Recovery of the U.S. Constitution is Essential for America's Recovery of Freedom

To recover their political freedom from an increasingly despotic and totalitarian federal government, the American People MUST recover their only legal bulwark of freedom against federal tyranny: the U.S. Constitution as written and originally understood and intended. The people must once again establish the Rule of Law, the key to political freedom, by reinstating the Constitution as the Supreme Law of the Land and the Ruler over the federal government.

To do this, the average American must familiarize himself with the Constitution and understand how it mainly limits the federal government. Below is a rough outline of the possible order of things in approaching the Constitution in a way the average American could understand.

1) Getting a good grasp of the PRESUMPTIONS of the Constitution helped by reading the Ninth and Tenth Amendments, the Declaration of Independence and certain selected Federalist Papers. The major presumptions are that

a) rights and powers are inherent in individuals and are given by God - among them are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness and are the birth right of every individual and are NOT given by government,

b) the Constitution does NOT grant rights and powers to individuals but the Constitution protects those rights,

c) the powers of the federal government are CREATED and DELEGATED by individuals through the states via the Constitution by which the feds themselves are both created and LIMITED,

d) if it is not a specific, enumerated power, it is not a power of the federal government whereas the opposite is true with the states and individuals. The states and the people are presumed SOVEREIGN outside of Constitutional mandates and limitations.

2) Understanding the basic STRUCTURAL doctrines in the Constitution by reading resources with solid Constitutional-based reasoning like Robert Bork's works. The Constitution creates the federal government and is its ONLY source of legitimate power and authority. The major structure of the feds is the three branches and the separation of powers between the branches with its checks & balances of power among the branches.

Article I creates the legislative branch, Article II creates the executive branch, Article III the judicial branch, Article IV puts certain limitations on the states, Article V outlines how to amend the Constitution, and Article VI declares the Constitution and ONLY those U.S. laws PURSUANT to the Constitution is the Supreme Law of the Land.

3) Once you've got a hold of that, you can READ THE TEXT of the Constitution with a basic understanding.

4) Post-1900 SCOTUS decisions are generally problematic although the pre-1900 decisions are better and more helpful in accurately interpreting constitutional phrases. There are very few good resources that critically analyze SCOTUS decisions based on sound constitutional understanding, and Bork's books are one of those rare resources.

There is a strong argument that society has granted SCOTUS powers much greater power than what the ratifiers contemplated. Nowhere does the Constitution give SCOTUS solitary power to create uncontroverted universal law from the bench. SCOTUS is the branch that applies the Constitution to INDIVIDUAL CASES and CONTROVERSIES (Art III, Sec 2). Thus SCOTUS decisions, if soundly based on the Constitution, are valid but limited to precedent for like cases, thus creating a kind of constitutional common law. A SCOTUS decision that is deemed unconstitutional should be ignored and nullified by the states and the other federal branches, but not without sound Constitution-based explanation and reasons for such nullification.

5) Bork's writings also help in understanding modern PERVERTED PRESUMPTIONS that depart from the Constitutional as written and originally understood and intended. Such perversions are generally those Congressional acts and SCOTUS decisions over the last 100 years or so that have given the feds sweeping, authoritative, and actually totalitarian powers with little to no constitutional reasoning or basis for doing so. The big three perversions are

a) "The Incorporation Doctrine" - judicial misapplication of the 14th Amendment giving the feds sweeping powers not contemplated by the ratifiers of the amendment.

b) The [Interstate] "Commerce Clause" (Art I, Sec 8, Cl 3) astonishingly been expanded by Congress and ratified by SCOTUS to give the feds almost unlimited power over intrastate and local economic activities again, not contemplated by the ratifiers of the Constitution.

c) The "Necessary and Proper Clause" (Art I, Sec 8, Cl 18), originally intended to allow executive enforcement and regulation pursuant to legislation within the scope of the Constitution, the N&P Clause has been expanded beyond constitutional grounds and limits to such an extent that a quasi-fourth branch of government has been created: the Administrative State with behemoth unconstitutional bureaucracies.

Armed with this knowledge, the American People could begin to intelligently move among their elected representatives at the federal level to cut government to its constitutional size and at the state level to nullify unconstitutional federal acts, which by definition are acts of tyranny, and recover their freedoms and their Constitution that protects them.

Well, that’s good if that was your point.

Too many people here (FR should be some kind of freedom vanguard) think we need to depend on politicians to fix things. No, We the People need to fix America. America doesn’t belong to the politicians, it belongs to We the People.

Well then, we’re in this together.

I, too, feel that broadcasting and informing about freedom is somehow going to be a big part of what I do.

Spiritual freedom (the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ), political freedom (the U.S. Constitution), and economic freedom (the free market economy - “freedom in action”).

Remember the Peter, Paul, and Mary song, “If I had a Hammer”? I was thinking about that the other day, the part that says, “It’s the hammer of justice, it’s the bell of freedom, it’s the song about love between my brothers and my sisters, all over this land.”

A free society is a happy and healthy society.

No matter what we do in “recovering the Constitution”, UNESCO, the UN and every State Dept of Education have already accomplished an end run. Even if we get rid of the Federal department, it has all been transmitted to each State, and in turn every school district in America. Game....Set........MATCH. It will take the power of the Almighty to right this “ship of state” without bloodshed. The only way Patriots will be able to do so is with lead and blood. Pray...humble yourself and pray for deliverance from personal sin and National. It is the only sure way for the “bloodless coup” that is needed.

Given constant productivity and technological growth, with a hard currency, consumer prices would decline, and the value of real wages and savings would increase.

Not to hijack the thread, but it's pretty well accepted theory that price deflation is poisonous to an economy. Why would it be desirable in this case?

State nullification of unconstitutional federal acts and omissions is alive and well, the latest being states that refuse to accept the invasion the feds refuse to repel in violation of the feds constitutional obligation to “repel invasions” (Art. I, Sec 8.Cl 15).

The fight for freedom isn’t guaranteed to be an easy or bloodless fight, but it is a battle worth fighting and dying for if necessary. The rag-tag colonists were fighting the most powerful nation in the world. What were their chances? But they had two things going for them that made all the difference:

1) Faith in the God of the Bible

2) Bravery and willingness that “with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence”, they mutually pledged “to each other our lives, our Fortunes and our sacred honor.”

MUCH can be done in the meantime among the American people individually and in the individual states as outlined.

I don't mean to be argumentative, but I don't see where any action is outlined, other than observations.

we need action NOW, beginning with the American People educating themselves on THEIR most precious political document...

Agreed. Hopefully this also speeds up acceptance of an Article V proposing convention.

and states saying "NO!!" to unconstitutional federal acts.

The problem here is that the federal government simply declares the acts to be constitutional and proceeds as such with a compliant Congress standing idly by. Witness the recent pushback by states over Syrian "refugees," and Obama's response. Look at how Obama continued to issue green cards to illegally "Executive ordered " illegal aliens. Look at the Iran non-treaty treaty. Look at Arizona's own overturned immigration enforcement law.

Obama is declaring whatever he wants to do to be constitutional and daring everyone else to stop him. The states are already saying "no," and Obama is responding with "yeah, whatever."

-PJ

I agree with all that you say, but I think that any progress made in reducing the scope of the federal government is going to be based upon public support for that. And, that day may not be too far off.

The main point of my two prior posts was to dispel the notion that the growth of the federal government is some sort of recent development. The theories which support that growth date to the very beginning of our Republic. And, so people should not underestimate the difficulty in reversing a major historical trend. We need public support.

Patriots need to start working with their local and state lawmakers to check all actions of the corrupt federal government against Congresss constitutional Article I, Section 8-limited powers. Note that Section 8 consists of under two pages of relatively simple paragraphs, many of them a single sentence.

THE CONSTITUTION

And when patriots cannot find a clause to justify an action of the federal government then the feds have probably overreached their constitutionally limited powers with the action.

In fact, to save yourselves some work, note that one of the only powers that the states have delegated to the feds to regulate something inside a state is the US Mail Service (1.8.7). In other words, nearly all other federal governnment services that many citizens are now so dependent on are unconstitutional imo.

Note that not only is everything that the EPA does, for example, unconstitutional imo, but the EPAs very existance is unconstitutional.

Also note that unconstitutional federal government social spending programs are based on 10th Amendment-protected state powers and associated state revenues which the corrupt feds have stolen from the states. Congress wrongly steals state revenues by means of unconstitutional federal taxes, taxes which Congress cannot justify under its Section 8-limited powers.

”Congress is not empowered to tax for those purposes which are within the exclusive province of the States.” - Justice John Marshall, Gibbons v. Ogden, 1824.

The action outlined is:

1) The American People arm themselves with knowledge and understanding of the Constitution and written and originally understood and intended.

2) The American People through their representatives in their individual states and in the federal government nullify, reject, and/or repeal unconstitutional federal acts and omissions.

But there must be teeth in that nullification. The states must a) follow up and actually prevent implementation of such acts b) must be prepared to go without federal financial “aid” ie. become financially INDEPENDENT from the feds - that would be a good thing and 3) be ready and armed including civilian militia to fight the feds if it comes to blows.

You as many might say “rots a ruck” for a state in an armed fight against the feds. Well, about 250 years ago, they said the same thing about a rag-tag bunch of colonists against the most powerful nation in the world.

As I said, the fight for freedom holds no guarantees, but is a battle worth fighting. A life lived and died for freedom is better than a life in slavery and surrender to tyranny. Obama has quickly brought these issues into high definition and clear resolution.

Article V is precisely the means to take ownership of lives, liberties, and happiness. There is no higher earthly power than decisions made by the people in their sovereign capacity.

Regarding judicial opinions that supplant Article I, the answer is in Article III or a convention of the states. When a statute is found to be “unconstitutional,” the statute or amendment is sent back to the legislature that created it. It is up to the legislature to either correct the law, or do nothing. In any event, no court opinion can have the force of nationwide law.

State by state or municipal nullification is a dead end. It is what sanctuary cities do.

“Public support” is what this is all about, beginning with educating the populace about THEIR Constitution and starting, not only at the macro/national level but the micro/state and local level - individuals through their individual states, nullifying unconstitutional federal acts. A TRUE grass roots “revolution” against an illegal an unconstitutional federal government at the individual state level as well as the federal level.

You’ve got it. Too many do not.

I estimate at least 80% of the $4 trillion federal government is unconstitutional: most cabinet positions, ALL of the “Administrative State” from whence come these unconstitutional and obnoxious executive-generated regulations - laws not made through Congress, our legislative branch.

The role of SCOTUS must be absolutely brought back to its constitutional roots - solving individual cases and controversies which precedent is confined to cases with similar facts and questions of law, not national law made by a court.

The goal is to dismantle the unconstitutional portion of the feds, put them back in their constitutional cage, and with a faithful, knowledgeable, and ardent populace, keep them there.

Screw the politicians.

It's time for AMERICANS to take back AMERICA.

I just find this thread confusing. On one hand you have folks shouting "Screw the politicians, take back America" while on the other hand you have others declaring that the 17th Amendment has to be repealed, that U.S. Senators should be elected by state legislatures (i.e., other politicians) rather than directly by citizens.

Why on earth would any citizen give up the right to directly vote for their own U.S. Senator? Folks advocating that are living in a dream world. Ain't gonna happen.

No, state nullification of unconstitutional federal acts is not a “sanctuary city.”

It is what many states have just done to reject unconstitutional refusal to repel invasion (Art I, Sec 15, Cl 15) and is supported by the presumptions of the Constitution, the Supremacy Clause, and the Ninth and the Tenth Amendments.

I have no problem with an Article V convention as long as it’s done right. But I do have a problem with those that insist that constitutional state sovereignty cannot be exercised in the meantime. That is denying the very constitution you purport to uphold.

Saying state nullification is a “dead end” is like saying the fight for freedom is a dead end. Tell that to the rag-tag colonists against the most powerful nation in the world. The fight for freedom has no guarantees but is worth the battle. Get on board.

Yawn. Nully-fication didn't work for Madison/Jefferson and cannot work today.

The way to assert state sovereignty is to return the states to the senate. There is no alternative.

Don't presume to lecture me on my devotion to the constitution and its basis.

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