It's About We the People, not They The Government

I am not happy about what I am seeing in Washington. Frankly, I believe everyone feels this way. It’s about time that more people felt angry with Washington DC backroom deals, big business bailouts, and big labor cronyism.

Then again, I am not happy about being unhappy. Too many people in this country were NOT angry. They were not even paying attention to what was going on, or they turned a blind eye to the big promises and the growing debt which followed. This profligacy is wrong.

Everyone: check out the first three words of the United States Constitution: “We the People.”

That’s you and me, everyone! How often have we forgotten that? How many of us have just cast our ballot then let the government, whether at the local, state, or federal level go back into cruise control?

The last three words of the US Constitution give us another hint about our role: “to the people.”

Where did I find those words? In the oft-neglected and disrespected Tenth Amendment:

“The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.”

Which powers are delegated to the United States, i.e. the federal government? Check out Article One, Section Eight. Sadly, many students – in college – don’t even know which specific and limited powers belong to the feds in the first place. That ignorance cannot go unpunished, and young people will find that a state which overextends its power, and overspends its revenues, costs them dearly, both in money and liberty.

So, Tea Party activists, and frustrated Americans in general, have raged against Washington, sending two waves of conservative partisans to end the bickering and big spending.  The situation has gotten better in some ways, and yet the give-and-take of the backroom wheeling and dealing still spins away. Another Boehner “young gun” has taken his place at the helm, with gavel in hand: Paul Ryan. At least he didn’t hug and kiss Nancy Pelosi. The former Vice Presidential candidate was not my first or second choice for Speaker of the House. Guess what? He was neither the first nor the second choice of the Establishment, but their chosen replacements were forced out. Let’s keep in mind the victories as we march toward taking back our government. Furthermore, the House Reps are up for reelection every two years. The system was designed this way, to keep pressure on the lower chamber at all costs.

Conservatives not just in Washington but throughout the country are flexing their muscles, demanding accountability. There is no longer two parties, where the leadership of both remains content to spend money we don’t have to impress people who don’t care for things that we either do not need or cannot afford.

Paul Ryan is not the fighter that We the People need. The good news, however, is that more people have called into Washington, and forced heavy pressure on every lawmaker. Congressman David Brat, who beat down the Establishment pick Eric Cantor in Eastern Virginia, has taken the strong charge demanding better leadership and respect for the conservative members. The House of Representatives is starting to act “representative” again.

As for the upper chamber, the US Senate, more young conservatives are not just taking up the mantle to serve their country, but taking on the Old Guard of Compromise and Cave. Mitch McConnell is about as unpopular as it gets in Washington, DC. US Senator and now Presidential candidate Ted Cruz has routinely and repeatedly slammed his lack of leadership, or has now bad-mouthed him as a great “Democratic” majority leader.

More importantly, however, more voters on the ground are paying attention, calling in, denying money to political parties and interest groups if they do not honor and promote the public interest, i.e. the general welfare.

In the US Senate, We the People need more Liberty-minded conservatives who fight rather than take flight. At least we have Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, Tom Cotton, Mike Lee, and more US Senators joining the fight against the “Washington Cartel.” If the state legislatures cannot control the US Senators, then the voters must form necessary coalitions to keep them on guard. As of now, US Senator John McCain is facing heavy pressure and pain from local activists throughout Arizona. The Republican Party has censured him a number of times, and primary challenges abound to remove him from office. He promised to “build the dang fence”. He didn’t, and conservatives now will be danged if they do not remove him from office.

The fight is not over, and we are winning battles here and there. The problem was that more of us needed to start fighting in the first place. The state of the United States falls back to us. It has always been about “We the People” not “They the government,” and we the people needed to wake up and remember who helped form (and maintains) this “more perfect union”.