Vail Daily letter: McConnell for state House
Ballots have been mailed making it appropriate to examine the relevancy of the Constitution. The Declaration of Independence, Constitution and the founders’ vision for the great experiment in liberty are rarely part of the public school curriculum today. Upon the occasion these are included, the subject is usually treated as a children’s story or fable. This is not by accident. The government controlling the school system has been subverting the Constitution from inception. For more than 100 years, the progressives’ incrementalism has delegitimized the Constitution in the minds of many. Socialists captured academia generations ago.
“Give me four years to teach the children and the seed I have sown will never be uprooted.” — Lenin.
Socialists, hiding behind the term “progressives,” hate the constitutional constraints placed on government. It restricts their goal to social engineer society around their ideas. They dredge up slavery and the “white propertied men” argument to discredit the founders and therefore the Constitution. The founders inherited the institution of slavery, which had been forced on the colonies 200 years before they were born. Many of the founders petitioned the king to repeal the laws of slavery, without success. The majority of the founders opposed slavery. The topic was hotly debated during the Constitutional Convention. The fact is that there would never have been a Union if slavery were to be immediately abolished. The system that the founders put into place was the turning point in the national attitude, which eventually led to the end of slavery. “We the people” is all-inclusive. Women benefited immediately from the recognition of constitutional rights.
Progressives trot out the argument that the founders could not imagine how modern society would change, therefore the Constitution must evolve as well. The principles of freedom are an inherent part of humanity that existed prior the Constitution. They will exist long after it is gone. Unalienable rights come from our nature and do not change with time.
Progressives claim that the Constitution is a “living document” and the Supreme Court is the final arbiter of what is constitutional. This is a myth. A “living document” usurps the 9th and 10th Amendments. Although Marbury v. Madison implies that the Supreme Court gave itself final judicial review on what is constitutional, the Supreme Court lacks the authority to alter the meaning of the Constitution. This requires a constitutional amendment. The court may express an opinion, but it does not have the final say. That authority is vested in the states and ultimately this authority rests with the people.
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The Revolutionary War was much larger than a rebellion against King George III. It was a rebellion against all forms of government that had ruled by the claim of divine right or plain brute force. The words “we the people” were an affront to the world’s rulers that had always viewed the common man as a resource to be farmed, herded and harvested. The founders acknowledged the laws of nature by memorializing the fact that people are endowed with unalienable rights. The Constitution codifies these rights creating a framework for a limited federal government that preserves liberty. Any laws or regulations that do not fall within the enumerated powers granted in the Constitution are illegitimate.
What can we in Northwest Colorado do to help reverse the anti-American growth of government? Citizens can use the actual meaning of the Constitution to hold the leviathan in check, which must be done at every government assault on liberty. We can replace elected officials that have demonstrated contempt for the Constitution they swore an oath to uphold. They are working to destroy the idea of America. Our own House District 26 incumbent, against overwhelming opposition, voted for the unconstitutional House Bill 1224, House Bill 1226 and House Bill 1229 gun control laws. She followed up by voting for Senate Bill 13-013 granting broad police authority to federal agents within the state of Colorado. This new law gives federal agents the same policing powers as our county sheriffs. This is an attack on state’s rights further centralizing power in Washington. As if the people weren’t already taxed enough, she strongly supported Amendment 66, which if it had passed would have been the largest tax increase in the history of Colorado. The incumbent was born into and is a victim of the system herself. She may be a nice person, but her actions prove that her oath is meaningless. She can’t be trusted. Fortunately we have a small constitutional government candidate running to replace her: Chuck McConnell. Unlike the current incumbent, he will honor his oath of office.
In conclusion: Does the Constitution still matter? It is a matter of freedom.
Joe Meglen
Steamboat Springs