would usurp the limits on their authority.
2.  Jury nullification.  The jury does not only have to look at the facts of the case, but also should look at the law that the accused is said to have violated.  If that law is not a just law according to the US Constitution and the Constitution of the state involved, then it is within the jury’s authority and it is their DUTY not to convict.  For example, if a person is charged with possessing a firearm with a magazine larger than the law allows, and the person admits fully that he has it and all evidence is that he possessed it, it is STILL the jury’s duty and within their power to acquit based on a law which is null and without force because it violates the 2nd Amendment to the US Constitution.

If you doubt that the right to determine the limits of the federal government and the Constitutionality of law (judicial review) is a power of the States, consider this.  The 10th Amendment states that all powers which are not granted specifically to the federal government and are not specifically prohibited to the states, rest with the states and the people.  Judicial review is not mentioned in the Constitution.  Therefore, it is not granted to the federal government and it is not prohibited to the states…it rests with the states and the people.

Do not take my word for it, read the Kentucky Resolutions of 1798.  Thomas Jefferson was pretty clear on the role of government and nullification.
Also, look up what James Madison, John C. Calhoun, and even federalist Alexander Hamilton said about the limits on the federal government, the dangers of allowing the federal government to grow beyond its Constitutional limits and the right of nullification.