Government, Mend Thyself?

How do ‘We the People’ rein in the runaway federal government? My how things have changed in just over 200 years. What started as a compromise between thirteen fledgling colonies to provide a few functions that they felt could be accomplished more efficiently collectively rather than individually, has become a monstrous doomsday machine, devouring everything and everyone in its path. It has its long bony finger in just about every pot in the country. As the old saw goes, a government that has the power to give you anything you want also has the power to take everything you have. And don’t think it’s not trying. From your money to your kids to your freedoms, nothing is safe from its reach. In the midst of this why are so many people so complacent?

Undoubtedly the sad state of education over the last 50 years, whether accidental or intentional has led to a pervasive misunderstanding of our nation’s history and governmental structure. While the progression of our founding started with settlements which became colonies which became states which begat the federal government, many people don’t really understand this. I think that there is a belief amongst too many that the states are merely subunits and extensions of the federal government. Nothing could be further from the truth. The states created the federal government to serve them. In fact, the states had to have individual state constitutions before they could draft a federal constitution. The federal government is actually subservient to the states. Well, at least it was originally intended to be that way. That is why U.S. Senators were originally elected by the states, not the people. The President is actually the President of the United States of America, not the people directly. This explains the existence of the Electoral College. The people elect their respective states’ slate of Presidential Electors who meet and select the President. They usually vote the wishes of the people of their state, but are not bound to and on occasion have not. The President, and originally the Senate represented the states, not the people of the country at-large. Truth be told, the election of the President should be a relatively minor event. Given the President’s relatively minor role in the day-to-day running of the federal government, the things that really impact the average citizen’s life on a daily basis; I am amazed at how much time, money and attention is focused on that one election. It’s the state elections that should really be the battleground since the states wield most of the power in the country. After state elections the election of federal Representatives should occupy more of the people’s interest. After all, the House of Representatives was designed to be the People’s House. That is why tax and spending bills must originate there. It is the people’s balance to the states’ representation.

A strict reading of the Constitution and Bill of Rights is a sobering and eye-opening experience. You can’t read those documents and fail to come to the conclusion that probably 80% or more of the meddling of the federal government is simply unauthorized and furthermore expressly prohibited. The Ninth and Tenth Amendments are the most ignored tenets of the lot, while the Fourteenth is one of the most misinterpreted and misapplied. The Founding Fathers had a strong fear of powerful centralized government, a la King George (no, not Washington). Thus, these amendments stipulate that powers not specifically granted to the federal government are reserved to the states and the people. Today it seems that the federal government has the position that it holds all power and grants some limited power at times to the states, and none to the people. And the band played The World Turned Upside Down. For example, look at the metastatic bastardization of the infamous Interstate Commerce Clause. This innocuous little passage has been twisted so as to give cover to the Feds to regulate virtually anything and everything on a whim. The Founders realized that every future situation could not be addressed at the time of the writing of the Constitution so methods of amending it were written into the document. That process has been utilized 26 times since ratification. Sadly, the various branches of the federal government have taken it upon themselves to simply ignore these established legal procedures and in effect ‘amend’ the Constitution anytime following its edicts becomes obstructive to their agendas. The recent Kelo Supreme Court decision granting eminent domain authority for private rather than public use is perhaps the most egregious example of adverse illegal ‘constitutional amendment’ in memory. The protection of private property was a central motivation for the establishment of our nation and the Constitution. I sincerely believe that the five justices who voted in favor of Kelo committed an impeachable offense and rightly should have been impeached and removed from the bench.

So what are we suffering masses to do? Well, I see several possible responses.

The simplest and by default the current state of affairs is to do nothing and tolerate whatever abuse we are handed. This is the response of ignorance and apathy. By taking this course of inaction we will have effectively repealed our Constitution and become a nation ruled by the whim of the government. All of our rights and protections will be null and void for all practical purposes. The federal government will be free to take whatever it wants at any time and to regulate any and every aspect of our lives. This would usher in creeping socialization of many aspects of our lives and ever-increasing taxes and regulations. Productivity will invariably falter and businesses will begin to move off-shore and overseas, with resultant loss of jobs and shrinking tax base. As more and more illegal aliens pour across our non-existent borders, the strain on social services and the shrinking tax base will be disastrous for the economy. The preeminence of the United States on the world stage will decline to no more than the level of the decrepit European socialist states, producing little and providing no incentive to its citizens to achieve more than long vacations and short work weeks.

Another solution that is widely discussed by those actually concerned about our current course is that of trying to recruit and elect better politicians to national office. On the surface it sounds promising but history does not bode well for this fix. We have been doing just this for over 200 years and I believe that the situation is growing worse at an ever-accelerating pace. Even if we can somehow get ‘better’ people to Washington, most of them are devoured by the inside-the-beltway culture and overrun by the perpetual bureaucracy within a short time. This is one argument against term limits. That process does not address the underlying problem of bureaucratic indoctrination. While bad politicians may be thrown out, good ones are given the boot as well. Then, nothing protects newly elected replacements from being quickly corrupted. On first blush I believe that the idea of somehow getter ‘better’ people to Washington is, by itself a very dubious proposition. Keeping them ‘better’ for any period of time in that D.C. cesspool is virtually impossible. The dirty little secret is that so much of our federal government has become entrenched as self-fulfilling bureaucratic behemoths. These agencies and programs have lives of their own that exist for decades as administrations, political parties and legislators come and go. They are not affected by the prevailing political tilt of the day. They are not changed by the politicians, but rather they shape and mold the politicians to suit their ongoing needs. The bureaucrats that run these agencies and programs control huge budgets and will be in their positions long after the President and Congress change hands. They wield great influence over the legislators. By convincing the legislators to perpetuate the bureaucratic status quo, theses bureaucrats provide the illusion of great power and influence via the power of the purse to the egotistical legislators. Furthermore, legislators themselves soon become focused on their own political survival and obtaining territorial power rather than doing what is right for the country and the people that they ostensibly represent. They are unlikely to pass reform that refocuses the federal government on its rather limited constitutional responsibility and turn power (and money) back to the states and the people. Human nature being what it is they are much more inclined to seek to broaden their power and influence, not limit it. Why would they voluntarily relegate themselves to the political sideline and give the States the limelight?

So what legal recourse do ‘We the People’ have over the various branches of the federal government to hold them accountable to the Constitution? They have demonstrated repeatedly that the concept of the balance of power between the three branches has broken down. It has become an unholy triumvirate. Each enables the others so that they will in turn be enabled. With a wink and a nod they turn a blind eye to the abuses of one branch, knowing full well that branch will do the same for them. In this way, each is assured of being able to ram through its unconstitutional agenda unencumbered by any fear of checks and balances. When the police will not police the police, what are we to do? If we sue one of the branches of government for its perceived illegal activity, the case will ultimately wind up before the U.S. Supreme Court, one of the parties to the scam. How can we get justice? The fix is in. What are the penalties for a branch of the federal government violating the Constitution? It is the supreme law of the land, right? Can and would the states step up to the plate and take action? But what action? Some have put forth the idea that county sheriffs evict federal agencies from offices and buildings within their respective counties. We could defund the federal government by withholding federal income tax payments. This would be a gargantuan undertaking given that approximately 95% of income taxes are withheld from paychecks. The cooperation of businesses big and small across the country would be required and probably very difficult to secure. How about a Constitutional Convention to draft amendments to provide enforcement power and real legal sanctions against unconstitutional activity by any of the three federal branches? Do the States have the chutzpah to pull that off?

Could an armed rebellion against the federal government ever occur again here? Texas retains the right to actually legally secede from the United States and factions there have discussed that possibility. How seriously and widespread is anyone’s guess. For historical reference the opening passages of the Declaration of Independence lay out the reasons for the Colonies forceful separation from Great Britain. Similar justifications would certainly be required to convince the world and our citizens of the necessity for such drastic action, following long suffering and other peaceful attempts to redress grievances. While I am not advocating a violent overthrow of our federal government, history teaches that this is a common end to governments gone awry, even to this day. What this nation would look like after such a conflagration and depending upon what faction prevails would be anybody’s guess. The outcome would probably have a lot to do with which side the military allies, which is why many of these coup d’etats are led by generals and result in military dictatorial governments. The interesting twist in this instance is that no new Constitution would need to be drafted. The current constitution would simply be enforced and the government reconstituted according to its specific dictates. In essence, a return to normalcy. A return to the federal government that we used to have and should have. Simply put a civil war to ‘throw the bums out.’ Hopefully, we would get getter bums. We might need a few correctly enacted Constitutional Amendments to avert future similar diversions. One I can think of is William F. Buckley, Jr’s., ‘there are no penumbras or emanations.’

“Is anybody there? Does anybody care? Does anybody see what I see?”