Topic: Presidential Campaign 2008
Think before you vote! With "Tsunami Tuesday" just a few days away, there are a few fundamental things voters should think about. Whether you are "committed" or "undecided", it's not too late to look beyond the ten-second sound bites, candidate ads, and pundit commentary and take a deeper look at some core considerations.by USAF Vet Dan
(Libertarian)
Thursday, January 31, 2008
"Convinced that the people are the only safe depositories of their own liberty, and that they are not safe unless enlightened to a certain degree, I have looked on our present state of liberty as a short-lived possession unless the mass of the people could be informed to a certain degree." - Thomas Jefferson
Mr. Jefferson said a lot there. If you’re like most people, it seems that there isn’t enough time to handle the essentials in life, let alone to do a proper job of researching each and every candidate’s position on the main issues, their voting records, and all the other characteristics affecting their ability to lead our nation. If you’re lucky, you might catch an ad on TV or the radio, but we all know how useful those usually are! Maybe you watched part or all of the presidential candidate debates. If you did, give yourself a pat on the back for your effort. That’s more than most people have done.
Making the right choice
So how will you know that you are making the right choice? Are you relying solely on "gut instinct"? Are you voting for a candidate because he/she sounds "presidential"? ...because they are of a certain gender or race? Are you relying on your favorite political pundit’s opinion? None of those sound like very good ways to pick the leader of our nation. I’d venture a guess that most would spend more time and effort selecting a landscaper to mow their yard. There is so much at stake - especially in this age of threats of recession, a collapsing dollar, soldiers dying overseas, terrorism, outrageous health care costs, crushing taxes, etc. We simply cannot afford to make a mistake in this election. We owe it to ourselves and our children to take a little time to educate ourselves.
Unlike ten or fifteen years ago, we now have the power of the Internet. A quick "Google search" and a world of information is at our fingertips. Heck, I’ll even do the work for you. Here are the web sites of all the candidates of both "main" parties:
Before you get out your notepad and start listing all the issues you find near and dear to your heart, step back for a moment. How can you be sure they are going to "walk the walk" and not just "talk the talk"? Isn’t it as true as it is sad that politicians say one thing and do another? What guarantee do they give us that they will do what they are supposed to do? The answer: they swear an oath of office.
For the presidency, this oath is mandated by Article 2, Section 1 of the Constitution. It states, "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."
"Oh, the Constitution. Isn’t that old thing outdated?"
"After all, the founding fathers who wrote it couldn’t possibly have foreseen the issues of our modern world, right?" Wrong. The Constitution is a living document because its Article 5 allows it to be amended to change with the needs of the future. Intentionally, it takes a lot of support to get an amendment passed and ratified. This protects the majority from the whims of the few.
You don’t have to look far to see that almost all of our elected officials have ignored the Constitution and, therefore, their oath. Each and every "earmark" in a spending bill is the result of some loud but relatively small group of people getting the majority to pay for something for which they lobbied. What makes this unconstitutional? Usually, it’s because the federal government doesn’t have the power or authority to take your money and spend it on the "earmark".
The Constitution’s limits on the federal government
The Constitution clearly sets out the federal government’s limits in Article 1, Section 8. which says:
The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;
To borrow money on the credit of the United States;
To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes;
To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization, and uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States;
To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures;
To provide for the Punishment of counterfeiting the Securities and current Coin of the United States;
To establish Post Offices and Post Roads;
To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries;
To constitute Tribunals inferior to the supreme Court;
To define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas, and Offenses against the Law of Nations;
To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water;
To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years;
To provide and maintain a Navy;
To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces;
To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions;
To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining the Militia, and for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service of the United States, reserving to the States respectively, the Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority of training the Militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress;
To exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten Miles square) as may, by Cession of particular States, and the acceptance of Congress, become the Seat of the Government of the United States, and to exercise like Authority over all Places purchased by the Consent of the Legislature of the State in which the Same shall be, for the Erection of Forts, Magazines, Arsenals, dock-Yards, and other needful Buildings; And
To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof.
The list of all the things the federal government has stuck its nose into beyond these parameters is huge. A couple of examples are welfare programs and education. But if the federal government doesn’t take care of things like these, who will? Again, the Constitution has the answer - the Tenth Amendment which states:
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.
Those old guys were pretty smart!
The founding fathers understood that issues beyond those listed in Article 1, Section 8 are better addressed by state and local governments. The bigger the government, the more inefficient it becomes. Dollars channeled through the federal government come to the average recipient as only about 16 cents. Dollars through the average state government, however, come to the end user as about 62 cents. Think of all the good we could do with the money wasted by federal bureaucratic buffoonery! And we could still dramatically slash taxes!
Many issues are not well addressed with a federal "one size fits all" solution. When such issues are addressed at the state or local level, the solution will usually serve that particular segment of America much better. Also, the best government is that which is closest to you. You can easily set up a meeting with your state rep or senator… have a cup of coffee with him/her, talk about your issues. Good luck trying to do that with a US senator or congressman!
Vote for a liar?
So, if candidates have ignored the Constitution (and therefore their oath), it is impossible to know exactly what they’ll do once they’re in office. It makes no sense to elect someone who swears to one thing and then does another. To support such a candidate is to say it’s OK to ignore the Constitution... that you don’t care if we live in a country without the rule of law. Quoting Jefferson once more, "In questions of powers, then, let no more be heard of confidence in man, but bind him down from mischief by the chains of the Constitution." We are the keepers of the flame of liberty. It is up to each and every one of us to see that the chains to which Jefferson refers are used as it does no good if they are lying coiled on the floor.
Go to each of the candidate’s web sites and look at their positions on the issues. If they are intending to push programs and agendas that exceed their authority as described in Article 1, Section 8 above, then they do not deserve your vote. They have opted to take our country on an unauthorized course to an unknown destination. They have demonstrated that their word means nothing. How can you trust someone who will take that oath and then ignore what is so clearly written? You cannot!
Is there anybody worth my vote?
If you don’t have the time to go to each candidate’s web site, I’ve already done it for you. Of all the candidates, only Congressman Ron Paul has faithfully upheld his oath and legislated within the constraints of the Constitution. For ten terms he has voted "no" on every single bill that exceeded the Constitution’s boundaries. He even refused to allow his children to secure federal education loans because there are no provisions for such in the Constitution. When one of his heroes, Rosa Parks, was up for a congressional medal, Paul voted "no". "Why?" asked his colleagues who knew that Paul was a big Parks fan. Paul stated that the Constitution did not authorize spending the People’s money for the cost of the medal (a few thousand dollars). He suggested, instead, that he and each member of Congress chip in a hundred bucks to pay for the medal.
In this age of crushing income taxes, strained household budgets, wars being illegally launched without a congressional act, and a foreign policy that has severely tarnished our reputation abroad and safety at home, isn’t it time we take a stand and get back to what made this country the strongest, freest, most productive country in the world? Isn’t it time we, as Jefferson said, "let no more be heard of confidence inman" and vote for somebody who, at a minimum, has demonstrated that he respects the supreme law of our land?
I challenge you to go to Ron Paul’s web site and look at his clearly stated positions on the issues. As a bonus to his honesty and fidelity to the Constitution, he also has an extensive background in macro economics. He is the most qualified to lead our country out of the financial abyss into which it is currently plunging.
Its time for a change
We’ve heard all the candidates say, "Its time for a change". To this I agree. But it’s not time to change from one unconstitutional path to another. Its time to change our acceptance of the status quo and demand leadership that we can truly trust to take our nation back to the path that made America the greatest nation on earth.
"I don’t want to waste my vote"
Despite the fact that the main stream media has tried to paint Ron Paul as "unelectable", he is a viable candidate who placed second in Nevada and Louisiana… the latter of which is being contested - he may, in fact have won in that state. He raised more money in the fourth quarter than any other Republican candidate, even though he takes no PAC money. The average size of his donations has been under $100. This will enable him to buy more ads than his opponents.
Beyond this debatable issue, you should ask yourself this: Do you select the church you attend because of the size of its congregation or do you select it because it most closely matches your beliefs? Voting should be no different. Even if your candidate of choice doesn’t win, you have made your voice heard and brought support to those issues that matter most to you. Even if he loses, Ron Paul will take his delegates to the brokered national convention and affect change. I contend that voting for someone who has, by their very platform, broken their oath is truly a waste of your vote.
So, I wish you luck in making your decision in this primary election. Ours is a great nation and I’m proud to have served her during my term in the Air Force. The freedom and liberty for which so many soldiers have fought and died are their gifts to you. Please take care in protecting them for they came at an extremely high price.
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2008 USAF Vet Dan, all rights reserved.
Published: Thursday, January 31, 2008
Last modified: Saturday, February 2, 2008
The views expressed in this
article are those of USAF Vet Dan only and do not represent
the views of Nolan Chart, LLC or its affiliates. USAF Vet Dan is
solely responsible for the contents of this article and is not an
employee or otherwise affiliated with Nolan Chart, LLC in his/her role as a columnist.
Brilliant, Dan. For months, you've been setting establishment pundits straight on Dr. No, with your hard-hitting comments. Just about every article, you're there defending the good doctor's message. WTG. It's only fitting that you're now a Nolan Chart columnist.
censoredagain, I honestly did not know he was still in the race. I have edited my article to include his link. Thanks for alerting me to this. While there are some things in his platform on which I disagree, I think he is a far better candidate than the two "front runners".
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2008 USAF Vet Dan, all rights reserved.