Preamble to the Bill of Rights
“Congress OF THE United States
begun and held at the City of New York, on Wednesday
the Fourth of March, one thousand seven hundred and eighty nine.
THE Conventions of a number of the States having at the time of their adopting the Constitution, expressed a desire, in order to prevent misconstruction or abuse of its powers, that further declaratory and restrictive clauses should be added: And as extending the ground of public confidence in the Government, will best insure the beneficent ends of its institution
RESOLVED by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, two thirds of both Houses concurring, that the following Articles be proposed to the Legislatures of the several States, as Amendments to the Constitution of the United States, all or any of which Articles, when ratified by three fourths of the said Legislatures, to be valid to all intents and purposes, as part of the said Constitution; viz.:
ARTICLES in addition to, and Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America, proposed by Congress, and ratified by the Legislatures of the several States, pursuant to the fifth Article of the original Constitution.”
No need to amend that!
1In GOD we trust, and we should THANK GOD that a three fourths majority vote is needed to ammend this most precious document. Right now, today, we have an Executive Branch and both Houses of The Legislative Branch (as well as soon The Judicial Branch) dominated by the left. WHAT IS THE OBVIOUS RESULT? Are you better off than you were two years ago? Is America stronger, or weaker? Do most Americans think we’re on the right path or the wrong path? Will you be surprised by the beat-down these liberals are about to receive? Don’t be. (Predictions).
2I pray you’re right about the beat-down, Nick. I don’t see it happening in New England, though, since this region is dominated by nanny-statist puke-brains. I will say it here, for the record, that such people are the enemies of liberty and must be defeated.
3Dan,
Nick’s idea of the beat down is a GOP take over. Thought you were against the GOP as well????
4Scott,
That’s someone else whose name is Dan.
Were the GOP to understand the construction of the Constitution and commit to following it, I wouldn’t look down on the idea of a GOP takeover. But I don’t see that understanding taking a hold in the party at all.
In the spirit of that, the purpose of the post was to clarify that the Bill of Rights wasn’t a polite suggestion – it’s an instruction manual that works.
The problem isn’t that we’re dominated by the left or the right. The problem is that we elect people who take the Constitution as a polite suggestion instead of the instruction manual it is – Republican and Democrat. Both don’t want to trouble the president with asking for a declaration of war. And the Republican party has proven its ability to waste money like it’s no one’s business, then take the approach as if the Democrats have a monopoly on this. And either party always complains about reckless spending and nation building when they don’t have power, then they’re right back to it every time the sucker the electorate back in.
But if we actually follow the Constitution, it’s going to matter a whole lot less what anyone’s political belief is. The document is meant to chain government down so it can’t engage in the exact type of nonsense you, Nick, myself and everyone else complains about for good reason.
It’s time to follow the exact letter of the Constitution while winding down everything that’s not specifically authorized by it – no exceptions.
5You should be used to Scott’s false accusations by now. Everyone who disagrees with him WAS me. Now it’s you and me. Scott has a serious obsession disorder that requires therapy. “I thought you were AGAINST THE GOP AS WELL.” Pssssssst: Schiff IS the GOP, but now you’re “against it as well.” For Christ’s sake, make up your mind!
6I know this may come as some surprise to our Leftarded friends.
7But it must be said.
My refusal to agree with you does not in any way, I assure you, stem from failure on my part to understand what you are conceited enough to call “your ideas”, especially when those “ideas” change with the turning of the calendar month. I understand these persistent “brain-leavings” of yours just fine. I daresay any child able to write the alphabet, nay yet, any child with a rudimentary grasp of the everyday language of their society, understands your immature blathering. Pretending I don’t just demeans you and (mildly) annoys myself and I’m sure many of those who read your immature rants.
Nor is it ignorance. I am, and I’m sure WE ARE are a well read lot, actually being in class (In some cases in some fine Institutions of American Academia) while you were still struggling to roll your hungover ass out of bed.You may now skip directly to calling us evil, since that’s all the Fundamentalist Mindset has left.
“Thatisall.”
Well Dan Reale, there IS hope, as I posted this link on the other thread: http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/politics/tea_party_rules_gop_agenda_96181694.html?showFullArticle=y
8Yes Nick, Schiff is in the GOP, but the structure wants absolutely no part of it. The real trouble with the GOP is what it does to people within its ranks who actually want to shrink government. It was clear as day what would happen.
Aside from these once in a blue moon exceptions, it’s either time to find a way to make the Constitution hold ground in this party or walk away entirely. It’s no longer Republican vs Democrat. It’s the top of the Republican and Democratic parties versus the rest of us. The only reason knowing who was writing blank checks with your money matters is to know who you should stop voting for and where you should stop sending your money until the organizations in question can get it right.
And saying the answer is one thing. It’s time to make sure we send people to Congress who will actually try to implement them. I don’t want to see a single earmark. Let’s actually see someone try to abolish an agency instead of creating one. Let’s see someone who will actually cut funding from a Department of Education that ruined education and a Department of Energy that absolutely failed in its mandate of alternative energy. Let’s also see the complaints about unfunded mandates and violations of state’s rights turned into action for a change. And if we’re broke, let’s act like it and shut off the foriegn aid.
If you want things to be different, you have to start doing things different.
What I don’t want to see is some Medicare Part E program three times the size of the Part D hole when Republicans back away from repealing Obamacare and instead resume handing out money we don’t have. As for the CT GOP’s part, the only chance to make sure this state’s new senator doesn’t have a hand in that is Schiff – and they actively tried to blow it.
Now we need to replace Scott Brown because we haven’t figured this out yet. Then we have people like Bobby Jindal whining about states rights and the oil spill when they should just start ordering the berms to be deployed and tell Washington, DC to go scratch.
We all agree that spending is really out of control and that the Constitution isn’t being followed. It doesn’t matter what the letter at the end of the name says as long as they’ll take corrective action and not make the problems worse.
Look, we all agree on how awful the Democrats have done. I’m sold. The sale practically makes itself on this one.
9On that article, in Texas, there’s something important here to note. The tea party failed to boot a single GOP incumbent (including the bailout voters). And Lamar Smith isn’t exactly this bastion of fiscal conservatism – he’s a bailout voter.
Now that all the primaries are over, the only way to take out those Texas incumbents is through the libertarian party – there just aren’t any other opponents in a lot of those races.
It’s three card monte on this one. The sooner we acknowledge it, the sooner we can move on to where our input actually matters.
10Well Dan, of course your assessment is correct, but I would underscore that progress IS being made and the GOP, for the most part, has received the message. The trouble with politics is that “Change” must be well planned out in advance, as in any successful Military Campaign, and then enacted with precision. Obama is learning that fateful lesson daily. Barring an Attack (which by the way this Oil Disaster IS, and I PREDICTED A CALAMITY would occur because history suggests one will always arise) the process of real change takes time. I don’t like that and neither do you or millions of other Americans because we see the urgency of the present situation. The GOP (more powerful than the Libertarian facet which has ALWAYS had a consistent message) failed miserably to educate the populace about what a future with Obama and a majority in both Houses would be like. Even when they tried, people in general just don’t understand POTENTIAL suffering. Americans as a whole are weak. There’s an old farmers saying. “Before you can teach a Jackass to move, first you need to smack it in the head with a 2X4. …..NOW….. YOU’VE GOT IT’s ATTENTION.” Personally, I think the GOP is heading in a more favorable direction, and that’s straight toward the T.E.A. Party and Libertarian direction. I would caution though against a 3rd Party that fractures Right-leaning votes which would allow Liberals to take away seats. I believe a much better result for America would be a significant “Libertarian Caucus” flying the GOP flag that keeps the GOP’s feet held to the fire of truth. Naturally, a “GOP Caucus” flying the Libertarian flag would be certainly equally acceptable. But as I said, PATIENCE. These thing take time. A quick historical review of The Whig Party illustrates that quite clearly.
11There’s actually been far more progress on the Libertarian front than there has on the GOP front.
The LP problem stems only from a lack of organization. As of tommorrow in CT, that’s solved.
Conversely, if it weren’t for libertarians (small and large L), the discussion of what the Federal Reserve was doing wouldn’t even be on the table. Absent that circumstance, you wouldn’t have even heard of the bailouts – the fed would’ve just gone through with it in the first place and not told Congress.
The GOP only does power – it doesn’t do education. I’d love to see all parties to education.
Any successful political movement to a consistent and principled end has to have an educational component. The mistake the LP has made is over emphasizing it, but we’re finally having the correct balance.
On the GOP front, you’ve failed to dislodge a total of 3 insiders nationwide – and now the infrastructure of the GOP is moving to fall on its proberbial sword in the convenient position of holding all the power required to do so. Unless you can come up with a way to remove the insiders while replacing the establishment powers (which is the only thing keeping the GOP alive – it’s got nothing to do with grassroots), it’s moot.
The only direction the GOP is moving in is to con the tea party and the libertarians into thinking they’ve changed direction – but they’re not actually going all the way in office using the power they have now. It may be powerful, but so are the Democrats. Both are doing the same thing.
Now I’ll agree wholeheartedly with the donkey analogy. We got that right in NY’s 23rd and the GOP actually is moving in that direction there. In New England, we’re being a bit timid in this regard and buying the old fashioned “trust me”. Scott Brown and everything like him is getting a free pass.
At least we should give the socialists credit where it was do. They figured this out in the 1940’s. Specifically, if they could start hitting both major parties hard enough and getting enough votes, both major parties would start doing socialist things to get elected. So here we are 60+ years later, long after the socialist party figured out that it didn’t have to run presidential candidates anymore because both major parties already adopted the platform.
But that aside, you say, “I would caution though against a 3rd Party that fractures Right-leaning votes which would allow Liberals to take away seats.” Like the GOP is entitled to votes and doesn’t have to make a case for itself. It’s electoral welfare and exactly why it’s failed. I think it’s time for an electoral welfare to work program. Make the party do something before you give it power for a change. .
If it really was a choice of fracturing the votes of a party where you knew what you were getting and a party with the illusion of something else (as if it wasn’t the electoral welfare that it is), I’d happily fracture the latter – at least you could end the cycle of what Obama and everyone before him actually did.
And like I’ve said ad nauseum, if someone can find an easier way to do that in the GOP, sign me up. Until you can remove most of the leadership and the control mechanisms, it’s moot.
Before you can teach a party to move, you really do need to smack it in the head with a 2×4. So let’s have at GOP before it gets any bright ideas.
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