It is possible that President Obama and the 111th congress provided liberty seekers the greatest gift we have received in over 150 years. Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid in their defiance of the American people, have unintentionally given us the key to the cuffs. Obviously, I am speaking of Obama-Care. Calm down, yes I am ok. No, I did not fall and bump my noggin. The health care reform that Obama, Pelosi, and Reid forced down the throats of American people was the spark we needed. It provided both the motive and opportunity for Jeffersonians to return our great country to the constitutional republic it was meant to be.
The motive is easy. Let’s examine the rise of the Tea Party. I have heard the tea-party described as an “astro-turf” group who’s numbers are greatly exaggerated. I have listened as pundits and talking-heads dismissed the Tea-party as a racist bunch of extremist on the fringes of far right politics. I have watched as media elites laughed and mocked the movement. Even former “conservatives” were dismissive, calling them names like “extreme,” “kooky.” or even dangerous. I watched, listened, and observed as the Tea-Party groups took all of the hits. Something strange happened though: they just kept coming. Like a prize-fighter with the undeniable will of a champion, they kept absorbing the blows. It actually seemed to make them stronger. The harder the opponents and nay-sayers would hit, the more steam the movement seemed to pick up. Now, just two weeks before the 112th congress is to be elected, no group in America has more power than the Tea-Party. It is by their say (our say) alone, that this Congress will be shaped. While I am no big fan of most of the field that will make up this new congress, if we look back just two short years ago, it is amazing how far we have been able to move the needle. The current political mood of the nation would have been unimaginable in 2008. Which begs the question; where did the Tea Party come from?
Most on the left will tell you that the Tea-Party is “white”-America’s racist answer to a black President. One only need spend a short amount of time at a Tea-Party rally and meet the diverse group of attendees and speakers to realize the triviality of this accusation. Many on the so-called right, (neo-cons and old guard Republicans) would like you to believe that the Tea-Party is alive to benefit them. Unfortunately, a lot of this group has been successful at hi-jacking portions of the movement, but turn the discussion to civil-liberties or empire building, and it soon becomes obvious, that this is no Republican movement either. It may benefit Republicans in the very short run but unless that party does some extreme and deliberate soul searching, it will be abandoned quickly. The Tea-party, for all intents and purposes is a grass roots up-rising of limited government constitutionalist; in other words, Libertarians. The Tea-party was a natural response that started to fester around the time the REPUBLICANS were extorting the American tax-payer for billions of dollars to give to big bankers. Americans, for the first time in almost a century were starting to wake up and take notice. While T.A.R.P. was mildly effective in getting Americans to take notice, we were still somewhat oblivious. Americans were beaming with pride as they for the first time in history, elected a president with a dark complexion and many were taken by his charm and movie-star persona. At this time only a few hard-line Libertarians even bothered with the Tea-Party. Democrats, it seemed, had the world by the tail. Of course, this is when they made the fatal mistake, the mistake that can end the federal domination of American citizens.
At first, newly elected President Obama could do no wrong. Any one who dared disagree with his policy making was obviously driven by racism, at least that’s what the majority seemed to believe. The thing is, when push comes to shove, most Americans believe in liberty. When presented with the option, we will reject government intervention at every turn. Obama lost many Americans when he decided to take over the auto industry, but even that wasn’t enough to really spur a movement. His star was still too bright. President Obama and his super-majority in Congress were drunk with power. They had already taken over the financial and automotive industries. Now, it was time for the Grand-slam, the health-care industry. Honestly, Obama could have backed away from this one early and still kept the hearts of Americans, much like Clinton in the 90’s, but he refused. When the American people stood their ground, Democrat fangs began to show. Instead of listening to the people, we began receiving lectures. “We know what’s good for you,” they explained. “It is too complicated for your simple minds to comprehend. That is why you have chosen us, the elite, to think for you,” we were told. Americans did not like being talked down to. So we did something about it. We protested because that is the only way we can make our voices heard. The louder we told them “NO, we do not want this,” the more violently they reiterated that not only would we take it, but when we wised up, we would like it. If the ruling class in Washington had never forced Obama-care down our throats, then the Tea-Party would have still been a few years from existence. So, now we understand the motive but what about the opportunity?
At the time of this writing over 20 states have cases pending regarding the constitutionality of Obama-care. It is almost assured that this case will end up in front of the Supreme Court. My personal opinion is that the states will prevail but, the better opportunity may come if the Supreme Court rules in favor of the federal government. Governor Bob McDonnell and the legislature of the great Commonwealth of Virginia had the foresight to pass a law forbidding an individual mandate from being imposed on Virginians. The preemptive law suggest to me that McDonnell is willing to consider nullification if the courts rule against the states. Nullification is the states'-rights doctrine that a state can refuse to recognize or to enforce a federal law passed by the United States Congress. It is a controversial doctrine that the federal government obviously considers illegitimate, but is actually well grounded in our nation’s history (see The Kentucky resolution). If Virginia uses nullification it’s a safe bet that the other states will follow suit. If the states are able to successfully nullify healthcare reform it will set federalism back over 100 years.
In California there is currently a ballot initiative known as Prop.19 allowing voters the opportunity to legalize marijuana. If Prop.19 is successful it will directly contradict federal drug laws. Regardless of your stance on drugs any one who understands the Constitution must understand that this is a state issue. Attorney General Eric Holder has stated in no uncertain terms that, consistent with the Obama administration’s firm stance against the citizenry of this country, if Prop 19 is successfully voted in by the people of California, the federal government will immediately begin enforcing the federal laws and arrest Californians for possessing or growing Marijuana. If there is a precedent set by Virginia and 19 other states of successfully nullifying unconstitutional federal laws, it stands to reason that California will follow suit. The only way for Americans to truly “take back the republic” is to return the power to the states, so that local citizens can decide for themselves how to run their schools, Healthcare programs, and their lives. It seems like we should send President Obama and the 111th congress a thank you card. After all, it was them that gave us the motive and opportunity to reclaim our republic.
The motive is easy. Let’s examine the rise of the Tea Party. I have heard the tea-party described as an “astro-turf” group who’s numbers are greatly exaggerated. I have listened as pundits and talking-heads dismissed the Tea-party as a racist bunch of extremist on the fringes of far right politics. I have watched as media elites laughed and mocked the movement. Even former “conservatives” were dismissive, calling them names like “extreme,” “kooky.” or even dangerous. I watched, listened, and observed as the Tea-Party groups took all of the hits. Something strange happened though: they just kept coming. Like a prize-fighter with the undeniable will of a champion, they kept absorbing the blows. It actually seemed to make them stronger. The harder the opponents and nay-sayers would hit, the more steam the movement seemed to pick up. Now, just two weeks before the 112th congress is to be elected, no group in America has more power than the Tea-Party. It is by their say (our say) alone, that this Congress will be shaped. While I am no big fan of most of the field that will make up this new congress, if we look back just two short years ago, it is amazing how far we have been able to move the needle. The current political mood of the nation would have been unimaginable in 2008. Which begs the question; where did the Tea Party come from?
Most on the left will tell you that the Tea-Party is “white”-America’s racist answer to a black President. One only need spend a short amount of time at a Tea-Party rally and meet the diverse group of attendees and speakers to realize the triviality of this accusation. Many on the so-called right, (neo-cons and old guard Republicans) would like you to believe that the Tea-Party is alive to benefit them. Unfortunately, a lot of this group has been successful at hi-jacking portions of the movement, but turn the discussion to civil-liberties or empire building, and it soon becomes obvious, that this is no Republican movement either. It may benefit Republicans in the very short run but unless that party does some extreme and deliberate soul searching, it will be abandoned quickly. The Tea-party, for all intents and purposes is a grass roots up-rising of limited government constitutionalist; in other words, Libertarians. The Tea-party was a natural response that started to fester around the time the REPUBLICANS were extorting the American tax-payer for billions of dollars to give to big bankers. Americans, for the first time in almost a century were starting to wake up and take notice. While T.A.R.P. was mildly effective in getting Americans to take notice, we were still somewhat oblivious. Americans were beaming with pride as they for the first time in history, elected a president with a dark complexion and many were taken by his charm and movie-star persona. At this time only a few hard-line Libertarians even bothered with the Tea-Party. Democrats, it seemed, had the world by the tail. Of course, this is when they made the fatal mistake, the mistake that can end the federal domination of American citizens.
At first, newly elected President Obama could do no wrong. Any one who dared disagree with his policy making was obviously driven by racism, at least that’s what the majority seemed to believe. The thing is, when push comes to shove, most Americans believe in liberty. When presented with the option, we will reject government intervention at every turn. Obama lost many Americans when he decided to take over the auto industry, but even that wasn’t enough to really spur a movement. His star was still too bright. President Obama and his super-majority in Congress were drunk with power. They had already taken over the financial and automotive industries. Now, it was time for the Grand-slam, the health-care industry. Honestly, Obama could have backed away from this one early and still kept the hearts of Americans, much like Clinton in the 90’s, but he refused. When the American people stood their ground, Democrat fangs began to show. Instead of listening to the people, we began receiving lectures. “We know what’s good for you,” they explained. “It is too complicated for your simple minds to comprehend. That is why you have chosen us, the elite, to think for you,” we were told. Americans did not like being talked down to. So we did something about it. We protested because that is the only way we can make our voices heard. The louder we told them “NO, we do not want this,” the more violently they reiterated that not only would we take it, but when we wised up, we would like it. If the ruling class in Washington had never forced Obama-care down our throats, then the Tea-Party would have still been a few years from existence. So, now we understand the motive but what about the opportunity?
At the time of this writing over 20 states have cases pending regarding the constitutionality of Obama-care. It is almost assured that this case will end up in front of the Supreme Court. My personal opinion is that the states will prevail but, the better opportunity may come if the Supreme Court rules in favor of the federal government. Governor Bob McDonnell and the legislature of the great Commonwealth of Virginia had the foresight to pass a law forbidding an individual mandate from being imposed on Virginians. The preemptive law suggest to me that McDonnell is willing to consider nullification if the courts rule against the states. Nullification is the states'-rights doctrine that a state can refuse to recognize or to enforce a federal law passed by the United States Congress. It is a controversial doctrine that the federal government obviously considers illegitimate, but is actually well grounded in our nation’s history (see The Kentucky resolution). If Virginia uses nullification it’s a safe bet that the other states will follow suit. If the states are able to successfully nullify healthcare reform it will set federalism back over 100 years.
In California there is currently a ballot initiative known as Prop.19 allowing voters the opportunity to legalize marijuana. If Prop.19 is successful it will directly contradict federal drug laws. Regardless of your stance on drugs any one who understands the Constitution must understand that this is a state issue. Attorney General Eric Holder has stated in no uncertain terms that, consistent with the Obama administration’s firm stance against the citizenry of this country, if Prop 19 is successfully voted in by the people of California, the federal government will immediately begin enforcing the federal laws and arrest Californians for possessing or growing Marijuana. If there is a precedent set by Virginia and 19 other states of successfully nullifying unconstitutional federal laws, it stands to reason that California will follow suit. The only way for Americans to truly “take back the republic” is to return the power to the states, so that local citizens can decide for themselves how to run their schools, Healthcare programs, and their lives. It seems like we should send President Obama and the 111th congress a thank you card. After all, it was them that gave us the motive and opportunity to reclaim our republic.
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