The "Mettle" required of a United States Congressman

Friends, as I work closely with Curtis Bostic in this campaign for the 1st Congressional District seat, I need to relate things that I see to you. Just so those of you that don’t know him very well can get to know why I am teaming with him.  All of you who know me know how deeply I care about returning our nation to the Rule of Law. It is not only the right thing to do politically; it’s the right thing to do Biblically. You know that I have been teaching this to home high schoolers and adults all over for almost 15 years. You hear me say over and over again how we MUST care about the constitutional competence of the individual we elect to the United States Congress...and how we must vote for someone that has the integrity to do the "Constitutional" thing when it will not be popular.  We will NEVER begin to herd our government back inside the fence of limited government if we do not do that.

As I stand with Curtis every night at our meet and greet/drop in events around the Lowcountry, I get to see things up close and first hand. Permit me to relate to you what I observed last night. It was a stark reminder of what I'm talking about.

I won’t go into the specifics of the question because that is not as important as the substance of the question. Curtis was asked a question that went to the heart of what it is we are talking about with the hard choices of changing minds and adhering to the Rule of Law (United States Constitution). You see our government is a government of limited powers. The founders/framers clearly set it up this way; I would submit to you that it is also clear that God’s providential hand was guiding them. The founders/framers understood the system that they were coming from well, The Divine Right of Kings. This meant that men (Kings) were the law. The founders/framers for the most part operated from a Biblical Worldview, we know this because we know where their education came from. This is not to say that everyone of them were born again believers…surely some were not, but an honest look at history reveals to us that these men operated from a mindset that was formed from biblical doctrine. I would submit that even those that were not believers probably operated from more of a biblical worldview than most Christians do today, but that’s another discussion for another blogJ.

I tell you all of this so that you can understand how our founders/framers thought about government. Coming from a form of civil government that was under the Divine Right of Kings, these men understood the failings of that system because they understood the biblical doctrine of the Depravity of Man. In other words, men cannot be above law. With this mindset the founders/framers crafted a government under the Rule of Law, in other words they set Law above men. The great reformer Samuel Rutherford had written about this about century earlier in his book Lex Rex (Law is King) which was a radical departure from the prevailing thought of the day…Rex Lex (King is Law).

Therefore, the United States Constitution is the Rule of Law for our land. No man is above that Rule of Law. Not the President, not any of the 800 + members of the federal judiciary, and not any of the 535 members of the United States Congress. Every one of those people I just mentioned swears an oath to the Rule of Law (Constitution). They are not permitted to violate it, any of it…at any time. It doesn’t matter if they think that just this one time…they need to do something that is not authorized because they think it’s really, really important. Those of you that remember what the book of Judges in the Bible tells us…will remember that in Judges 21:25 we are told that “everyone did what was right in their own eyes”. If you think about this…you will quickly see the fallacy of men doing whatever they think is right at any given time.  The founders/framers understood this when they set law (the Constitution) above men.

Which brings me back to what I wanted to tell you I observed last night from my friend and our candidate. Curtis was asked about federal funding for something that I suspect most of us would think a worthy and good endeavor. It would have been very easy for Curtis to answer this question in a way that would have been “pleasant” to the questioner’s ears. But instead Curtis took the position that under the Rule of Law, and under his oath that he will take if God grant us favor and we win this election, under that oath…he would be bound to vote against any funding that is clearly not authorized under the Rule of Law. You see friends, if we really believe in the Rule of Law…we have to be willing to do the hard things in order to push our government back inside the fence of the Constitution. It will not be a painless endeavor, you simply cannot fix over 16 trillion $$ of debt with the flip of a switch. But if we are serious about stopping unconstitutional, and therefore ungodly spending (spending that violates the Rule of Law)…we absolutely must have people serving that have this understanding and this kind of backbone. Curtis Bostic has the mettle to do this and we need to give it everything we have to make sure that Curtis Bostic is the next Congressman from the 1^st Congressional District of South Carolina.

40 Years and 60 Million Little Children

As bad as the Supreme Court decision was in The Presidents and the Democrat's so called "Affordable Care Act"...and it was a horrendous blow against liberty and limited government, it pales in comparison to the decision handed down 40 years ago today in Roe v Wade. I wonder how many people today even know about Roe. I ask students that come into my Constitutional Law course each year this question ...and fewer and fewer recognize it every year. In Roe, the Court elevated the right of privacy and "choice" over the rights of little human babies made in the image of God. Conservative estimates tell us that over 60 Million little children have been butchered in their mothers’ wombs with the blessing of the government of the United States of America.

Let me bring your attention to these words in our founding charter (The Declaration of Independence) this morning:

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men,"

All I will submit to you this morning is that we have failed miserably in living up to the mandate in our founding charter in securing the right to life of the unborn....the most defenseless of our citizenry.

May God have mercy on us.

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!