The Tenth Amendment
"The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."
Anger With Federal Government Not Enough
By Chuck Baldwin
December 18, 2009
This column is archived at
http://www.chuckbaldwinlive.
According to Rasmussen Reports, "Seventy-one percent (71%) of voters
nationwide say they're at least somewhat angry about the current policies of
the federal government. That figure includes 46% who are Very Angry.
"The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that only 27%
are not angry about the government's policies, including 10% who are Not at
All Angry."
The report goes on to say, "The data suggests that the level of anger is
growing. The 71% who are angry at federal government policies today is up
five percentage points since September.
"Even more stunning, the 46% who are Very Angry is up 10 percentage points
from September."
The report also states, "The latest numbers show that only nine percent (9%)
of voters trust the judgment of America's political leaders more than the
judment of the American people." It further states, "Seventy-one percent
(71%) believe the federal government has become a special interest group
that looks out primarily for its own interests. Sixty-eight percent (68%)
believe that government and big business work together in ways that hurt
consumers and investors."
Rasmussen Reports goes on to say that voter opposition to the proposed
health care plan, government bailouts, and higher taxes is especially high.
See the report at:
http://tinyurl.com/rasmussen-
That Americans are angry with the federal government is nothing new. As a
general rule, Americans STAY angry with the federal government. So what?
Nothing changes, anger and discontentment notwithstanding.
Oh! Occasionally, grassroots effort can be mustered in sufficient quantity
to stop whatever happens to be the latest effort by the miscreants in
Washington, D.C., that tramples our freedoms. But only occasionally. The
only recent triumph I can think of was when G.W. Bush, Lindsey Graham, and
John McCain tried to ram an amnesty bill for illegal aliens through
Congress. But never fear, Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi, and Harry Reid will
pick up that particular baton soon enough.
I'm old enough to remember when giving the Panama Canal away was opposed by
virtually everyone outside the Beltway. It changed nothing. Jimmy Carter and
Congress gave it away, anyway. Most people oppose the wars in Afghanistan
and Iraq. So what? Our troops are not only still there, but more are on the
way. Most people believe children should be allowed to pray and read the
Bible in school. So what? They still are forbidden from doing so. Most
people believed former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore had the right to post
the Ten Commandments in his courtroom. So what? He was forced to take them
down, anyway (and removed from office in the process). I could go on, but
you get the point.
Anger and opposition to Washington's policies and edicts--no matter now
egregious--hardly ever translate into anything beyond words of frustration.
And Washington politicians don't pay much attention to rhetoric--not even
their own.
You see, the wizards in Washington and on Wall Street have us figured out.
Along with their compatriots in the propaganda press corps, they know that
no matter how loudly we scream, how much we protest, or how angry we become,
the system is rigged to protect them. The best we the people can seem to
come up with is "throwing the bums out" every two or four years. BUT NOTHING
CHANGES--at least, not in terms of restoring the fundamental principles of
freedom and constitutional government.
Throw out George H.W. Bush in 1992, and nothing changes. Throw the Democrats
out of Congress in 1994, and nothing changes. Throw Bill Clinton's party out
of the White House in 2000, and nothing changes. Throw out G.W. Bush's
Republicans in 2008, and nothing changes. The only thing that happens with a
changing of the guard is an escalation in the pace of whatever version of
socialism--or Big Government program--is currently in vogue. With Bush it
meant expanding the Warfare State. With Obama it means expanding the Welfare
State. But both do everything they can to expand Big Government.
When will we awaken to the reality that Washington, D.C., has had the
American people chasing their tails for decades? People, wake up! As long as
we continue to focus our attention and energy on Washington, D.C., we will
only continue to supply more rope to those who wish to hang us.
Washington, D.C., is too far gone to salvage. Admit it! Washington is a
cesspool, a landfill, and a putrid pond of corruption and duplicity. Neither
the Republican nor Democratic Party will ever allow a principled
constitutionalist to become its Presidential nominee. No matter whom we
elect as President, the beat toward Big-Government socialism and one-world
internationalism will go on without interruption. Big Government scalawags
own the entire federal system, including Big Media, Big Business, Big Labor,
Big Religion, and Big Special Interest Groups. They are all feeding at the
government teat.
Therefore, it is absolutely obligatory that freedom-minded Americans refocus
their attention to electing State legislators, governors, judges and
sheriffs who will fearlessly defend their God-given liberties. And, as
plainly and emphatically as I know how to say it, I am telling you: ONLY THE
STATES CAN DEFEND OUR LIBERTY NOW! And awakening to this reality means we
will have to completely readjust our thinking and priorities.
It means awakening to the fact that Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity, and Bill
O'Reilly (and the rest of Big Media's talking heads) are, for the most part,
irrelevant to providing real solutions to the continuing loss of liberty.
And, in truth, they are, more often than not, part of the problem, because
they continue to focus our attention on Washington, D.C., and off the source
of genuine solution, which lies with the states drawing a constitutional
line in the sand for freedom. Good grief! Beck and O'Reilly have recently
even advocated for higher federal taxes! Yeah! That's a real solution: more
power and money to Washington, D.C. Ughhh!
Instead of getting all worked up about what Glenn Beck says or what Sarah
Palin says or what CFR member and Big Government neocon Newt Gingrich says,
start paying attention to what your State legislators and candidates are
saying.
If we had more State legislators such as Washington State's Matthew Shea;
Georgia's Bobby Franklin; Pennsylvania's Sam Rohrer; New Hampshire's Dan
Itse; Michigan's Paul Opsommer; Oklahoma's Randy Brogdon, Sally Kern and
Charles Key; Montana's Rick Jore, Greg Hinkle, and Joel Boniek; Tennessee's
Susan Lynn; South Carolina's Michael Pitts and Lee Bright; Missouri's Jim
Guest and Cynthia Davis; and sheriffs such as South Carolina's Ray Nash,
Arizona's Richard Mack and Joe Arpaio, Montana's Jay Printz and Shane
Harrington, etc., it wouldn't matter what those nincompoops inside the
Beltway do. The federal government cannot violate your rights and steal your
freedoms without the consent and approbation of your State government.
Folks, let's get down to where the rubber meets the road: the reason we are
in the miserable mess we are in is because the states have--either wittingly
or unwittingly--ceded their authority and independence to Washington, D.C.
Therefore, it is now critical that states reclaim their authority--authority
that is duly granted them under the US Constitution.
All of us who call ourselves conservatives or constitutionalists or
libertarians (who, no doubt, compose a majority, especially in "red" states)
need to retake our State governments. Elect a governor who knows how to
say "No" to the federal government. Elect a State legislature that knows how
to say "No" to Washington, D.C. Elect sheriffs and State judges who
understand the Constitution, State sovereignty, and the principles of
freedom--and who are courageous enough to defend those sacred principles in
the face of attempted federal usurpation.
The truth is, for all intents and purposes, we could turn off television
completely and be in no worse shape. And newspapers are no better. The vast
majority of them blatantly support and promote Big Government. As Mark Twain
said, "If you don't read the newspaper, you are uninformed; if you do read
the newspaper, you are misinformed."
With Big Media, it's all about Washington politics. Period. For the most
part, the conservative-liberal/
distraction at best, and a scam at worst, to keep all of us safely on the
federal reservation, where we are without hope or recourse to actually
change anything.
Ladies and Gentlemen, freedom in America has only one hope: the resurrection
of State independence and sovereignty. Fortunately, there are rumblings
around the country that this revival has already begun.
The last time I checked, some 38 states have introduced Tenth Amendment
resolutions--or some form of federal nullification proposals--in their State
assemblies. To follow the status of various states' rights initiatives, keep
an eye on these two web sites:
http://www.
http://libertydefenseleague.
If conservatives/
and energy influencing elections and policies at the State and local levels
as they attempt to do at the national level, we could turn this floundering
ship of state around. If he had the support and backing of his State's
legislature and sheriffs, imagine what ONE constitutionalist governor could
do. I get goose bumps thinking about it!
Imagine a State with its own financial system--its own currency, banks,
regulatory agencies, etc. Imagine a State with its own militia--under the
authority of the governor only--completely independent from any
responsibility to the President or federal government. Imagine a State with
an education system unfettered by the federal Department of Education.
Imagine a State where the BLM, the FBI, the ATF, and the DEA had to actually
submit to State law. Imagine a State with no federal bribes, or federal
"funding" as it is commonly called--except as is constitutionally
constructed (with no strings attached). Imagine a State with its own health
care system. Imagine a State with no FEMA--UNLESS INVITED IN. Imagine a
State that would not allow Washington's spooks to unlawfully spy on
law-abiding citizens. Imagine a State that actually had a say in how much
land the federal government could claim for its own. Imagine a State where
citizens never had to worry about a national ID act. Imagine a State that
would protect the right of its citizens to freely express their faith in the
public square. Imagine a State that did not demand that its farmers put RFID
computer chips in their livestock. Imagine a State that would let you drill
a well without reporting it to the federal government. And for some really
fun mind games, imagine a State that would be willing to challenge the
constitutionality and legitimacy of the direct income tax and the IRS. All
of this--and more--is attainable with a constitutionalist State government
committed to protecting the liberties of its citizens.
I repeat: freedom in America has only one hope: the resurrection of State
independence and sovereignty. In the US Constitution, our Founding Fathers
sagaciously reserved to State governments their independence and
sovereignty, knowing that they had the awesome responsibility of being the
last (and greatest) vanguard of liberty for the American people. They never
intended or imagined that the states would ever become a doormat for the
central government (which is what most of them have become).
In this regard, the states that are proposing State sovereignty resolutions
should immediately band together to overturn the 17th Amendment, because
this amendment strips the states of their constitutional powers by turning
US senators into Washington insiders, who are more beholden to Washington
interests than the interests and well-being of the states that they are
supposed to represent.
If the 71% of voters who are angry with the federal government would channel
their energies into electing constitutionalist governors and State
legislators, their anger might actually produce real and lasting change. As
it is, efforts to "reform" Washington, D.C., are like trying to teach a hog
to take a bath. Instead, let the hog wallow in the mud, but make sure the
mudhole stays small; don't let it spread to your back yard. And keeping that
Washington mudhole small is the job of the states. And, in case you have not
noticed, the mudhole has already grown to the point that it's not just in
your back yard; it's on your front porch and about to consume your whole
house.
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(c) Chuck Baldwin
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