In the interview with Diane Sawyer when President Obama says that he'd "rather be a really good one term President", another quote of his explains exactly why he should be. by John Armstrong
(libertarian)
Monday, January 25, 2010
This is what your President thinks his Job Description is:
You know, there is a tendency in Washington to believe our job description, of elected officials, is to get reelected. That's not our job description, Obama said. Our job description is to solve problems and to help people.--January 25, 2010.
This is what your President's Job Description actually is:
I do solemnly swear 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.--January 20, 2009.
You see, the whole concept of government in America is essentially this: protect each person's individual liberty by protecting the Constitution, and "We the People" will solve our own problems and help ourselves. Should "We the People" decide we'd like the federal government to solve a problem for us, we can simply amend the Constitution and give them the power to do so. The lack of congruency between the two Obama quotes above is a perfect example of the disconnect between how our government sees its role and what its proper role, as defined in that little Contract each elected official swears to protect, actually is.
I just did a search of the entire text of the Constitution. The word "help" isn't in there one single time. Big surprise. Why would men who just put their "lives, fortunes, and sacred honor" on the line to live into the freedom they claimed via declaration allow the government to decide what an ambiguous term like "help" means. We gave them a very defined list of how they could help in Article 1 Section 8 of the Constitution and reserved the right to change that list whenever we the people decided to change it via the amendment process.
It's time we remind our political leaders, that the "We" in "We the People" is not the same "We" found in "Yes We Can."
It isn't without precedent that this sentiment can carry the day. It's happened before in politics:
The nine scariest words in the English languare are: I'm from the government, and I'm here to help--Ronald Reagan
In literature:
Get the hell out of my way--John Galt
And in real life:
Restore the Republic--You and Me.
Your fellow American,
John Armstrong
Like this Article? Thumb it.
Want to spread it? Social Bookmark it.
Comment, it's fun
As always, unlike the NFL, you have the author's permission to rebroadcast, retransmit, reproduce, or do anything else you'd like with this article to promote the Restoration of our Republic.
The views expressed
in this article are those of John Armstrong only and
do not represent the views of Nolan Chart, LLC or its affiliates.
John Armstrong 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.
Posted By: Jahfre Fire Eater
Date: 2010-01-26 07:12:03
Hi John,
That's one interpretation but it isn't reality. Most people do believe that an elected official's job is to "get more" for the folks they represent.
One of our useless county commissioners won his seat on a campaign flaunting his belief that the role of government is to provide services that cannot be offered in a viable business model or to offer lower cost services when businesses are charging too much. He won BIG.
Until folks start getting out and refuting this at the local level no other political action is worth spit. Nothing changes by force of will; real political change takes consistent physical action and deliberate participation. Shouting at the root or reading the Constitution to the root doesot equate to "strike the root."
Folks could re-write the constitution and a lot of them want to do just that, but, if the voters in your community do not follow it and do not elect candidates who will follow it that the words on the paper are useless. The Constitution should be guidelines for individual participation during the candidate grooming and vetting process. It is not a magic incantation that forces elected representatives to toe the line once they have been elected by folks who expect them to ignore it. Never was, never can be. Without the support from individuals on the ground the constitution is a chew toy for the easily distractable and the self-righteouly self-marginalized.
You, my friend, are absolutly right . The goverment is expanding, and they think that they can take control, but they can't, according to the constitution. I think your interpretation os totally realistic, and you should continue along this road.
Want to comment on
this article? Leave your comment
here. Your email address is required to track your
comment. However, we will neither publish your email
address nor distribute it to other organizations or
persons. The only reason we might use it would be if
we needed to contact you regarding your comment. All
comments are subject to our
terms of use policy.
