Yesterday, I was one of the speakers at the California Federation of Republican Women, Southern Division Board of Directors Meeting and Luncheon in Anaheim, California. The other speaker was Mike Slater, KFMB radio host down in San Diego, and member of Glenn Beck's The Blaze Radio on Saturday. Mike and I had a lot of time to talk, and as he and one of the CFRW Vice Presidents talked, he asked, "I wonder, if the Founding Fathers were alive today, what they would think about what is going on."
Claire, the CFRW V.P. seated on the other side of Mr. Slater chimed in immediately, that she believed they would be disgusted with issues like Obamacare, immigration, education, and the economy.
I told the pair that there is actually a book out there, geared towards the generation in their teens, called What Would the Founding Fathers Think: A Young American's Guide to Understanding What Makes Our Nation Great and How We've Strayed. Then, I responded, "I believe those men involved with the creation of our American System would ask, 'Why is the federal government involved in those issues in the first place?'"
The federal government was established to address the external issues, and conflicts between the States, and nothing more. Internal issues are supposed to be handled by the corresponding local government, be it the State, County or City (depending on the issue). There is no constitutional authority expressly enumerated in the United States Constitution giving to the federal government the power to dictate to individuals regarding health care, to dictate to the States how they are to enforce immigration laws once the illegal alien is within the jurisdiction of their State, to influence in any way the education standards used by individual communities or individual families, any regulatory power against private industries or any authority allowing the federal government to influence the job market in any way outside of the issuance of the currency. In the case of the economy, the system works best when a free market is left unhindered, without any federal influence, and the currency remains at a level consistent with the value that is in the system (printing fiat money is a sure way to crash a system), while the States have the authority to apply regulations within their jurisdiction as they feel necessary in order to ensure no criminal actions are being committed by companies.
I decided to carry that conversation to the stage. While addressing the crowd of Republican Women leaders, I told the audience about the conversation that began with Mike Slater's question about the opinion of the Founding Fathers, and then my question, "Why is the federal government involved in those issues in the first place?", and the crowd erupted into applause.
The crowd seemed to be fully aware of the limiting principles of the United States Constitution. We, as Americans, tend to understand basic constitutional principles, or at least many of the conservatives I talk to do. But, what are we doing about it?
The Constitution is only ink and paper if we don't defend it. I can complain all I want, but if I am not taking action to solve the problem, being involved in my local politics, while building relationships with my representatives to guide them in the direction I desire, or making an impact through rallies, letters, phone calls, voter registration efforts, or educating people about the Constitution and teaching them how to be active, then I am a part of the problem. Complaining is fine, but where do we stand? Are we simply complaining about what is wrong, or are we proposing solutions through constitutional methods, and then acting upon those proposals? What do we support, and why do we support those positions? How have we made an impact in restoring the republic?
One way to do it is to get involved in active organizations in your area. In Southwest Riverside County, that organization is The Constitution Association.
-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary
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