Many people realize that our branches of government have a rock, paper, scissors relationship of checks and balances. The legislature passes laws, the executive branch can sign or veto, and the judiciary rules on them. The legislative branch overrides vetoes and can impeach members of the judiciary, and the executive branch appoints justices with the advice and consent of the Senate. It is a multifaceted system designed so that the branches would be coequal however a vital piece of the puzzle is often overlooked. There is a trump card left out of the equation, the consent of the governed. It is the ultimate check to balance the system. We elect the people sitting in those positions of power and they are supposed to be representing us to the best of their ability. Because our Constitution is written as a set of rules for the government to follow and the people are to hold it accountable. But over time our founding document and supreme law of the land has been used as a measure of control against us. How else can you justify the rights guaranteed to us by the First Amendment and the difference found in the Sixteenth Amendment? We were given the right to free speech, to peaceably assemble, to our religion, and to a free press. By the time we reached the Sixteenth Amendment the language was reversed. No longer were we told the rights of the people, the Sixteenth Amendment discusses the rights of government. It is the government that is given the right to tax “income from whatever source derived” and the people must obey. Slowly we have been watching this shift, not only in tone, but in the focus of our representative leaders. Where it was once keenly focused on protecting the rights of the states and their people it is now obsessed with usurping those rights. Is there no wonder why so many have lost faith in the American Dream? We are not what we used to be, definitely not what we were designed to be, and certainly not what we could be. This phenomenon can also be applied to the individual branches. I am sure you are familiar with the accusations of legislating from the bench by certain judges with a more activist attitude. The record of Congressional expansion can be marked by reading a history of the Commerce Clause alone. The past few years have seen the executive branch stretch its legislative muscles in an unprecedented way.
For the founders, this growth was not unforeseen. One of the benefits to a system of three coequal branches was the idea that a government too busy with infighting would have little time to infringe upon the rights of the citizenry. The existence of the Sixteenth Amendment alone should be proof that the American people can no longer escape from that fight. Our Revolution was based upon an idea that taxation should not occur without representation, otherwise it is subjugation. We have since been successful in creating a representative government that changed the course of human history. The idea of a representative government is a popular one and even the most brutal dictators have to pretend to hold elections to create the illusion of one. At the base of this idea is the simple fact that people desire the liberty to choose their own path. In America we have become used to the notion that people of a right and ought to be free. But the acquaintance with such a belief is showing itself to be just that, an acquaintance. Somewhere along the line we have lost our firm grip on this truth and have allowed it to fade into a more dangerous ideology. That people have a right to be successful. The idea that has been fed to us by every teleprompter-wielding electioneer ignores not only reality but human nature at its core. Success cannot be given, it is fought for. The redcoats of the late 18th century did not give the patriots success. The Soviets did not forfeit the Space Race and stop their expansion to give Capitalists success. The terrorists in the caves of the Middle East will not be won over by our compassion and sensitivity to grant us success. Success is achieved, and achievement can only come from effort. We are still called the land of opportunity in certain far reaches of the world. That is what we offer, to every man, woman, and child, opportunity. It can only be ensured when the bulwark of freedom endures, a truly representative government.
Our tenuous grasp on that important key to our past and future seems to be slipping. The powers that be in government seem all too willing to take the wheel for us. The intrinsic nature of the connection between liberty and responsibility has been forgotten. What people desire and what our government desires now are two completely different entities. A major decision will be released this week on the crucial matter of the Affordable Care Act; some know it by the name Obamacare. It is strange that so much time was spent debating a topic that has consistently had more Americans favoring its repeal since its passage. A majority have wanted its repeal, not just disagreed with it. They want it gone. Other measures that were not even supported by the majority of those in government still have the possibility of being passed by other means. The Cap and Trade legislation did not pass through the official legislative channels to become law, that fact has not stopped the EPA from creating the regulations on their own. The President could not find time to pass the immigration reform that he wanted earlier. Instead of working with the other party that was elected in an historic wave in 2010 he unilaterally decided that he would strike out on his own to do it. Even after admitting that he cannot do it on his own he made an election year decision that flies in the face of his own stated beliefs and did it anyway. Although that does not mark the first departure from the defense of law in this executive administration, it already happened with the Defense of Marriage Act, which was signed by a Democrat by the way. There was even a cross over into the constitutionally relegated area of tax law which is specifically designated as the purview of the legislature, which is currently under examination. These are worrying trends that are dangerous to the cause of individual liberty and they show no sign of abating on their own. Former Speaker Pelosi had this advice for the President. That he should unilaterally eliminate the debt ceiling. If our government stops representing its people it is no longer responsive to its needs. Why would we then expect it to listen?
22% of the American people believe that their government is operating with their consent. The other 78% are the very definition of a disenfranchised voter. How are we able to right such wrong? The answer is simple; we retake what is rightfully ours. To no longer suffer at the whims of politicians and bureaucrats we must enter the arena. The fight is on and to choose to be a spectator is to forfeit. We need to assert the will of the American people to regain our proper place in the role of government. The opening salvo should be the strongest move available; it is to rewrite what started us down the long road to government submission. Repeal the tax code. Nearly 100 years ago the passage of an amendment that was far out of line with our founding and against the grain of our ideology created a schism. At the edge of this cavernous abyss ahead of us we need to realize it is time to change course. To all of the dissatisfied, disaffected, disappointed, dismayed, disgusted, and discouraged with the direction in which we are headed there is a remedy. And to those who see no rescue in either party or their candidates there is a cure. Create the parties and leaders you desire by using your vote and more importantly your voice. It is time to stand for yourself and not a practiced politician or an out of touch party apparatchik. The FairTax movement is comprised of people that believe in the value of individual liberty. It focuses on a rearrangement of Washington that places the citizen where he deserves to be, at the top. By taking control of our government back we can, not just forestall, but cease all such rampant government power grabbing. There is no time like the present to begin our works and this past week has seen significant success. We have gained two new cosponsors in the House and are daily making advances to bring our dream to fruition. This movement stands as proof that our land of opportunity is not gone. We still have the chance to redeem our political practices but it will not happen incrementally or with baby steps. There has to be large transformations to create the impact we need. The FairTax is tailor-made for such a purpose. It removes the power from Washington and places into the capable hands of the populace. It frees our industries to produce without tying their hands with a punitive tax code. It reverses the way our political institutions think and act. And looking at where we are headed, sounds to me like progress.
