Clarity on the "Shutdown"

Recently Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin made the statement on a Sunday news program that it was a “bad thing for the Republicans to shut down the government”. This is amazing coming from a guy like Scott Walker who stood his ground in Wisconsin against the unions and survived a recall effort by the left in that state. But it does reveal the deep lack of understanding of Constitutional Conservatism by many in the Republican Party. We know the left are clueless to the Constitution and limited government, but it’s really disheartening when we hear a conservative regurgitating the liberal talking points.

Here’s where the Constitutional lesson comes in. Under Article I, Section 7 of the United States Constitution, the House of Representatives has SOLE power of funding ANYTHING in the federal government, that authority is complete…meaning the authority to authorize spending, whether in a budget or off budget (since we have no budget), whether that funding is for already passed statutory law or for something that any branch has need of…that authority rests solely in the hands of the 435 member House of Representatives. The framers specifically designed this on purpose so as to require authorization for spending to come from the legislative body closest to the people and therefore the most responsive to the people’s wishes. This past October, as I have stated before, the system worked just as it was designed. The House responded to the pressure of the people to defund the Affordable Care Act. The House did not shut down the government. They did exactly what they were supposed to do with the responsibility they have over the “check book”.

Now, obviously…anything the House does with spending legislation must also be passed by the Senate and signed into law by the President. But those latter requirements have nothing to do with who has sole responsibility to decide whether to fund something or not fund it. When the spending bill came over from the House to the Senate, the responsibility to pass the bill that would have funded the rest of the government at that point rested squarely on the shoulders of the 100 member Senate body. The events that followed are not in dispute…the President and the Majority Democrat Senate made it their mission to not pass the funding bill. By not passing the funding bill for 16 days, the responsibility for “shutting down” the government (or at least 13 % of it) fell squarely on the shoulders of the Democrats and the President.

Which brings us back to Scott Walker…why would this man and many, many other Republicans continue to regurgitate the liberal talking points that Republicans “shut the government” down?

The answer is a bitter, bitter pill for us to swallow. We continue to elect people…some of them very good conservatives, but nevertheless we continue to elect people that do not understand the Constitution and / or cannot articulate the principles we believe in. We must demand more of those we elect than simply they cast the right vote. We need Constitutional Statesmen that can determine Constitutional courses of action and then turn around to the American people and explain those actions.

"God Is In Control"

Have you ever heard or had another Christian (or even a non Christian) say to you "God is in control"?  Those words of truth can be reassuring and comforting words of reminder to us when we are overcome by the heaviness of our circumstances. Make no mistake about...the scriptures are replete with the testimony that those words are indeed the absolute Truth. Indeed the God of the universe is in complete control.

I bring this up because of the amount of times I hear those words stated to me in relation to my passion to encourage Christians to be, at a minimum...cognizant of what is going on in their nation, if not much more engaged in pursuing a minimum understanding of how our government is designed to work under the Constitution. The statement "God is in control" is not used so much to relate its truth, as it is as some sort of message to silence those that are engaged. I am convinced that it also is used many times to relieve oneself of his/her responsibility to be engaged.

Let's try this on for size...how many people that use that phrase are apt to let go of the steering wheel on their vehicle as they are driving around town? After all, "God IS in control"...right?  Are you not trusting of God enough to "let go and let God" when it comes to the steering wheel of your vehicle as you hurtle down the road navigating turns, lanes of traffic, and intersections?? After all God is in control....why "worry", He will take care of everything for you!

You say, "come on Bob, that's way different, and your being silly and making a ridiculous comparison....you can't just let go of your steering wheel on your car, it's a machine...and after all Bob, you got into the car of your own mind, God would expect you to keep your hands on the wheel".  All true.  I couldn't agree more.

But let me show you why you're telling me the EXACT same thing when you tell me not to "worry" about what is going on in our country, because God is in control.  I would be the first to agree with you again, that as Christians, we never have to "worry".  We serve a God that we know IS in control.  However, just as you would not let go of the steering wheel of your vehicle as you drive down the road, why would you let go of the "steering wheel" of your government? Both the vehicle and our government are designed to operate with people at the controls. Just as you would never quit steering your car as you go down the road, why would you think you could quit "steering" our government which was actually designed for much more input from you than the few corrections you make on your steering wheel as you navigate the streets and highways.

Permit me to take this illustration a few steps further. Any sensible driver will pay at least minimum attention to the gauges on the dashboard to see if everything is running ok.  Why would you not pay attention to the "gauges" on the dashboard of our government to make sure that everything is operating within the parameters of the design manual?

God is indeed in control. He left us here on earth specifically to "operate" and make a difference in His Kingdom until he returns, so let's keep our eyes on the gauges and our hands on the wheel.

Accurately Placed Respect?

As you can see from the image on the left, the 226 years that have passed since Jacob Shallus put quill to animal skin, has taken its toll on the physical properties of the United States Constitution. But sadly, a heavier and much more dangerous toll has been inflicted upon what is still today our primary governing document. The toll inflicted by ignorance and wickedness among those governed by it, is threatening our Republic unlike no other time in history.

I often get push back from well meaning Christians for not respecting the President. When this happens, it makes me wonder how anyone can honestly pay attention to what the current President is doing, and what he proposes to do, and still honestly tell me they respect him...If you fall into this category...you have a serious problem. I make no secret of the fact that I have no respect whatsoever for the President. However, I have great respect for the office of the President of the United States, which makes it all the more imperative that I call him out for his statements and his actions.

Permit me to explain a little bit more in depth about this. To do that, we have to start with some basic facts about our Constitution. We are a nation of laws…the United States Constitution sets forth the Rule of Law for our nation. It establishes the parameters under which our federal government can operate, no more, no less. By its very nature, the United States Constitution or Federal Constitution as it is sometimes referred to, is a document of limited powers (ceded up by the states in order to create a limited central government) and a list of "enumerated" individual rights to be retained by all the citizenry. The framers of the document set forth the premise in Article VI that the United States Constitution is the Supreme Law of the land. From this fact comes the principle that the United States Constitution is the Rule of Law. Article VI states that there is no higher law, the United States Constitution is supreme to all federal law. Consequently, all federal law enacted must be enacted “pursuant” to the Constitution. This means that federal law cannot contravene (violate) the Constitution. Article VI also states that the United States Constitution is supreme above all state Constitutions and state laws. I mention this to remind us that there is NO law, NO office, and NO individual office holder that is above the United States Constitution. Indeed all Federal Office holders swear an oath to the United States Constitution.

 

Law Above Men

The idea that "we need to respect the President", or any other office holder for that matter, no matter what they say or do...while it may sound moralistic and high minded…reveals very deep ignorance of the United States Constitution and how our government works. Our founders set up a system unlike no other in history...we respect law above men. The founders came from a worldview where subjects were required to respect men (a King) above law (Rex Lex), so they implicitly and intentionally set up a system from a biblical worldview wherein we respect law above men (Lex Rex). The United States Constitution is the highest law of the land, again, that’s why officials take an oath to it. Therefore you are required...and as a Christian...it is your duty to respect the highest man made Law (Constitution) above any man.

The well meaning Christians I mentioned above will frequently quote or mention the thirteenth chapter of the book of Romans for a warning to be "subject to the governing authorities”. The problem here is that the "authority" in the context of Romans 13 is not a man under our system of government...it’s the law. We have rampant ignorance of this simple but profound truth in our country today. If you hold the position that you respect the President of the United States...three things are in play...(1) you are grossly ignorant of current events, (2) you are ignorant of our Constitution and our Republic, and (3) most importantly if you’re a Christian, you are ignorant of your responsibility under God's law.

The larger question that we should be asking ourselves here is why are there so many that think this way today? How did we get to the point where so few understand this very basic information? I am reminded of an event that took place in the heat of June 1788. The place was Richmond, Virginia, the setting…the Virginia Ratification Convention for the new United States Constitution. The elected delegates from all over the commonwealth had assembled to determine whether or not Virginia would ratify the new Federal Constitution. The list of delegates is legendary, men like Patrick Henry, James Madison, John Marshall, George Mason, and James Monroe, I could go on and on…a virtual who’s who of framers and founders. Heated debate was the order of the day. On one hand the Federalists were pushing the new Constitution due to the utter failure of the Articles of Confederation, the fledgling nations first set of bylaws. On the other hand were Anti Federalists, men who feared an all too powerful central government. After much heated debate, which in one instance almost produced a duel…a man little known to us today, a man by the name of George Nicholas rose to his feet to address the raucous assembly.

George Nicholas's comment that sweltering day was simple but contained a profound message that rings powerful 226 years later… a message we need to hear loud and clear today. His statement…“An enlightened people will never suffer what was established for their security to be perverted to an act of tyranny.” Do you see the operative word in Mr. Nicholas’s statement? He said “an enlightened people”. The premise of Mr. Nicholas statement was absolutely correct...that is, if we had an enlightened citizenry. An enlightened citizenry would be needed to safeguard the Constitution against men that would ignore it, or pervert it. Today we have a completely unenlightened citizenry; therefore many of our elected leaders...not only the President...but many in the congress and the judiciary blatantly ignore the Rule of Law in carrying out the duties of their office.  Ultimately we bear the responsibility for permitting them to do this without holding them accountable.  But how can an unenlightened citizenry hold anyone accountable?

My friends, today instead of getting upset or agitated at my position of not respecting the President, or any other elected official for that manner…it’s time to get educated on the truth of the Rule of Law, the truth about what authority we respect above all others in our government, and the truth that we are a nation of “unenlightened” citizens. We need to become an enlightened citizenry with respect to the Rule of Law and how our government is supposed to operate under it. The Constitution of the United States is not difficult to understand. While Constitutional Law can be deep...it is not always deep. One does not have to be a Constitutional attorney in order to understand its principles and to be able to identify when it is being ignored, perverted, and violated.

Honor God for what he has given us...a Rule of Law, higher than men.  No other nation on the face of the earth has this kind of Constitutional government founded and set up under God's principles. Worship Him today by using your time and opportunities to learn it. There are many ways to do this, and I would be glad to point you to my free course online to help facilitate your "enlightenment" today.

Making The Connection

I was honored beyond measure today. I had been invited as the guest speaker at the monthly meeting / luncheon for the Exchange Club of Charleston. This is the civic organization that puts on the Coastal Carolina Fair every year and uses the proceeds to support local charities. Let me clarify, I was honored not because they asked me to speak on the United States Constitution and the Rule of Law, I was honored because I got to sit next to a legend at the head table.

Seated next to me today was a 93 year old gentleman that was being honored by the Exchange Club for his service to our nation.  Bernard Warshaw was born in 1920 and served under General George Patton at the Battle of the Bulge from December 1944 – January 1945.  This man captured my attention as soon as I shook his hand and began to get acquainted with him. Being a lover of history, I began to pick his brain for his memories as we ate lunch together, he told me that he had arrived at the Dachau concentration camp in southern Bavaria on April 30^th, 1945. He arrived at Dachau just 8 hours after it had been liberated from the Nazi’s, the same day that Adolf Hitler committed suicide.  On the table between us, he had a folio of photographs that he had personally taken himself that day. He asked me to look at the tattered, yellowed photographs that depicted the grisly scene that greeted this young 23 year old American soldier.  It was hard for me to believe that I was looking at the actual photographs that he took that day 68 years ago as these were not some random photographs from a museum. I realized I was sitting next to a legend and I told him so. He shrugged that off.  These photographs showed piles of emaciated bodies of Jews that had been killed and thrown into heaps to be burned in the ovens. I asked Mr. Warshaw "had he been able to ever get these images out of his head and mind", to which he quickly answered me “no, they never go away”.  He then directed my attention to one photo in particular, a young girl (probably not more than 6 or 7 years of age) at the edge of one of the heaps of bodies, and he said “I remember her like it was yesterday”.

I sat there speechless, knowing that in just a few minutes I would be speaking to this large group of people about our Constitution and the Rule of Law. I had went there to be their speaker, and I was humbled beyond measure to have the privilege to sit next to this legend that saw the horrors of humanity with his own eyes. It suddenly struck me as I pondered the connection, the connection between my speaking about the Rule of Law and following the document that was meant to give us order and liberty.  I pondered that God had directed my steps today.  You see, I had been invited by a pastor friend to attend another important event today, and I chose to honor my commitment to speak to this group. God had ordered my steps to meet this man in order to make the connection between what this man had seen with his own eyes, and my talking about men being governed by a Rule of Law that transcends them.

 

I looked over these pictures that depicted the horrors and atrocities that men can perpetrate upon other men when left unchecked, and bereft of a Rule of Law that transcends them.  I pondered the fact that Germans sat idly by as their nation was used for unspeakable horrors and that the German church for the most part sat silent and did not push back as tyranny arose among them. They just wanted to be left alone. I pondered the fact that many of my brothers and sisters in Christ today do not want to push back against a building soft tyranny. I pondered the facts that I know from my study of history, that tyranny will NOT leave you alone, it is insatiable and it will advance upon you if left unchecked. God used this day to reinvigorate me to make the connection and reject the voices that call for surrender, to reject the misguide voices that tell us to quit making so much "noise" and simply "get along". I refuse to do that.

I am grateful and blessed to have met Mr. Bernard Warshaw today. Perhaps the look on my face shows it all after having looked at his photograph album that you see in my hand. I've seen images from the Holocaust before, but this was the first time I have been face to face with an eyewitness to those horrors. The images had stirred me and taken my breath away. This picture was taken right after I had closed his photo album...and I was coming up for air.

 

 

 

 

 

No Opt Out

“I personally will fight forever, whatever it takes, however long it takes, to prevent my children and your children, and our posterity, from taking those steps into darkness. We will persevere. We will get an Article V convention, and we will restrain the federal government.” -Mark Meckler

I get asked all the time why I expend so much effort and energy in this area...friends, I believe that as a Christian, I have no choice to "opt out".  Doesn't matter if some think it’s futile...the Christian does not have a "get out of engaging" card.

I guess in a sense I am captive to my study of American History.  On November 11th, 1620, a small group of "Separatists" from England penned these words into the Mayflower compact: "Having undertaken for the Glory of God and Advancement of the Christian Faith".

Those words in my opinion set off a "chain of human events" that birthed a nation founded in liberty for the express purpose of the Gospel Dispensation.

Listen to these words by John Quincy Adams on the 4th of July, 1837: "Is it not that, in the chain of human events, the birthday of the nation is indissolubly linked with the birthday of the Savior? That it forms a leading event in the progress of the gospel dispensation? Is it not that the Declaration of Independence first organized the social compact on the foundation of the Redeemer’s mission upon the earth? That it laid the cornerstone of human government upon the first precepts of Christianity, and gave to the world the first irrevocable pledge of the fulfillment of the prophecies, announced directly from Heaven at the birth of the Savior and predicted by the greatest of the Hebrew prophets six hundred years before?"

Christian brothers and sisters...realize what God has given to you for a purpose...your liberty! I don't fight so hard and give up so much effort simply because I want to be political...I do it because God has ordained these principles of Self Government here in our nation for a purpose...to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Get up and get engaged in some way to return our nation to its foundations for the glory of Almighty God!

Rights vs. Theft

I have been musing on comments made this week by the President of the United States (POTUS). His comments should have elicited a response from any Christian that claims to operate from a Biblical Worldview. 

Permit me to explain. A few days ago while giving a speech; the POTUS stated that Healthcare is a Right. Any thinking person, but more importantly every Christian should have taken pause when they heard that. This statement begs the question; exactly what is "healthcare"? Healthcare isn't some nebulous thing that you cannot put your finger on, Healthcare in its basic form is a service provided by someone, or it’s a product (drugs, medicine, equipment, etc...). Because Healthcare is a service or a product, even more basic than that is the fact that it really is someone's property. Our family Doctor provides a service by offering up her intellectual property and her real property that she owns or leases. That property whether real or intellectual is her property, it's not my property, and it belongs to her.

 

Do you smell what I'm stepping in here? Where does it follow that you or I, or anyone else for that matter has a "right" to someone else's property?  I can purchase that property, or I can buy insurance to help me pay for that property, I can even ask someone to lend me some of their property, if they so desire to do so, but how does it follow that you or I, or anyone else has a "right" to take their property. Or how do I have the right to request that my government take it from someone else by brute force and hand it over to me?

The Bible tells us that we are not permitted to steal property from someone else (see 10 Commandments).  The Christian who is thinking from a Christian Worldview needs to reject the godless liberal / socialistic idea that you have some "right" to someone else's property just because a President or some well meaning soul says so.

Christians who pay no attention to everyday events and statements like this from elected officials, in this case the President of The United States, are missing their command to Go therefore and make disciples of Christians (Matt 28:19-20). I’m sure you’re wondering where I’m coming from with that. Let me explain, if we don't know the Biblical principle/positions on issues that pertain to everyday life, how on earth do we make Disciples of Christ and teach them to obey His commands? In this case, the Biblical principle is crystal clear, we have a command against theft, to NOT STEAL ANOTHERS PERONS PROPERTY, and by extension, we ought not cast a vote for anyone that would represent us and permit our government to do so.

The Founders of our great nation placed protection of natural God given rights into the Declaration of Independence as the apex function of our government. We don't get to make up new "rights" at our own whim that violate God given laws.

The 227 Year Old Message From Col. George Mason

Permit me to share a very Important Constitutional history lesson with you. The delegates to the Philadelphia Convention (today referred to as the Constitutional Convention) had been going over every section of every article in the final months of the Convention in 1787. 227 years ago, on a Saturday, just two days before the Convention in Philadelphia completed its work, we find a gem in the notes of James Madison, who took extensive notes just about every day of the convention. This item that I refer to as a “gem” is little known and hardly talked about today. On September 15, 1787, George Mason of Virginia (referred to in Madison’s notes as Col Mason), was alarmed that in the text of Article V (the provision for making Amendments to the Constitution), Congress would have sole power to propose amendments; Mason insisted, as he did earlier in June, that the states have authority to call for conventions. Mason explained that an oppressive Congress would never agree to propose amendments necessary to restrain a rogue, tyrannical legislature. “Col: MASON thought the plan of amending the Constitution exceptionable & dangerous. As the proposing of amendments is in both the modes to depend, in the first immediately, in the second, ultimately, on Congress, no amendments of the proper kind would ever be obtained by the people, if the Government should become oppressive, as he verily believed would be the case.” (See Madison’s notes 15 Sep 1787).

To make sense of that, you must understand that earlier in the summer when the issue of even having an Amendment process was first brought up as a provision in the Constitution, many of the delegates thought it unnecessary. Madison’s notes record the following on June 11^th: “Col. MASON urged the necessity of such a provision [Amendments]. The plan now to be formed will certainly be defective, as the Confederation has been found on trial to be. Amendments therefore will be necessary, and it will be better to provide for them, in an easy, regular and Constitutional way than to trust to chance and violence. It would be improper to require the consent of the Natl. Legislature, because they may abuse their power, and refuse their consent on that very account…”.

By the time the convention reached its final days in mid September, the Amendment provision had been added as Article V, and the provision had two methods; the national legislature (Congress) could propose Amendments and Congress could call for a Convention of States for the purpose of proposing amendments. However, both methods were left in the hands (power) of the national legislature, that’s what Mason meant when he referred in the first quote above as “both the modes to depend, in the first immediately, in the second, ultimately, on Congress”. Mason had objected to this back in June and now as the convention drew to a close, he rose to his feet to forcefully object with his reasons stated above (“It would be improper to require the consent of the Natl. Legislature, because they may abuse their power, and refuse their consent on that very account”). Madison’s notes of 15 Sept tell us that Mason’s motion was accepted and the language was changed in order to require [mandate] Congress to call a convention upon application of 2/3 of the states.

It is noteworthy to point out that this process does not call for a Constitutional Convention; the language specifies calling a convention for the purpose of “proposing amendments”…to the existing Constitution…it would still require 3/4ths of the states (38) to ratify any amendment proposed in this convention.

We owe George Mason and the other framers a huge debt for this...they had the foresight to understand first of all, that we needed an orderly process in which to amend our Constitution (“regular and Constitutional way than to trust to chance and violence” – Mason 11 June). Secondly we owe them a huge debt for recognizing and understanding the depravity of man and the extremely intoxicating effects of years of power in the hands of the same people (hence a need for term limits) and that these power intoxicated occupants of the United States Congress would “abuse their power, and refuse their consent” (Mason 11 June) to any amendments that would “injure” themselves and return powers never intended for the national legislature or any of the other branches for that matter, they would never take steps to return that power on their own to the rightful owner, the states/people (“no amendments of the proper kind would ever be obtained by the people, if the Government should become oppressive” – Mason 15 Sep).

The least we can do as citizens of this great nation today, citizens that do not seem to want to be bothered with taking the time to understand the underpinnings of their liberty, the least we can do is take the time to understand what the framers of this amazing document did for us. When the framers agreed on September 15^th, 1787 to change the text in Article V, they in effect were telegraphing a message to us in 2014, a message to us showing us the way back inside the fence of the Constitution, a way back to what Thomas Jefferson called the “chains of the Constitution”.

What Can You Do?