Free Republic

Can free government be reestablished in a corrupt republic? Is there enough virtue remaining in America 2016 for renewal? For insight, I can’t help but return to a favorite read, Niccolò Machiavelli’s Discourses on Livy.* In this discussion, Machiavelli assumed the republic in question was extremely corrupt, due to either a lack of laws or institutions sufficient to check universal corruption. While he doesn’t explain exactly what he means by institutions, it is clear from context here and the rest of his work that the term encompasses the totality of society and government. In modern parlance, institutions include academe, government,...

Should I be charged with a felony, I know that as an American I am presumed innocent. This presumption of innocence means I will remain in possession of my God-given liberty until a jury of my peers finds me guilty, and a judge determines that I shall forfeit an element of my liberty, my freedom to move about in society as I please. In a larger sense encompassing the presumption of innocence, there is the presumption of liberty. Liberty comprises all of the enumerated, unenumerated as well as implied rights and privileges of our Constitution. Until I prove myself unfit...

In my April 20th post, I connected our existing and dire situation with that of 1787. Despite the differences between then and now, there is at least one commonality: the fear that a demagogue, a man who promises to relieve us of our misery, might emerge from the increasing anarchy and social disorders. Alexander Hamilton wrote that men who overturned republics always began their public work by proclaiming their devotion to the people. In words that ring true today, Hamilton’s first Federalist explained the situation that faced America. The young country was at a crossroads; its very existence was in...

While our Constitution famously set up a government of divided powers, the powers within each branch are not absolute. Each is subject to various checks from the others. Congress is responsible for lawmaking, but the president has a qualified veto over congressional bills. It is not absolute, for congress may override on two-thirds majority vote. As a theoretical check on the judiciary, scotus is subject to Article III congressionally determined “exceptions . . . and regulations.” Scotus has developed a habit of going far beyond its duty to adjudicate between parties and protect the constitutionality of law. Instead, it often...

Our 18th century Framers were precise grammarians. They spent months debating in a stuffy Philadelphia state house to thrash out every concept, idea, detail, clause and yes, punctuation, that ended up in our beloved Constitution. From James Madison’s notes, there is no question that every element had to first pass a committee composed of a few members, and then survive withering examination by a committee of all state delegates. First, take a look at Article I § 8: It is here that the limited legislative powers declared in Section 1 are elaborated. The end, or purpose of the law is...

The US House of Representatives Judiciary Committee recently took testimony regarding the dangers posed by an ever expanding administrative state, especially in the hands of a ‘pen and phone’ president. Matthew Spalding, Ph.D. from Hillsdale College explained how a slow, evolutionary coup d'état in the form of an administrative state has overthrown free government. This transfer of lawmaking power away from congress to an oligarchy of unelected experts who rule through executive decree and judicial edict over virtually every aspect of our daily lives, under the guise of merely implementing the technical details of law, constitutes nothing less than a...

A most important issue that I haven't heard from any candidate is support for Constitutional amendments specifically targeting the 17th amendment and campaign finance limitations, and the Article V convention. I haven't heard of any supporting organizations endorsing Trump or Cruz advocate Article V and the topics of the 17th and campaign limitations. I haven't heard any news organizations even remotely broach the topic or question the candidates on any of those topics. Seems to me as would-be conservatives, Trump, Cruz would be all over these questions. With position and analysis and their version of support. Obviously Sanders and Clinton...

Our previously Free Republic continues to reel from a one hundred and three year old mistake: the 17th Amendment. Pardon me if I don’t celebrate today’s anniversary. Republican theory demands the consent of the governed. From ancient Greece, republican Rome, Saxon Germany, and even in the English kingdom from which we declared our Independence, the component members of their societies had a place at the lawmaking table. Greek ecclesia, Roman tribunes and senators, Saxon Micklegemots, English commons, lords and king, encompassed the totality of their societies. By this, the consent of the governed was present in every law. Unlike simpler...

A contingent among those who oppose an Article V state convention to propose Constitutional amendments declare that all that need be done is just enforce the Constitution we have. Well, we actually have more than one Constitution to consider. There is the written, de jure Constitution that anyone can view through a simple internet search at any time. Its Preamble sets forth, in more particular terms, the broad purpose of having a government in the first place as expressed in our Declaration of Independence. Society came together to improve upon the Articles of Confederation, establish Justice, keep domestic peace, defend...

It is through Article V, and not the social justice whims of nine unaccountable lawyers that the Framers envisioned a free people would keep and improve their republic. Enlightenment philosophers and our Framers recognized that whereas power is aggressive, liberty is passive, and unless actively pursued, liberty will always fade in the face of encroaching power. Much of America has come to accept as final the often fanciful mutterings of the scotus. As illustrated in its Roe, Lawrence, and Obergefell opinions, scotus not only supplanted the supreme law of the land, it trashed the Laws of Nature and Nature’s God....

It is no secret that American courts have wandered far outside the business of adjudicating. Every summer, the nation holds its breath in anticipation of the latest batch of scotus opinions. Last June, the questions were: Will homosexual marriage become a right across the land? Is there an unconstitutional penalty within Obamacare, or is it a constitutional tax? Must localities mix Section 8 tenants among their communities to achieve racial balance? Can congress force individuals to purchase a privately provided product such as health insurance? No scotus majority opinion ever declared that it revised or made law. For example, in...

The Framing generation was realistic about human nature. American constitutional law wasn’t to command the common good, but rather to promote it, which is to lead men gradually toward private and public virtue and subsequent happiness. To this end, the Framers crafted a constitution whose structure and enumerated powers encouraged subsequent congressional statutes that serve the general welfare, the common good. Consider: • The structural division of power, horizontally among the three branches, vertically between the states and the new government, prevented any faction from getting all that it desired. The virtue of moderation was built into the Constitution. •...

We institute government, the Declaration says, to secure our unalienable rights; among them is the pursuit of happiness. Elaborating upon this straightforward idea, the Preamble to the Constitution informs us that our government is to “establish Justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare and secure the Blessings of Liberty” So government has a role, a duty to ‘promote the general welfare.’ While there is certainly an element of ambiguity to the term, it cannot be far from the duty of our lawmakers to seek the betterment, the continual improvement of the civil society upon...

In a bit of unusual news, the Utah Senate voted 20-6 to ask Congress to repeal the 17th Amendment of the Constitution. The 17th Amendment allows for the direct election of senators. The bill's sponsor, Sen. Al Jackson (R-Highland) argued that the 17th Amendment was not what the founders of the country had intended and changed the meaning of the role of the senators.

It is natural to compare things in our daily lives, and discriminate between alternatives. When it comes to important matters, decisions are best made on the basis of cool reason. For instance, having decided to separate from Great Britain, our Founders asked mankind to judge the rectitude of their decision. After setting forth a theory of free government and itemizing British violations of it, they submitted their work to a "candid world," out of "respect to the Opinions of Mankind." In order to respect the opinions of others at all, we must assume from the start that their beliefs are...

The Convention of States rhetoric is overly simplistic since they know that most supporters of a constitutional convention rely on the words of admired conservative leaders topped off with little time for doing their own independent research. This is unfortunate since they are being deceived. Here is some information to show the deception.

Dear Mrs. Schlafly, I grew up hearing about your amazing work on behalf of conservatism. As a woman, a conservative activist, and a constitutional attorney, I have always admired you as a model of each. So I am disturbed to find myself on the opposite side of you on the issue of the Convention of States Project-the effort to trigger a state-led, Article Five convention to propose constitutional amendments to restrict and reduce federal power. At the risk of seeming impertinent, I am compelled to address some of the points you raised in your recent letter urging state legislators to...

MASON CITY, Iowa–Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz wants to add a number of amendments to the U.S. Constitution. He told reporters Friday at the Praise Community Church he would like to see amendments added pertaining to a balanced budget, term limits, and restoring power to state legislatures.“We need quite quite a few constitutional amendments,”Cruz said. "I will fight hard for a balanced budget amendment including also a term limits amendment. I think a term limits amendment is absolutely critical. If you look at the abuses of power we're seeing in Washington-term limits for members of Congress and the Supreme court."He...

Abbott explained, "We combed through the Federalist Papers and the Anti-Federalist Papers, through court decisions from Chief Justice John Jay through Chief Justice John Roberts. Through every scrap of relevant materials all the way up to the executive office. We distilled the information into nine amendments to the Constitution that will restore the Rule of Law in America. We call it: The Texas Plan." Republican presidential candidate Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) recently said he would support a constitutional convention to get term limits for members of Congress and federal judges and a balanced budget amendment, but the 100 page plan...

AUSTIN – Governor Greg Abbott today delivered the keynote address at the Texas Public Policy Foundation’s Annual Policy Orientation where he unveiled his Texas Plan to restore the Rule of Law and return the Constitution to its intended purpose. In his plan, Governor Abbott offers nine constitutional amendments to rein in the federal government and restore the balance of power between the States and the United States. The Governor proposes achieving the constitutional amendments through a Convention Of States.[snip] Governor Abbott offered the following constitutional amendments: 1. Prohibit Congress from regulating activity that occurs wholly within one State. 2. Require...