Free Republic

Unfortunately, the solution must go deeper than simply replacing this arrogant ideologue. The present and future abuses of the Obama presidency are only manifestations of a national government which began expanding far beyond its original constitutional bounds long before Barack H. Obama came to the White House. At the foundation of the federal leviathan is Supreme Court decisions since 1937 which have stripped away the Constitution’s limits on federal power. We can only hope to be permanently free of this or future administrations of its ilk when we restore the original limits on the national government. Given how entrenched that Supreme Court jurisprudence is, and the leftist judges Obama has already appointed, this can only be done by constitutional amendments restating those original constitutional understandings. See http://www.timelyrenewed.com.

We can not count on Presidents and Congress in DC to restore fiscal and regulatory sanity. Politicians can always change, either by election or by being corrupted by the system. The only way to assure that the entire nation does not follow California’s path is to restore to the Constitution’s original limits on the functions and power of the federal government.

Given the deep corruption of DC, the only way to accomplish this is by amending the Constitution to restate and re-affirm those original limits. Of course, Congress will not initiate such amendments. Therefore the first step must be to reform the amendment process to enable the states to initiate and enact amendments without having to go through either Congress or the unworkable and outmoded mechanism of a convention. See http://www.timelyrenewed.com

Our dilemma is that we are looking for a human being to restore constitutional government, and no mere mortal politician is ever going to be consistently on-track. While I agree that it is important to get a good candidate to defeat Obama, we must go deeper than just getting rid of this incompetent ideologue. Politicians will be politicians, and electing a Republican in 2012 will not guarantee the return of the leftists in the future.

Therefore, we must also restore the original constitutional limits on the federal government to the Constitution itself. Given the deep entrenchment of the Supreme Court decisions allowing the federal government’s unconstitutional expansion since the New Deal, and the political class’s support of that expansion, the only tool we have is constitutional amendments restating those original limits.

Of course, such amendments would never be enacted by Congress. Therefore, we need to eliminate the cumbersome and unnecessary convention requirement which currently prevents thee states from initiating constitutional amendments so that we can restore the limits on the federal government without having to go through Washington. See http://www.timelyrenewed.com

Judge Silberman’s decision shows how all arguments against Obamacare labor under the overweening burden of 70 year old Supreme Court interpretations of the interstate commerce clause like Wickard which expanded the reach of federal power far beyond any original understanding of the scope of that clause. Until this fundamental distortion of the Constitution is addressed, leftists will always find other ways to expand federal power over healthcare and every other aspect of our national life even if one aspect of Obamacare (the individual mandate) is ultimately overturned in the Supreme Court.

How do we restore those original meanings today after the original text has been so distorted and abused by the Supreme Court? Even supposedly “conservative” Congresses and Supreme Courts have failed to do much to roll back the vast unconstitutional expansion of the national government. We can not rely on politicians or judges to do it voluntarily. Rather, we need to amend the Constitution to restate those original meanings. By overturning all those decades of abuse by the Supreme Court, and putting clearly stated limits on Congress and the President which reflect the original constitutional allocation of powers in language which can not be misconstrued, will assure not only the end of Obamacare, but every other federal overreach. See http://www.timelyrenewed.com.

We all hope that Judge Vinson’s decision will prevail when Obamacare finally reaches the Supreme Court. However, even if it is expedited that could be two years from now and even then it is not certain that Judge Vinson’s excellent decision will prevail. There remain substantial political powers who regard this vast extension of federal power as constitutional based upon the Supreme Court’s vast expansion of the interstate commerce clause since 1937. The only sure way to stop not only Obamacare, but the innumerable other ways in which the federal government has increased its power beyond the original scope of the Constitution, is to reverse those Supreme Court cases and restore the interstate commerce clause to its original meaning. Given how entrenched these Supreme Court precedents are, this will require a constitutional amendment restating the original, very limited scope of the interstate commerce clause. See http://www.timelyrenewed.com

California has become so dysfunctional that the time has come to consider dividing it up. There are three obvious divisions which would enable the non-leftist parts of the state to become independent of the hyper-leftist-dominated coastal cities from SF to LA. First, San Diego, Orange, Riverside, Imperial and San Bernardino counties (plus maybe some of the southern Central Valley) could be a very viable and geographically sensible separate state. Second, the counties on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada always should have been part of the state of Nevada from the beginning. Third, the counties north of the San Francisco metropolitan area would be a geographically cohesive and viable state, especially if they joined with some southwestern Oregon counties looking to be liberated from the domination of hyper-leftist Portland.

Judge Vinson’s decision is good news, and we all hope that it will prevail when Obamacare finally reaches the Supreme Court two years from now. However, that is not certain, and there remain substantial political powers who regard this vast extension of federal power as constitutional based upon the Supreme Court’s vast expansion of the interstate commerce clause since 1937. The only sure way to stop not only Obamacare, but the innumerable other ways in which the federal government has increased its power beyond the original scope of the Constitution, is to reverse those Supreme Court cases and restore the interstate commerce clause to its original meaning. Given how entrenched these Supreme Court precedents are, this will require a constitutional amendment restating the original, very limited scope of the interstate commerce clause. See http://www.timelyrenewed.com

The SocSec shorfall will be paid by liquidating the T-bills the surplus went into. At least it’s one way to reduce the national debt. But at the end of the day, it still comes out of current revenues.

To really solve our problems we must go deeper. We need to restore the original constitutional limits on the federal government. The only way I can see to do that is constiutional amendment restoring the Constitution’s original meaning and structure.

However, the federal Congress is not going to approve by two-thirds vote constitutional amendments limiting federal power. Therefore, we must first amend the amendment process itself to eliminate the unnecessary convention now required by Article V and permit States to directly initiate amendment proposals. This will break the current de facto federal congressional and judicial monopoly on interpreting the Constitution, and permit grassroots patriots on the state level to restore the Constitution by amendment. See http://www.timelyrenewed.com

This must go deeper than just birthright citizenship. All of section 1 of the 14th amendment has been abused to impose leftist judges’ social views on the nation. A more comprehensive solution would be a constitutional amendment restoring the original meaning of section 1 of the 14th amendment as a provision meant only to prevent government-based race discrimination.

Moreover, any constitutional amendments to restore the Constitution face the hurdle of getting two-thirds vote in Congress. We must first amend the amendment process itself to eliminate the unnecessary convention now required by Article V and permit States to directly initiate amendment proposals. This will break the current de facto federal congressional and judicial monopoly on interpreting the Constitution, and permit grassroots patriots on the state level to restore the Constitution by amendment. See http://www.timelyrenewed.com

These are fine things to do, but ultimately it is more important that the Congress actually follow the Constitution. Beyond this, we need to redress the underlying judicial distortions of the Constitution which have allowed the federal government to expand far beyond its original constitutional powers. The only sure way to achieve this is to amend the Constitution to restore the original constitutional structure which limited the federal government’s ability to expand to such a ridiculous size and power.

However, this will not work as long as Congress holds a monopoly on initiating constitutional amendments. Some have proposed calling an Article V convention, but that would be uncontrolled and dominated by politicians and law professors. The solution is an “amendment amendment” which gives the States the ability to initiate constitutional amendments without a convention. In this way, grassroots constitutionalists could enact amendments carefully drafted to achieve the restoration of the original constitutional structure in parallel with legislative efforts which we hope will finally begin to comply with the Constitution. See http://www.timelyrenewed.com for more specifics on this proposal.

Judge Hudson’s decision is good news, and we all hope that it will prevail when Obamacare finally reaches the Supreme Court two years from now. However, that is not certain, and there remain substantial political powers who regard this vast extension of federal power as acceptable based upon the Supreme Court’s vast expansion of the interstate commerce clause since 1937. The only sure way to stop not only Obamacare, but the innumerable other ways in which the federal government has increased its power beyond the original scope of the Constitution, is to reverse those Supreme Court cases and restore the interstate commerce clause to its original meaning. Given how entrenched these Supreme Court precedents are, this will require a constitutional amendment restating the original, very limited scope of the interstate commerce clause. See http://www.timelyrenewed.com

The fundamental underlying problem is that federal judges hearing the challenges to Obamacare are bound by 70 year old Supreme Court precedents which vastly expanded the original scope of the Constitution’s interstate commerce clause. We will not be able to stop and roll back the ever-increasing expansion of the federal leviathan until we have restored the original meaning of the interstate commerce clause. To accomplish this we must amend the Constitution to reverse such Supreme Court misinterpretations of the Constitution’s original meaning and structure. See http://www.timelyrenewed.com.

Legislative efforts are by their nature fleeting and subject to corruption. We need to seize this moment to go deeper, and restore respect for the Constitution. Unfortunately it has been so misconstrued and abused by over 70 years of progressive control of the Supreme Court and other branches of the federal government that simple legislative action is not enough. We need to promote amendments to the Constitution to restore its original meaning and structure. This can lock in this moment of constitutionalist resurgence regardless of the future vagaries of political parties.

The first step is to put through an amendment to the amendment process itself which will eliminate the unnecessary convention now required by Article V and permit States to directly initiate amendment proposals. This will break the current de facto federal congressional and judicial monopoly on interpreting the Constitution, and empower grassroots patriots on the state level to restore the Constitution by amendment. This will then permanently constrain future federal mischief even if this Congress unhappily goes the way of the Republicans of the 1990s. See http://www.timelyrenewed.com

We need to go deeper than fleeting legislative efforts. The fundamental political challenge is to restore respect for the Constitution. Unfortunately it has been so misconstrued and abused by over 70 years of progressive control of the Supreme Court and other branches of the federal government that simple legislative action is not enough. We need to promote amendments to the Constitution to restore its original meaning and structure. This can lock in this moment of constitutionalist resurgence regardless of the future vagaries of political parties.

The first step is to put through an amendment to the amendment process itself which will eliminate the unnecessary convention now required by Article V and permit States to directly initiate amendment proposals. We can then break the current de facto federal congressional and judicial monopoly on interpreting the Constitution, and empower grassroots patriots on the state level to restore the Constitution by amendment. With the government constrained on a constitutional level, the legislative mischief which worries you can be contained. See http://www.timelyrenewed.com

Obamacare is only one example of the expansion of the federal government beyond its constitutional bounds. While amending the state constitutions in this one instance is worthy, the fundamental political need is to restore the original allocation of power between the state and federal governments in the US Constitution. We can accomplish this by promoting amendments to the US Constitution to restore its original meaning and structure.

The first step is to put through an amendment to the amendment process itself which will eliminate the unnecessary convention now required by Article V and permit States to directly initiate amendment proposals. This will end the current de facto federal congressional and judicial monopoly on interpreting the Constitution, and empower grassroots patriots on the state level to restore the Constitution by amendment. See http://www.timelyrenewed.com

The fundamental political challenge is to restore respect for the Constitution. Unfortunately it has been so misconstrued and abused by over 70 years of progressive control of the Supreme Court and other branches of the federal government that simple legislative action is not enough. We need to promote amendments to the Constitution to restore its original meaning and structure. This can lock in this moment of constitutionalist resurgence regardless of the future vagaries of a political party which I fear is never going to free of RINOs like Frum.

The first step is to put through an amendment to the amendment process itself which will eliminate the unnecessary convention now required by Article V and permit States to directly initiate amendment proposals. Because this will not affect their pork, and symbolically just moves more “power to the people,” even RINOs and Dems should support this. However, we can then break the current de facto federal congressional and judicial monopoly on interpreting the Constitution, and empower grassroots patriots on the state level to restore the Constitution by amendment. See http://www.timelyrenewed.com

Although unfortunately presented inarticulately, Ms. O’Donnell is correct that “separation of church and state” does not appear in the Constitution, nor is it a correct interpretation of the Establishment clause. The sole meaning of the Establishment clause was to prohibit the federal government from preferring one faith as a national religion. The 20th century Supreme Court rulings expanding that clause to incorporate the bigoted 19th century anti-Catholic concept of “separation of church and state” are an unconstitutional exercise of judicial overreach, as well as creating a jurisprudence which even pro-separationists acknowledge is incoherent. We need to amend the first amendment to restore the original meaning of its establishment clause, which is non-preference among denominations, not secular hostility to faith in general. See http://www.timelyrenewed.com.

Although unfortunately presented inarticulately, Ms. O’Donnell is correct that “separation of church and state” does not appear in the Constitution, nor is it a correct interpretation of the Establishment clause. The sole meaning of the Establishment clause was to prohibit the federal government from preferring one faith as a national religion. The 20th century Supreme Court rulings expanding that clause to incorporate the bigoted 19th century anti-Catholic concept of “separation of church and state” are an unconstitutional exercise of judicial overreach, as well as creating a jurisprudence which even pro-separationists acknowledge is incoherent. We need to amend the first amendment to restore the original meaning of its establishment clause, which is non-preference among denominations, not secular hostility to faith in general. See http://www.timelyrenewed.com.

Although unfortunately presented inarticulately, Ms. O’Donnell is correct that “separation of church and state” does not appear in the Constitution, nor is it a correct interpretation of the Establishment clause. The sole meaning of the Establishment clause was to prohibit the federal government from preferring one faith as a national religion. The 20th century Supreme Court rulings expanding that clause to incorporate the bigoted 19th century anti-Catholic concept of “separation of church and state” are an unconstitutional exercise of judicial overreach, as well as creating a jurisprudence which even pro-separationists acknowledge is incoherent. We need to amend the first amendment to restore the original meaning of its establishment clause, which is non-preference among denominations, not secular hostility to faith in general. See http://www.timelyrenewed.com.