Critical Time...Critical Election...The RIGHT Candidate!

Friends, in just 8 short weeks we are going to be voting in a Primary election for the next Congressman to represent the 1st Congressional District of South Carolina. This is a district that runs pretty much from halfway to Georgetown all the way down to the Hilton Head area.  Many if not most of you in my fb circle live in this district.  This is a VERY important election; we have a pretty solid Congressional delegation from our state in Washington DC with one exception.  We need to make sure we get this open seat right.

Please don’t get weary of what you see me posting, if you see the direction of our country right now, you simply must discipline yourself to be involved...and stay involved. Stay involved by watching for updates, passing them on, and determining what God would have you do to help in any way possible...big or small. I know some no matter what I say...are going to get tired of this...but I know most of you...you care deeply about our nation and our national trajectory.  So, I’m asking you to brace, and steel yourself for the next 8 weeks until March 19th, and actually beyond...because there will likely be a runoff on April 2nd, and then we will be voting in the General election on May 7th.

You’re going to hear me and see me posting quite a bit on here for the next 8 weeks. Working closely with Curtis and offering counsel and advice I get to see what this guy is made of...and I’m telling you we have a unique opportunity to put a real patriot into the United States Congress.  I would put more stock into ones command of the Rule of Law (read that ...Constitution) than I would anything else for this position. I've been working hard for years to get folks to understand first principles and limited government. Curtis Bostic is a candidate that not only has that important requirement, Curtis is a godly guy that cares deeply about fighting for what’s right. One of the things that was driving me to run was the sick feeling that I get when I see politicians get elected...then summarily disregard their oaths that they take to uphold the Constitution.  Curtis will not do that. If I had any doubts about that for a minute...I would not be pouring all my energy into this campaign.

This last part is key folks, please read carefully...as this is what SETS OUR TEAM APART from the other candidates. The Bostic Congressional Team believes that when this new congressman walks into the United States House of Representatives...the absolute most important thing they need to bring...is a command ability to handle our government manual. The founders understanding of limited government, and the Rule of Law. I have lived and breathed that in the trenches for almost 15 years and I know it when I see it! No other candidate in this race brings that outside of our team. None.

Democracy or Constitutional Republic

Friends, you have heard me say this many times. The United States Constituiton is the Rule of Law. What is meant by that phrase is that our Federal Constitution is the bedrock foundation for all other laws in our nation. Article VI, tells us that the Constituiton is the highest law in the land. It trumps all Federal and State laws that are made that are NOT pursuant to it. It trumps all State Cons...titutions. In other words, nothing in those federal laws or states laws or state Constitutions can be contradictory to the Federal Constituiton. This is also why the framers crafted the scope of the Federal Constitution in such a limited manner. But what I want you to see here is that the United States Constitution is the Rule of ALL law in our nation.

With that in mind, I ask you to ponder this today. Most Americans have been conditioned to use the term "Democracy" to describe our government. That is not an accurate term and it never has been a correct term to describe our form of government. The truth is that the United States of America is a Constitutional Republic. This is similar to a democracy because our representatives are selected by democratic elections, but ultimately our representatives are required to work within the framework of our constitution. In other words, even if 99% of Americans want something that goes against our founding principles, and directly violates the United States Constitution, the citizenry does NOT have a right to call for a violation of constitutional powers or rights.

"The Supreme Court has agreed to Hear Two Cases on Marriage. What Does This Mean for You and Your Church?"

Supreme Court to hear marriage cases

Once issues that don’t belong in the hands of the Federal Government, get into the hands of the Federal Government, we (the plebes in the states) are going to lose eventually. Issues that the Constitution is silent on, belong to the states (10th Amendment). So, now we are faced with 9 unelected Judges who will determine whether or not a state (read that your church and my church) can decide what a family should consist of.

So time for another Constitutional lesson and why it’s CRUCIAL for our elected officials in Congress to know the relevant provisions in the Constitution for "checking" or STOPPING another branch from exceeding its Constitutional authority. Then after they know those provisions, the next thing we need in an elected official is BACKBONE to execute those provisions.

Article III, of the United States Constitution is the Article that pertains to the Supreme Court and the federal judiciary. Section 2 of that same article gives the Congress the authority and power to make exceptions to the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court, and for that matter the lower Federal courts. Now to really understand this, keep in mind that the 10th Amendment already states that powers not given (enumerated) to the Federal government in the Constitution are already retained by the states. But the framers were a wise group of men, they added another backup provision here in Article III, Section 2 just in case the courts took it upon themselves to delve into matters that were not in their jurisdiction or power. The framers gave the Congress the power to say..."Hey, let us remind you Court, that this is NOT in your power to decide".

But I take you back to my mantra that I repeat over and over again. Either our Federal elected officials are completely and utterly ignorant of this, OR they blatantly disregard their oath and duty. Again, either one of those options are very bad. Let’s MAKE SURE those we send to the United States Congress can pass BOTH of these tests!

Qualifications for Federal Elected Office

Friends, anyone that runs for federal elected office should have to demonstrate that they have a COMMAND understanding of the United States Constitution. That is their job manual if they get elected. Don't let them simply tell you that they are a Constitutional Conservative, make them PROVE IT to you! Ask them questions about the Constitution and specifically if they know what their limits are, and ask them to explain to you if they know how to use this manual. Its a popular thing for pseudo conservatives today to also try to use their "faith" to shore up the "Christian" voter population. Don't fall for spiritual talk, if they don't know the Constitution, they simply cannot perform their function of handling the controls of a nation ordained by God. The Church has fallen for way too much of this in recent years. Simply because someone talks like a Christian, or actually is a Christian, does not equip them to be be elected to Federal office no more than it would equip them to pilot an aircraft.

All this talk about the "fiscal cliff". Its pathetic that we have so few people that call themselves Conservatives understand how to take on the left. The left has coined this term in order to freak out the public to soften us up for the President and his ilk to raise taxes. Folks, if you look at the balance sheet for our nation right now...we have already gone off a cliff. There is pain coming...that's a simple fact because of what we have done. Raising more revenue for a behemoth government that has an insatiable appetite for spending will do nothing.

We simply MUST stop selecting and voting for people that give us lip service that they are Conservative and hold to the Rule of Law, then as soon as they are elected they begin coalescing with those that are already entrenched in power and the lust for more. Dont fall for the trap that "they all do that", there are honorable men that can hold to their word as long as they understand that they need accountability and to be held accountable. Elect NO one, vote for NO one that does not prove this to you. Make anyone that wants your vote for federal elected office demonstrate that they have a command understanding of the United States Constitution. That is their job manual if they get elected. Dont let them simply tell you that they are a Constitutional Conservative, make them PROVE IT!

How Important Is It For a Federal Congressional Office Holder To Have Command of The Operating Manual?

While speaking on the RadioFree Rocky D show a couple weeks ago, the radio show host Rocky D who is a staunch conservative himself...kind of asserted to me that its not important for a Congressional candidate to really have a great understanding of the Constitution because as he said, they can "look it up". I'm glad he went ahead and voiced that...sort of makes my point...or at least gives me the chance to drive it home.

Friends, I disagree completely. I agree that folks dont have to have it memorized....but my point is that the people we elect ought to have what I call a "command understanding" of the document...it is enough for you or me or joe citizen to be able to pick up a copy of it and look something up. But for people we are going to elect to this high office and pay them a very large salary by the way...., I think the standard ought to be higher, much higher as a matter of fact. The individuals that we elect, we are entrusting a tremendous amount of responsibility to be faithful to the intent of the Framers of our Government. These individuals need to be able to have a complete understanding of the Constitution and the intent of the Framers...or how to discern the intent of the Framers. That is a "command understanding" of the document. If they are scrambling to look something up like a third grader everytime the libs are raping the document...they are going to be severely behind the power curve. Why would we elect people like that? Our standard for these offices ought to be much higher, as a matter of fact the absolutel baseline ought to be a firm grip on this "government manual".

This kind of thinking that we just say ..."oh yea...I know about the Constitution, thats that little booklet some citizen gave me a copy of while I was running for office" and then they summarily dismiss it like its some old piece of history. That has to STOP! If we are serious about getting our government back inside its "fence"...we can no longer give this lip service.

Laws vs Regulations

Permit me to provide just a little heads up and training this morning. The President, is now going to try to ram gun control legislation through the Congress. I doubt he can get it through the House, but the majority of the GOP over there continues to not be who they say they are...so you never know. If he cannot get gun control legislation through the Congress, I expect him to attempt to use Executive Orders to enact regulatory schemes through Executive Branch agencies like the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (BATF).

So, here is a relevant piece of information about our Constitution that many of our elected officials either do not know, or choose to ignore. Like I have said before, it has to be one of those two things; ignorance, or gross dereliction of their oath. All of these agencies that now fall under the Executive Branch are not mentioned in the Constitution. All of these agencies are authorized by statutory law enacted by the United States Congress, the Legislative Branch of our government. The framers of this brilliant document we call the Constitution vested ALL legislative power in the Congress. This is found in the very first sentence in the Constitution, Article I, Section 1. All of my former students young and old, know this as “the first principle of American Government”. Article I, Section 1 is made up of one sentence: “All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives.” Therefore, per the Federal Constitution, and the brilliance of the framers, we have only one branch of government that can constitutionally make law. I point out “constitutionally” because many times people tell me: “well that’s not the way it is now”, to which I answer, “precisely my point, thanks for making it”. The reason that’s “not the way it is now” is due to our collective ignorance, silence, and inaction.

But on to my point, whenever one of these Executive Branch agencies makes a regulation, it is made behind closed doors by bureaucrats that are unelected, and therefore unanswerable to the people. The reason Article I, Section 1 says what it says is because the framers intended for laws to only come from people that had to answer to you and me at the ballot box. They intended for federal laws to be enacted by a deliberative body that would openly debate the merits of each law considered. Ok, so back to these things called “regulations”. Regulations enacted by Executive Branch agencies like BATF will carry the force of law with monetary or incarceration type penalties for violating them in exactly the same way a law passed by the Legislative branch would. Therefore, even though they are referred to as “regulations”, they are in effect laws. Good case in point, the Healthcare law that was passed (I call it ZeroCare) contained almost 3000 pages of statutory law enacted by people we voted for. To implement that behemoth law (the largest single law in our nation’s history), unelected bureaucrats have written almost 10,000 pages of regulatory dogma to date. Those regulations will be the undoing of most of our current healthcare system and many of our businesses.

What I am describing to you is just one way that our government has grown way beyond the Constitutional fence that the framers designed to keep the branches of our government separated and “in check”.

So why do I take the time to write all this out for you. Glad you asked. If the Presidnet and his cohort the Vice President are not able to get their wishes by enacting more firearms laws through the congress, they will probably turn to some other Executive type regulatory scheme with the BATF. When this happens, our lawmakers (Senate and House) are going to tell us that they did their job and refused to pass the legislation, and therefore we ought to thank them and pat them on the back and that its all the President's fault. I want to encourage you to be prepared to hold their feet to the fire and ask them why they permit the Executive branch to run roughshod over them by passing regulations that they (the Congress) have not passed into law. Here’s where knowledge of the workings of the Constitution comes in. Article I, Section 7 states that all bills for raising revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives. In other words the House of Representatives has first and final say on anything to do with spending. This is a very powerful “check” that virtually goes unused today. If an agency of the Executive Branch does something that violates the Constitution, like making law where they have no authority to make law, then the Congress can hit back (check) by defunding that agency. It actually is that plain and simple. So you might ask, Bob, why don’t they ever do that? We can only surmise why they never utilize this “check”, more than likely its fear of being accused of shutting down an important agency, or keeping federal workers in that agency from getting their paychecks, myriads of things not to which the least of them would be the leftist media excoriating them.

But folks, this is where we are today, for years of dereliction of duty, of Congress looking the other way while these agencies torment the citizenry with more and more regulations. The Congress enacted these agencies and turned them over to the Executive Branch, and now refuses to keep them in check.

Be informed and hold our elected officials accountable for their oath to the Rule of Law, the United States Constitution.

Most Important Qualification for SCOTUS Nominee

In an effort to provide a little training in what does and doesnt make a good nominee for a Supreme Court position...or any federal judge for that matter, I want to offer up the following information. This is CRUCIAL at the SCOTUS level.

When Justice Sotomayor was nominated by the President a few years ago...she stated that as a Latina woman she would make a better justice than a man because she could provide "empathy". That was a very telling moment friends because that is precisely what should have DISQUALIFIED her for that seat on the SCOTUS in the eyes and ears of an astute United States Senator that understands how the U.S. Constitution works. Something Senator Graham from SC either does not have, or chooses to ignore. You might ask: "Bob, why on earth should her having "empathy" disqualify her?" I'm glad you asked that question. You see "empathy is a good thing, a very good thing....for a local family court judge to have, maybe a local magistrate, etc. But my friends, "empathy" has absolutely NOTHING to do with the job of a SCOTUS Justice. As a matter of fact to do that job....it takes a VERY special individual.

It takes someone that can divorce their own feelings from all decision making and simply hold the issue in question/before the court up to the text of the federal Constitution and determine Constitutionality in light of the framers intent in 1787. Period! Thats it. Nothing more, nothing less. Their "empathy" will lead them to disregard the intent of the framers in most instances because of the limited nature of the federal government that was clearly intended in this document that bestows so very few powers upon the federal government. I have been teaching this long enough to know what you may be thinking at this point...yep...your thinking..."thats a dream world Bob, no one can do that". Let me introduce you to one of the very best justices...who can do it. No, Im not saying Justice Scalia is perfect, he is not. He is human...but let me show you how this is supposed to work. Watch it several times if you have to in order to understand what is being said. Its worth your time to get this down...and get it down good.

Justice Scalia on the "Confrontation Clause"