A Republic If You Can Keep It

vanity ^ | 12/12/2005 | Hopeful Patriot

[HopefulPatriot]

A Republic If You Can Keep It

Breathes there the man with soul so dead, 

Who never to himself hath said,

'This is my own, my native land!'

    The ink wasn't dry on the Constitution before one of the Founders who gave it birth expressed his doubts about the ability of Americans to preserve the Constitution that defined the United States. Three Franklin quotes provide the insight needed to understand his cynicism:

• "Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote!"
• "They that can give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty or safety."
• "When the people find they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic."

    There are no Democrats who understand and are committed to honoring the provisions of the Constitution. The heart and soul of the Democratic Party is socialism. Socialism and democracy are unequivocally and irrevocably incompatible with the Constitution of the United States. Almost by definition, Democrats are at war with the Constitution. Here is what James Madison, the acknowledged "Father of the Constitution" had to say about socialism and democracy:  

• "I cannot undertake to lay my finger on that article of the Constitution which granted a right to Congress of expending, on objects of benevolence, the money of their constituents."
• "Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide."

    John Edwards is correct; there are two Americas. The America that is seen by Democrats is an unconstitutional socialistic Utopian democracy. The America seen by Republicans is much harder to define. It is certainly run by a "little intellectual elite in a far distant capital" which barely qualifies it as a 'republic'. Far too many Republicans have become willing to accept or tolerate the premise that socialism is inevitably and inescapably now a permanent part of the American landscape. It also seems that there are increasing numbers of poorly informed or misguided Republican politicians who are embracing socialism for the same reason that Democrats brought socialism to America, to get elected and to stay elected. Socialism is unconstitutional and it is a mistake for Republican politicians to ever believe that conservatives will cheerfully support Republicans that condone socialism. Such a belief contains the seeds for disappointing, if not bitter losses in future elections. Republican politicians have failed to learn the lesson of Ronald Reagan's two landslide victories; conservatives will turn out and vote in over-whelming numbers for a genuinely conservative candidate. And it appears that congressional Republicans have deliberately chosen to ignore the lesson of the 1994 Republican Revolution; conservatives will turn out and vote in over-whelming numbers for a genuinely conservative agenda. Socialisticly leaning Republicans have more than earned the pejorative description of being a "RINO" as an acronym for Republican In Name Only. Regardless of party affiliation, in the absence of term limits, politicians seeking life-long careers in office, use the treasury to buy their constituents' votes for perpetual re-election. Socialism was created by, and is perpetuated by politicians. Socialism becomes their holy grail for re-election. Socialistic politicians effectively convert any republic into a democracy by surrogates.

    In truth, there is a third America. This America is only a memory, or more correctly stated, a mirage that is pictured only in the minds of conservatives. This mirage is an illusion because it no longer exists in the real world. It is the United States that was defined by the Constitution. Conservatives haven't yet been able to consciously admit to themselves or to even consider the possibility that they no longer live in an America that is the USA, but rather a country that is actually the USINO.

    It is a mistake in terminology and a mistake in logical thinking to allow the media or our educational institutions to be portrayed as representing or reflecting the mainstream. Mainstream Americans are conservative and still believe in freedom. The history of the past century is that the media has been nothing more than a propaganda organ for socialism and the Democratic Party. While Democrats and RINO's are the problem, it will be difficult to convince most conservatives of how grave the problem actually is until conservatives begin to recognize and begin to admit to themselves that they no longer live in the USA. The potential to correctly assess and address the problem will only be possible after conservatives begin to consider the possibility that they are actually living in the US In Name Only. There are three reasons why most conservatives have not recognized or noticed the transition from USA to USINO. First the transition was done in incremental steps, at a glacial pace over the course of a century. Secondly, the media has been incredibly successful in using propaganda to conceal the truth. And thirdly, our educational institutions became major players in the propaganda/brain-washing efforts that have successfully camouflaged the changes that have been continuously occurring, but ever so gradually. In lieu of thinking or questioning, Americans educated after 1950 have been conditioned to accept, rather than challenge, information provided by authority figures. This has been especially true when the information has been provided by the government.

Good News and Bad News

    It may not seem like it, but this article has actually been written to share good news with you. The bad news is that Franklin was right; we didn't keep it. The good news is that we can take it back if we respond correctly and with reasonable promptness. A small group of Freepers has devised the best plan ever put forward to restore the Constitution. You do not have to take my word for the quality of the plan. If you really are a Constitutional conservative, you are quite capable of deciding the relative merits of the plan for yourself. Even before you begin to plunge into the details of the plan in eager anticipation of disproving my claim that our plan is the best ever proposed, there are a few things that should be self-evident and some that should be considered:

• Recognition of the need to restore the Constitution means that in the last eighty years no one, and that includes Ronald Reagan, Newt Gingrich and Rush Limbaugh, has put forth a plan that has already worked. 
• The fact that the resolution of the problem is not already in sight, means that on balance, it is debatable whether we have even made any praiseworthy progress in spite of Ronald Reagan's leadership or his undisputed immense contribution.
• Ditto with regard to the 1994 Republican Revolution resulting from Newt's Contract with America. At best, these may have only slowed the pace of our descent into socialism.
• Measured in terms of either the growth of government intrusion into our lives or the growth of government spending, it is clear that we have lost ground. 
• If you have read the Gokhale-Smetters report and found it credible, you should recognize the possibility that the country could be poised for catastrophe.
• The lessons of history are unambiguous. All democracies end in bankruptcy or hyperinflation whenever the public learns to vote itself benefits. Remember the warnings of Madison and Reagan.

FreeRepublic's Mission 

    In March of 1999, Jim Robinson clearly stated FreeRepublic's mission. Five years later in March of 2004, Jim Robinson had this to say, "We oppose all forms of liberalism, socialism, fascism, pacifism, totalitarianism, anarchism, government enforced atheism, abortionism, feminism, homosexualism, racism, wacko environmentalism, judicial activism, etc...We are conservative activists dedicated to defending our rights, defending our constitution, defending our republic and defending our traditional American way of life."

    In one of our very first articles, we issued this challenge to every Freeper. Dismayed does not begin to describe our assessment of the response to either our challenge or the response to the series itself. Here is a quick look at the results:

• Our first article, Free Republic And Freedom, has been viewed 1,616 times.
• Our second article, Free Republic's Roots, has been viewed 1,655 times;
• The third, Another Ronald Reagan, has only been viewed 747 times.
• The most recent, Where's the Instant Replay? has been viewed a paltry 544 times.

The trend is clearly headed in the wrong direction. With that thought in mind, we have a few comments and some questions:

• FreeRepublic.com ~ Conservative News Discussion Forum, from Webster's: forum-an assembly for the discussion of questions of public interest.
• The topic we (a presently small but hopefully soon to grow number of Freepers) are proposing for discussion is restoring the Constitution.
• What is our mission? Free Republic is dedicated to reversing the trend of unconstitutional government expansion and is advocating a complete restoration of our constitutional republic.
• Within that topic, our small group of Freepers has a specific plan to restore the Constitution that we would like to present for discussion and improvement.
• Our small group has challenged the members of the forum to evaluate the plan we are presenting and to offer their thoughts on how to improve this plan.
• We have proposed that at the conclusion of our presentation, that those Freepers who think this plan, with or without improvement, is unlikely to achieve the goal of completing FreeRepublic's stated mission, should present the members of the forum a plan of their own making for discussion.
• We believe that FreeRepublic's mission is important enough to warrant a section of its own on the News/Activism sidebar where articles or relevant posts could be linked and available to all Freepers for extended periods of time. We have asked for this addition to the sidebar twice. Both requests were politely refused.
• In that same March 2004 article quoted above, Jim Robinson was discussing the War on Terror and had this to say, "Believing that the best defense is a strong offense, we (myself and those whom I'm trying to attract to FR) support the strategy of taking the fight to the enemy.."

Here are our questions:

1. Is the over-arching goal of conservatives the restoration of the United States Constitution?
2. If the best defense is a strong offense, isn't it time for FreeRepublic to go on offense in an effort to restore the Constitution?
3. If the answer to both questions is yes, should accomplishing FreeRepublic's mission be a continuing discussion for the forum until such time as the mission has been accomplished?
4. Would having a News/Activism Sidebar section entitled "Mission" or something to that effect, where relevant articles and replies could be linked for extended periods facilitate the discussion and presumably facilitate the accomplishment of the mission?
5. Would it facilitate the discussion of the mission and therefore presumably facilitate the accomplishment of the mission to have this discussion moderated and possibly archived and/or excerpted to separate the wheat from the chaff?
6. If there are enough "yes" answers to all of the above questions, I would like to ask the members of the forum if they would be willing to ask the Founder of our Forum, Jim Robinson, would he be willing to act as The Moderator for the FreeRepublic Mission Discussion?
7. Is there anyone who believes the goal is politically unattainable?
8. If the goal is not attained, have you considered the alternatives and the consequences?
9. What does this Freeper want for Christmas? How about the initiation of a serious effort to restore the Constitution?

    This Christmas, our small group of Freepers would like to give every Freeper the opportunity to give their children and their other family members the gift of a lifetime. You can give them FREEDOM, the same freedom that was the birth right of every American from 1789 until 1912, the same freedom for which countless Americans have bled and lain down their lives. Is it too much to ask, Will you take The Pledge?

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY!
                        

 

 

[Hemingway's Ghost]

So, when were you let off the hook?

I'll leave you kooks to play dress-up and make-believe now.

[ForGod'sSake]

I'll leave you kooks to play dress-up and make-believe now.

So another argument against this effort fails. Just like nOOb, you retreat to ad hominems when your point(s) can't be defended. And I truly want to see some honest debate re this effort. So far, NOTHING has been offered by the detractors except ad hominem attacks. Don't you find that strange?

Lemme guess, female officer?

Can any of you give me some clues?

FGS

[Hemingway's Ghost]

So another argument against this effort fails. Just like nOOb, you retreat to ad hominems when your point(s) can't be defended. And I truly want to see some honest debate re this effort. So far, NOTHING has been offered by the detractors except ad hominem attacks. Don't you find that strange?

How the hell do you expect us to have an intelligent debate about plan you haven't even disclosed? Are you stark-raving mad?

Lemme guess, female officer?

Shameless. I've served with female officers who'd chew you up, spit you out, and not even suffer a bit of indigestion.

[ForGod'sSake]

How the hell do you expect us to have an intelligent debate about plan you haven't even disclosed? Are you stark-raving mad?

Therein lies the point. Afraid of the unknown are we? The stark raving mad thing I'll ignore; considering the source.

Shameless. I've served with female officers who'd chew you up, spit you out, and not even suffer a bit of indigestion.

You don't have a clue who you're talking to, but again, ad hominems are the best you got? I submit you may have lost your way since taking your oath; you now have a problem defending our Constitution? And once again, F'n was also a naval officer. Obviously, honor doesn't always abide in the uniform.

[HopefulPatriot]

"One if by land, and two if by sea;"

Famous words about an historic "Paul"; intending to search FreeRepublic for "A Republic If You Can Keep It" to see the thread views, I accidentally pasted the title into google search instead and found the following words from another "Paul." who could prove to be equally historic:

• The American Republic required strict limitation of government power. Those powers permitted would be precisely defined and delegated by the people, with all public officials being bound by their oath of office to uphold the Constitution. The democratic process would be limited to the election of our leaders and not used for granting special privileges to any group or individual nor for defining rights.

Some of the people who have replied to this thread indicated that they and maybe many other Freepers were not interested in our message. Our message about restoring the Constitution is, in a word, FREEDOM.

The first Paul warned us that the British were coming. The modern Paul warns us of the enemy within. Have they turned out the lights in the old North Church and now it's too dark to read and defend the Constitution?

We have posted five articles which have been viewed a pitiful 5000 times in aggregate. Many of those who have replied have asked if Jim Robinson supports this effort. Unable to speak for Jim Robinson, we cited the mission statement and pointed out that while we were asking people to pledge their support for FreeRepublic's mission, we were not asking for a commitment to specifically support our plan. And we went on to ask that people give us the benefit of the doubt by listening to our plan, then offering their suggestions for improvement, and then if they still found our plan lacking, to present FreeRepublic with a plan of their own making. We envision this to be an ongoing program until such time as FreeRepublic has accomplished its mission. We have requested that these discussions be given a section on the News/Activism Sidebar where relevant articles and replies could be linked for extended periods giving every Freeper the opportunity to view and participate in the ongoing discussions. We believed these discussions should be archived, excerpted, and indexed to serve as a reference data base for restoring the Constitution and the Republic for which it stands. We believe that the discussions should be carefully moderated and would like to request that you, Jim Robinson, personally lead these discussions.

"Believing that the best defense is a strong offense, we (myself and those whom I'm trying to attract to FR) support the strategy of taking the fight to the enemy.." Jim Robinson 2004.

In truth, conservative supporters of the Constitution have not even been on defense; they have been in retreat. History is unambiguous; all democracies have ended in bankruptcy or hyperinflation whenever they became socialistic. Gokhale-Smetters tells us that the United States will not be the exception and that the end might be much closer than most Americans would be willing to admit.

Is it time for FreeRepublic and Jim Robinson to go on offense in defense of the Constitution, before the sacred fire of liberty burns out and we all end up in the dark?
"We have come to a time for choosing; we will preserve for our children this the last best hope for man on earth, or we will sentence them to take the last step into a thousand years of darkness.....history will record with the greatest astonishment that those who had the most to lose did the least to prevent its happening." Ronald Reagan 1964

[HopefulPatriot]

Merry Christmas Everybody.

This Christmas, give your family and every other American the gift of a lifetime. Give them the FREEDOM guaranteed to us by the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States.

[sam_paine]

Give them the FREEDOM guaranteed to us by the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States.

Great idea! How much does it cost? I hear Freedom isn't Free. But can I get free shipping?

[E.G.C.]

BTTT

[ForGod'sSake]

Well done. I would also like to add my voice of one that this series of articles be placed in the "activism" sidebar. It deserves no less.

FGS

[SunkenCiv]

FGS, I have no idea why you've pinged me into this flame war.

The October 2005 newbie who started the topic is unfamiliar to me, but here's the underlying URL:

http://padre-island.us/padre-island.us/publicfolder/FRphase/hopefulpatriot/goal.htm

[ForGod'sSake]

FGS, I have no idea why you've pinged me into this flame war.

I respect your opinion and wanted to get your thoughts on the concept, ok?

[Hemingway's Ghost]

Therein lies the point. Afraid of the unknown are we? The stark raving mad thing I'll ignore; considering the source.

Get a grip: how can we here on Free Republic debate the strengths and weaknesses of a plan we know nothing about, because you haven't presented it to us?

I submit you may have lost your way since taking your oath;

If you want to be submitting something, why not submit your plan?

you now have a problem defending our Constitution? And once again, F'n was also a naval officer. Obviously, honor doesn't always abide in the uniform.

Cue the dramatic music.

[SunkenCiv]

Google

[hellinahandcart]

How the hell do you expect us to have an intelligent debate about plan you haven't even disclosed?

Try to keep up, HG. So far, just from lurking on these threads, I've managed to glean that the plan involves Rush Limbaugh right now and a different form of currency somewhere down the road.

Now, as far as I'm concerned, that's all any patriot worth his salt should need to hear before leaping to his feet and shouting "I'm in!"

[Hemingway's Ghost]

Try to keep up, HG. So far, just from lurking on these threads, I've managed to glean that the plan involves Rush Limbaugh right now and a different form of currency somewhere down the road.

Now, as far as I'm concerned, that's all any patriot worth his salt should need to hear before leaping to his feet and shouting "I'm in!"

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks, FGS, I appreciate that. Regarding this:

---

Seeing Red: Redshifts, Cosmology and Academic Science by Halton C. Arp

---

Abraham Lincoln wrote that it had been the course of every republic to destroy itself with faction. Of course, there are those who consider Lincoln some kind of scoundrel, and anticonstitution to boot, but I have very little regard for them. The late Shelby Foote noted that the real genius of Americans is for compromise, which is a statement that frightens some people.

The character of the would-be leader is of great importance. Union voters in 1860 had the good sense to elect Lincoln. Washington, the American Cincinnatus, set a precedent by willingly laying down the office and set a precedent that wasn't broken until FDR (Wilson attempted to get a nomination for a third term without actually asking for it; he wouldn't give an endorsement for anyone, and sat at the convention, smiling, just waiting to be asked).

I take the Pledge every time I get the opportunity -- and it contains the words, "under God". That's the only one I need.

[ForGod'sSake]

Get a grip: how can we here on Free Republic debate the strengths and weaknesses of a plan we know nothing about, because you haven't presented it to us?

From the very first post on this idea, it was stated the plan would be forthcoming.......at some point. In the interim, these folks are looking for committed Freepers who are interested in defending our Constitution. Nothing more has been presented that I can see but I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt........for now.

Just my thoughts, but if something like this can't catch on at FR, what does that say about the average Freeper? It's not my plan, I have read these posts and have exactly the same information as you. I'm willing to take a small risk; you apparently are not.

[ForGod'sSake]

I've read all of it Civ.

[SunkenCiv]

it was stated the plan would be forthcoming.......at some point. In the interim, these folks are looking for committed Freepers who are interested in defending our Constitution. Nothing more has been presented that I can see but I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt........for now.

For now? Not much of a pledge then? FGS, I know you know better than that. The plan (such as it is) is spelled out:

Simple Steps Spell Success
Hopeful Patriot

Freepers can start and keep the Constitutional Restoration ball rolling by taking a series of small logical steps. Each step forward, makes it possible to take the next step. It is the Reagan Wing of the Republican Party that will defeat left-leaning Republicans and Democrats. It is the defeat of these two groups that will make it possible for conservatives to restore the Constitution. By targeting left-leaning Republicans and far-left Democrats, both parties will shift progressively to the right without having to defeat large numbers of Democrats and without having to cater to moderates.

It is the unique method of funding political campaigns that makes recruiting of our Reagan Wing candidates possible. Rush Limbaugh is the one person ideally positioned to tap two different sources of funding that are capable of providing at least $600 million in every Congressional election cycle to fund the campaigns of our Reagan Wing candidates freeing them completely from the onerous task of campaign fund raising. While there is nothing that would preclude others from being able to tap these or other funding sources, it is difficult to envision that anybody can do so as easily as Rush. Equally important to our Reagan Wing candidates there is nobody that can provide anything comparable to Rush's three hours of air time every day, his political expertise and analysis, his sense of humor, or his conservative rightness that has attracted the allegiance and loyalties of his 22 million listeners. In short, the single step of recruiting Rush Limbaugh to this effort virtually guarantees its success. That might not be true for any other conservative leader or leaders.

The first step is making either Rush or David Limbaugh aware of this effort. Contacting celebrities is difficult. At least five years of unsuccessful private attempts have already gone into this effort. Since Rush, David and people close to Rush occasionally peruse the pages of FreeRepublic, sustained and repeated exposure of this effort on FreeRepublic could attract Rush's attention through his or related parties' screening of the FreeRepublic.com website Freepers can actively email other conservative leaders or icons about the existence of this effort and ask them to not only make Rush aware, but also ask them to help convince Rush that this is the right thing to do.

It only takes..

Will You Take The Pledge?
© 2005 Hopeful Patriot
Archived Editorials

[Hemingway's Ghost]

I'm willing to take a small risk; you apparently are not.

Beautiful, my friend. Good luck with that. A fool and his money are soon parted.