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!
                        

 

 

[nopardons]

I read your "challenge" and I need to know the answer to a few questions. Are you ready to truthfully answer them, or not? If not, then WHY should anyone take you seriously?

You appear to have just recently signed up here, yet you talk as though you own FR. 1) Do you have Jim Robinson's backing to post these threads?

2) Is he aware of EVERYTHING you are posting?

3) Is he in total agreement with your agenda?

4) Does he know that you are trashing the GOP?

5)How much money do you have to back your words?

6)Are you soliciting funds/will you ever do so?

7)Is it your intention to set up a fringe party?

8) Why should ANYONE take you seriously, without knowing anything about who and what you are in real life? Yes, I am asking for your CIV and experience!

9)Are you a retread or an old timer with a new nic?

[nopardons]

Aha! So there it is...this is a money making scheme; a get rich quick scam. You're a snake-oil salesman and nothing else.

There are lots of things not in our Constitution. The FFs started printing money before we were a nation ( I guess that this part of American history has evaded you ) and the government hasn't stopped printing money, LEGALLY, yet. Anyone , ANYONE, outside of the mint, who prints money, is a criminal. So says the laws of the United States of America!

[nopardons]

WHO? Who is this Messianic "leader"? What is the name of the man is at the helm of this crusade?

[nopardons]

Exactly...these post are long on platitudes and high sounding prose, but very short on details and the actual "plan".

[ForGod'sSake]

...to this cause I pledge my life, my fortune, my sacred honor(such as they are).

Now, a couple questions. Did youse guys try to recruit any FR old timers before embarking upon your quest? If you didn't, you should have. If you did, what was the result?

Maybe I shouldn't be, but I'm amazed at the grief you're getting from some of the hardcore "conservatives" around here, and the complete lack of support from others. Correct me if I'm wrong, but at this point what you're asking is for Freepers to pledge their support for what is essentially FR/JR's mission statement, correct?

Maybe the conservatives on FR are not as hardcore as they would like the rest of us to believe. Poseurs even. Some have even gone so far as to share doubts of their own abilities, eg, the ability to discern chicanery and to break from the herd in the event this is a scam of some sort. Weaklings and simpletons IMO trying to pass themselves off as relevent to, well, something.

In any case, I hope you will continue the mission. I for one am curious to see how things develop here on FR. I think FR is the logical choice to launch you project, and if it falters here; God help us.

FGS

[ForGod'sSake]

Adding insult to injury, the media and our educational institutions have successfully demonized everybody that has even tried.

Amen. Also consider that everyone has skeletons in their closets; even the staunchest conservatives. They know how the media operates and that the media is the de facto enemy of conservatives and will stop at nothing to lay bare any indescretions, going back decades if necessary. A potential candidate might say, who needs it.

FGS

[ForGod'sSake]

Exactly...these post are long on platitudes and high sounding prose, but very short on details and the actual "plan".

Not only are you NOT a constitutional scholar but I gather from your prattle, English is not your first language. They're asking you to commint to a principle, that is, to pledge your life, fortune and sacred honor(if available) to defend our constitution. Are you too chicken$hit?

FGS

[nopardons]

English is my mother tongue, unlike you my reading comprehension is acutely accurate, and if you would read all of the posts, there's a whole lot more involved, than just taking a ridiculous pledge. The n00b behind these threads want to sell the gullible his "money" and GOD only knows what else he is shilling here.

I probably know and understand the Constitution far better than you do and I don't "prattle". Neither, unlike you, do I break FR's posting rules and use obscenities in my replies.

We are being "asked", by some unknown, pompous n00b, to join in his delusional crusade; a crusade that is long on rhetoric and extremely short on answers. For all you know, this "movement" is despotic, Hitlerian, or something else as vile. And he ( if it is a he ) is co-opting FR to sell his snake-oil on, as though he owned this site.

But you're welcome to fall for it, as long as you keep a civil tongue in your head. Please, please, PLEASE send him all of your money, when he posts that thread. :-)

[ForGod'sSake]

Projection and prattle n00bpardons. You must be a riot at the seance.

[ForGod'sSake]

I meant to add, why don't you just say you're afraid to make the pledge and be done with it. The rest of us can probably do without your incessant whining about it.

[HopefulPatriot]

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but at this point what you're asking is for Freepers to pledge their support for what is essentially FR/JR's mission statement, correct?"

That's correct.

The rest of your analysis is equally sound.

Here are a few thouhts for the benefit of nopardons and any other Freeper who has questions about the messinger instead of the message:

1. We have not sought JimRobinson's blessing and so far, if he has posted on our threads he did not ping me nor have I seen any comment.
2. Everyone in our group wishes that one of us had some of the credentials of a Newt Gingrich without the baggage. We don't.
3. The conservative movement began with the Goldwater campaign in 1964; it took a quantum leap forward the night Ronald Reagan gave his Time for Choosing speech in Goldwater's behalf.
4. Conservatives were ecstatic when Nixon was re-elected in 1972, only to be crushed in the aftermath of Watergate.
5. Ford did an admirable job in completing Nixon's second term, but set the conservative movement back immensely when he defeated Reagan for the 1976 nomination which resulted in turning over the Whitehouse to the Democrats.
6. Newt's Contract with America was the pivotal event of the 1994 election; the election itself was an epic event.
7. I reviewed these forty years and some of the messingers for a reason. No one and at no time did anyone propose a plan to end socialism as part of restoring the Constitution.
8. We believe we have a devised a way to do both.
9. The Gokhale-Smetters report lays the cards on the table. History already has told us that all democracies end in bankruptcy or hyperinflation whenver the public learns to vote for socialism. Gokhale-Smetters have provided the proof that the United States is not going to escape the fate of every other socialistic democracy.
10. Even if our plan is never implemented or fails, we believe we owe it to ourselves, our families and to future generaions of Americans to try to avert the disaster that is coming our way much sooner than hardly any other American imagines.

Thank you FGS for taking the pledge and thank you for defending this effort.

[ForGod'sSake]

10. Even if our plan is never implemented or fails, we believe we owe it to ourselves, our families and to future generaions of Americans to try to avert the disaster that is coming our way much sooner than hardly any other American imagines.

In a nutshell; it is the height of arrogance and selfishness for some to sit here on their self-righteous butts and flame away at anyone trying to actually do something.

Teddy Roosevelt(?):

"It is not the critic who counts, not the one who points out how the strong man stumbled or how the doer of deeds might have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred with sweat and dust and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause; who, if he wins, knows the triumph of high achievement; and who, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat."

Thank you FGS for taking the pledge and thank you for defending this effort.

If for no other reason, there's nothing else out there. The "conservatives" we elected have all but left us at the dance, eh?

FGS

[HopefulPatriot]

Ping for Freedom!

[nopardons]

Trying to bait me into a flame war isn't going to work. ;^)

[nopardons]

I'm not "afraid" to take the pledge. What does taking this pledge actually mean? Not anything at all. You want to be on the gullible list? Br my guest.

I'm far too intelligent to fall for 10th rate snake-oil wrapped in the American flag, the Constitution, and a heaping helping of pseudo patriotism, served up by some unknown, site stealing n00b. You want to say that you sign on to all of this? Fine. You want to hand over all of your money to him? Great! And the "rest" of the people falling for this swill? More power to ya! :-)

[ForGod'sSake]

You disappoint me n00b. I had a couple hours to kill and was looking forward to going a few rounds. Whatever.

In any case, WHAT would preclude you from committing to a principle that is stated in JR's own words? Do you have children/grandchildren? What sort of America do you plan to leave for them. This is not about us. It's the same vision the founders had for America. Most of them lost just about everything to bequeath to us these wonderful documents that are our Declaration and Constitution. But you're either unwilling or afraid to defend what was at great expense, given to you?

[BnBlFlag]

"Abolish the Senate...."
We don't need to abolish it. We need to return it to it's original purpose - To represent the States and thus be elected by their respective State Legislators.
The House of Representatives was to represent the people and the Representatives were therefore directly elected by the people. That's where the term "People's House comes from.

[nopardons]

Do you know the meaning of the term "n00b" ? You're the n00b"; not I. I've got two years as member and more than that as a lurker, on you. LOL

You voted for Perot, didn't you? :-)

You have no idea what who I am or what I have done. Yet, you feel it incumbent upon you, to insult me, because I can tell dross from gold. Pity that......

[ForGod'sSake]

You have no idea what who I am or what I have done.

You appear to be getting flustered so I'll slow down a bit. What I do see is someone trying to throw cold water on something they know absolutely nothing about. You don't seem to have a clue what it might take to maintain, nay, reclaim our republic. Not a clue, yet you harangue some people that are trying to do something. Without a shred of evidence you disparage their character, motives, and parental lineage. Sick, girl.

Yet, you feel it incumbent upon you, to insult me, because I can tell dross from gold.

Personally, I don't think you could tell the difference between a cow patty and a croissant, but maybe it's just my discerning nature.

[nopardons]

Still engaging in a one sided flame war I see. How much fun are you having; a little, a lot, none at all?

You'd fall for anything wrapped in enough hyperbole, it seems. How nice for you. :-)