The fears of a Tea Party takeover in Congress from the 2010 elections are far gone, and in fact, should now be laughed at.

Republicans had their opportunity, as the leading party in the U.S. House of Representatives, to take a stand — the stand they promised they’d take to the American people — to fight against frivolous government spending, overregulation of the private sector and to put America back on a path to prosperity.

Where does the health of America stand two years after those promises were made?

The country now boasts a national debt of $15.3 trillion — now exceeding the national economy, which at the end of 2011 came in at $14.95 trillion, according to the Congressional Budget Office. The much-too-low unemployment rate touted by the Department of Labor of 8.3 percent is more accurately estimated to be closer to 11 percent. Also, in 2011, Congress increased spending from the year before, raised the debt limit by $2 trillion, and funded ObamaCare. And you can’t forget about Congress’ most recent move: extending the payroll tax cut along with unemployment benefits — with absolutely no way of paying for it.

For all of this to have happened the U.S. House, again with Republicans in the majority, had to agree to it — and that they did. What has happened that caused Republicans, who stand on a platform of fiscal conservatism and smaller government, to have seemingly forgone these values in exchange for the status quo? Why aren’t they standing up for the core conservative values on which they campaigned?

In an effort to not overlook what the Republican Party did accomplish these past two years: They have kept all the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts intact to date, and well, it’s hard to think of much more.

Under this House Republican leadership, compromises have been few and more often than not the true conservative agenda has been put aside in order to appease Democrats in the Senate and White House.

How, two years after a huge nationwide movement like the Tea Party, has so much changed? Does getting a taste of the power and prestige of Capitol Hill strip a member of his core ideals? Does feeling the pressure of having to kowtow to leadership cause new members to buckle? Or maybe it’s the desire to keep ones job because, after all, two years really isn’t enough to accomplish all you want, right?! Or is it some kind of strategy, whereas after the elections if Republicans retain a majority in the House they can throw all these concessions in the face of Democrats and claim the nation hasn’t improved so now they get to do things their way?

Regardless of the reasoning or explanations behind this new sheepish Republican majority, it is bothersome. How can you know that who you elect will fight for your rights and protect your interests? But then again, this is the joy of a democratic form of government, in two year’s time House members can be gone as quickly as they came.

Until November rolls around, I think all voters who associate themselves with the Republican Party deserve to see a change in the House of Representatives. After the payroll tax debacle, House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) said, “I think we’ll get through this moment and the dust will settle and people will see the differences [between political parties].”

He better hope he’s right. Members of that Chamber need to get back to the basics of why they are in charge and not be afraid to throw their weight around.

America is in trouble and every move made thus far has only plunged the nation further into debt. If there was ever a time for fiscal conservatism to come to fruition in the halls of Congress, now is that time.

American taxpayers are tired of paying for more of the same.

Rebekah Rast is a contributing editor to Americans for Limited Government (ALG) and NetRightDaily.com. You can follow her on twitter at @RebekahRast.

Historians now openly talk about the way America has left her Constitution behind. Certainly there is a cumulative case to be drawn, probably starting with the War Between the States. Most accounts of government growth and the accretion of power in Washington, D.C., prominently involve the Progressive Era, and of course the New Deal. Damage was done and also accumulated, but it was not until sometime after World War II when lawmakers actually stopped consulting the Founding Document, when public debates waned concerning the Constitution’s relevant meaning to contemporary public policy. Since the 1950s the Government simply uses political mandate to do whatever the Government wants to do.

Regulations and taxes pile up on people in the name of the People, imposed however by Government through a kind of modern virtual representation, which the Colonists utterly rejected of Great Britain . Just as the Constitution no longer acts as a parameter on what the Government does, neither can it be said of George Washington that he still informs young people and adults of what constitutes the ideal masculine character or responsible republican citizenship. Washington was a preeminent role model for these things until the middle of the Twentieth Century, when the study of biography receded in education and pop celebrity displaced historic heroes.

Washington might have been King but he chose elective office instead, and then he chose to leave that office after just two terms. He had more than the good judgment to quit while he was ahead! He indeed knew what was most important in his own life: his home Mount Vernon ; family and personal obligations; fellowship with friends; reflection, and the study of Scripture. He also knew the nature of power and the temptations attendant to power. He knew the crucial impact that leadership can have, but he valued civil liberties and freedom in society much more. Freedom had been the object of the Revolution, not dynasty or empire.

Washington was esteemed a very wise man, but he eschewed the power to impose his wisdom on everyone else. Washington esteemed the prerogative inherent to liberty, as something more important than either physical wellbeing or scientific certainty in a particular. People run their own lives, some successfully and some not—but it is after all the peoples’ lives and theirs to run. Various environments might be comparatively cruel or limited, chimerical or privileged. An asteroid might hit the earth someday, and the sky is always falling or liable to fall to the Chicken Littles amongst us. Still, families are natural institutions that govern even before the Government does. Government didn’t give a person life or sanction the marriage between the man and woman who had the baby. Indeed, the Church never asked nor asks permission to marry two people. The legal conventions are not always the same as religious ones, albeit for most of our history they have overlapped almost completely, mainly because of the approach to Government the Founders, George Washington included, took.

It bears repeating: It is the peoples’ lives—and so it should be their private choices that govern in nearly all particulars that pertain. This is true whether the individuals choose wisely or not, whether they are wrong or right; and whether they are brilliant or certifiably stupid, handicapped or studs. Individuals possess a prerogative to live according to their lights, regardless and irrespective of circumstances so long as they do not harm anyone else! Individuals possess natural rights according to natural law, and Government must have a compelling interest to intervene and mess with things. If Government does intervene, it does so by exception; further, it should be at the level of the State where a person lives and for some good reason, i.e., to protect others or to promote the general welfare, not necessarily the convenience of society. States are dual sovereign political entities alongside the Federal Government in the construct of Washington ’s Constitution and ours.

Imagine: Washington ’s Constitution, the Founding Document in light of his and the Founders’ worldview—a Restoration of the Republic. This is how I shall be remembering Washington , and how Government better start remembering if I read the Tea Party through to its logical potential conclusion. Remembering Washington means a dedication to the future and to a very similar project to that which he faced in his day. As freemen and freewomen we must choose to remember him and the Revolution, as well as the Constitution, which was its crowning achievement. Heroes did and do exist. Sometimes they are celebrities, but most of the time they are people proud to call themselves American, men and women of character and uncompromising determination to be free—free to dream and succeed, free to dream and fail on their own terms and God’s. Government is not God. The Constitution as amended, is not subject to the whim of the President or the Congress, not today anymore than it was in Washington ’s day. It is not subject either to the Supreme Court, in terms of decisions it has made based upon unconstitutional precedents entered in, which break the moral compact and implicit structure of federalism upon which our Union is entirely based. Government has made carrion of the so-called “living” Constitution and given us a Dead Constitution Walking. Political Revolution is in the air, or should we say brewing?

There are some great champions for conservatism on talk radio and the internet and true conservatives owe a debt of gratitude for their insight and encouragement. They have captivated the hearts of millions of listeners who highly esteem their words and wisdom. Their influence has made a difference in awakening multitudes from their drugged sleep of the opiate of the modern media.

However, I wish some of them would stop trying to convince real conservatives that the only option they have in an election is for anyone with an R attached to their name. I constantly hear how the Republican party needs rebuilding, revamping and revitalizing as was done under Ronald Reagan, arguably the greatest President in modern American history. He did an outstanding job in strengthening the party and turning it around. However, looking at Romney, Gingrich, Santorum and others, it is obvious we do not have a Reagan today and we certainly do not have the same quality of party he had to work with. The Democrat party went over the cliff decades ago and is incorrigible with no hope of change. Unfortunately, the Republican party may have finally reached the same state. THIS IS NOT REAGAN’S REPUBLICAN PARTY. Times have changed and so have people and their values.

When something is broken, you fix it. When it is broken beyond repair, you replace it. I am tired of being lied to by Republicans who pretend to be conservative long enough to get into office and then after winning, conduct business as usual. People are FINALLY beginning to wake up to reality. Theodore Roosevelt once said,“The American people are slow to wrath, but once that wrath is kindled, it burns like a consuming flame.” I am hoping and praying this wrath will be kindled into a fire that burns out the corruption in Washington. Yet, we will continue to hear the “wasted vote” mantra, with pleas to not abandon the ship, but I for one am tired of plugging the holes on a sinking ship. I long for a vessel that stays true to course and can weather the storms, based on conservative, constitutional principles, not the platitudes of a party.

Again, I know what Reagan did in his day, but this is a new day. There is a real grassroots conservative movement that is steadily gaining momentum and has the potential to take back this country, replace the liberals in Congress with sane, common sense average Joes who know what makes this country work, and repeal the Marxist healthcare Frankenstein brought to life on 3-21-2010. This recent problem with government forcing religious institutions to cover abortions through employee insurance benefits is a reminder that Obamacare will spread its tentacles and do what it does best: dictate and control. Obama must not only be replaced in November 2012, but EVERY member of Congress who refuses to repeal this so-called healthcare monstrosity must be replaced also.

It is time to face reality and stop propping up this party dominated by liberal elites. Even now, leadership in the Republican party has accepted the current healthcare monstrosity and are going to try and make the best of it, trim it where possible, “make it more conservative”, cut their losses and go on. The current Republican establishment has no plans to repeal it. There must be a transfusion of some new blood in DC. Remember, this is the party that ran John McCain, and who in their right mind would consider him to be a conservative? Conservatives who voted for McCain did not vote FOR McCain; they voted against Obama. If a real conservative with or without an R attached to their name, holding to constitutional principles, guided by Biblical values, runs for any level of office, I can vote for that person in good conscience, and the vote will be based on principles, philosophy of government and their value system, not on the letter following the name. If the Presidential Republican nominee turns out to be a quasi-conservative, then every real conservative should support a third party conservative, if that candidate is a true blue conservative. Solidarity among all real conservatives would produce a winning vote, not a wasted vote. True liberty means freedom to vote conscience guided by principle, and not follow the dictates of the elite ruling class of any party.

The Republicans proved their impotence when, as the majority party for a brief time a few years back, they made no real substantive changes. The changes made were superficial and short lived. Had they really grabbed the bull by the horns, (or should I say donkey by the ears?) acted like real conservatives who were concerned about this country and not their own careers, they would have established policies to cut spending, restore liberty and limit government. They also might still be in power, since they would have won the respect and loyalty of true conservatives, who are tired of being lied to, taken for a ride, driven off a bridge and left to drown, in a Kennedy-sort-of way

Real freedom loving, God fearing, patriotic Americans are sick of liberalism, but are also now just as sick of faux conservatives. The Republicans had their chance, but blew it. The authentic conservatives left in this party are the ones with enough character and sense to see that they need to stop clinging to a name, heritage, and tradition and be guided once again by principles, not platitudes. It is time to reject those who only want another term in office and a lucrative retirement. Time is short, freedom is shrinking and November is coming. It’s now or never. If a real change is not made in November, then it’s over for this nation. America, prepare to meet God!

You know that as Constitutionists we are regularly faced with well intentioned, self identified ‘conservative’ people who will say things like “I read an article by Newt Gingrich and he sounds really conservative,” or from those who see through Newt and Mitt, I’m now starting to get “what about Santorum, I understand he’s quite conservative, or at least he has good family values – doesn’t he?”

If you’re like me, you don’t have the time or mental faculty to study and remember every fact, figure and bit of information about the Republican candidates so as to be able to correct and inform your friends when they say things like these. That’s why I’m always looking for articles or videos that do the job for me. To that end, I’d like to refer you to the following series of articles that were brought to my attention today. I’m sure there are other good articles out there that expose the current crop of neocons, feel free to share them with your fellow Constitution Party leaders as well.

• Newt Gingrich – part 1 – http://newswithviews.com/Nelson/kelleigh121.htm
• Newt Gingrich – part 2 – http://newswithviews.com/Nelson/kelleigh121.htm
• Mitt Romney – http://newswithviews.com/Nelson/kelleigh123.htm
• Rick Santorum – part 1 – http://newswithviews.com/Nelson/kelleigh144.htm
• Rick Santorum – part 2 – http://newswithviews.com/Nelson/kelleigh145.htm
• Rick Santorum – part 3 – http://newswithviews.com/Nelson/kelleigh146.htm

For a more concise overview of the situation, you might refer people to the following Constitutional grade assigned to the candidates. This is based on Vision Forum Ministries grading of the candidates after each of several debates held in the summer and fall of 2011. I added together the grades for each candidate from several debates, then assigned an average score.

• Ron Paul:                     B
• Rick Santorum:           F
• Mitt Romney:              F
• Newt Gingrich:           F

To prove that the game was not rigged and a score other than “F” was possible, here are the candidates who have dropped out.

• Rick Perry:                      D
• Michele Bachmann:      C
• John Huntsman:           D-
• Herman Cain:                D

For those who bring up Ron Paul and ask why you’re not supporting him, you might want to ask them to read this article.

Robert W. Peck
Chairman – Constitution Party of Washington
Western States Co-Chairman – Constitution Party National Committee
Email: chairman@constitutionpartyofwa.com

There may have been a time when the words “conservative” and “liberal” meant something, but that time is no more. Today, “conservatives” in government are doing as much to promote Big Government, as are “liberals.” In fact, if one were to honestly evaluate the twelve years of the George Herbert Walker Bush and G.W. Bush administrations, one could say that “conservatives” even eclipse “liberals” in promoting Big Government. Under the two Bushes, the federal government expanded (and even exploded) to levels that for-real liberal Democrats could only dream about.

Let’s get realistic. Just because a politico says he or she is “pro-life,” or “pro-family,” or “pro-marriage,” etc., does not mean that they are going to do anything to help save the country. Come on, folks; think! “Conservative” Republican administration appointments have dominated the US Supreme Court since the infamous Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton decisions that effectively legalized abortion-on-demand. And we are no closer to overturning Roe and Doe after almost forty years of electing “pro-life conservatives” than we were the year after the Roe and Doe decisions were rendered. And for the first six years of the 21st Century, “conservative” Republicans dominated the entire federal government, and still the Roe and Doe decisions stand.

And when it comes to marriage and family, there is not a darn thing that Washington, D.C., can do to “save” it. Washington can no more “save” the family than it can “create” jobs! Washington is not God–the attitudes of most Washington politicians and national newscasters notwithstanding.

Herein lies the real problem: both “conservatives” and “liberals” expect Washington, D.C., to be the panacea for all the nation’s ills. Oh, the left and right come to Washington expecting different solutions, but they both come to Washington, D.C., for the solution. Both “conservatives” and “liberals” expect the federal government to “fix” America. But, in this regard, Ronald Reagan spoke with great profundity when he said, “Government [especially the federal government] is not the solution to our problem; government [especially the federal government] IS the problem!”

Hear President Reagan’s quote at:

http://chuckbaldwinlive.com/home/?p=145

Both “conservatives” and “liberals” look to the federal government to establish and enforce their parochial agendas. “Liberals” look to Washington for the establishment of “social justice,” while “conservatives” look to Washington for the establishment of “military justice.” The net result is the federal government keeps getting bigger and bigger regardless of who controls the White House, Congress, or Supreme Court.

“Conservatives,” whether Christian or not, are just as culpable in the expansion of Big Government as are “liberals.” In fact, when it comes to the expansion of military adventurism, “conservatives” are the most culpable. And when it comes to the ever-burgeoning police state that is currently taking shape in the United States, “liberals” and “conservatives” are equally to blame. Let’s face it: both “conservatives” and “liberals” are in the midst of an intense and illicit love affair with Washington, D.C.

The way many “conservatives” have embraced the candidacy of Rick Santorum is a prime example of how skewed their understanding of historic, constitutional principles really is. Santorum goes around talking about “pro-life” and “pro-family” issues, while his voting record in the US Senate demonstrates that he is just another conservative-talking, big-spending politician. He has voted for so many Big-Government bills and endorsed so many Big-Government toadies that it is incredible that anyone could refrain from laughing out loud when he calls himself a “conservative.”

To check the factual record of Senator Rick Santorum, go here:

dailypaul.com/213706/ti…

By the same token, it is absolutely incredible that “conservatives,” especially Christian “conservatives,” could so quickly and firmly reject the candidacy of the man who most likely is going to go down in history as the greatest congressman to ever sit in the US House of Representatives, Congressman Ron Paul of Texas. Patrick Henry was probably the greatest governor that the United States has ever seen; and Daniel Webster was probably the greatest senator that the country has ever seen; and I am personally convinced that history will regard Congressman Ron Paul as our greatest US House member. For his entire political career, Congressman Paul has stood like a rock for the fundamental principles of liberty and constitutionalism, and, yet, many “conservatives” reject his Presidential candidacy. They would rather support Big-Government toadies like Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich, or Mitt Romney. Egad!

Have people not wondered why the direction of the country has not changed one iota regardless if “conservatives” or “liberals” are running things? One would think that at some point people would wake up to the fact that until we start electing civil magistrates who take their oaths to the Constitution seriously, and who truly understand the nature of our federalist form of government, and who are truly committed to the preservation of the Bill of Rights, and who truly understand and appreciate the jurisdiction and authority of the states, nothing is going to change in this country. Nothing! And in 2012, there is only one man in the Presidential field who has an intellectual grasp and moral commitment to all of the above: Ron Paul. I will say it yet again: it will not matter to a tinker’s dam if anyone other than Ron Paul is elected President in 2012.

Furthermore, if Americans do not wake up to the importance of electing State governors, attorney generals, senators, legislators, and county sheriffs who understand that their primary responsibility as a State office holder is to safeguard the rights and liberties of the citizens of their respective states FROM THE USURPATION AND OVERREACH OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, our liberties are lost–no matter how many “conservatives” we elect!

Ladies and gentlemen, face it: the left-right paradigm is a hoax! It creates false conflicts and masks true problems. It caters to the increase of socialism on the one hand and fascism and corporatism on the other hand. It saps our strengths and augments our weaknesses. It blinds our eyes to the warning clouds above us and deafens our ears to the sounds of the sirens around us. It turns friends into adversaries and adversaries into friends. It dulls our senses and sharpens our illusions. It removes true courage and gives false hope. It sullies our character and shines our betrayal, and it puts shackles around our feet and greases the skids of oppression.

Instead of worrying about whether one professes to be a “conservative” or a “liberal,” we should be concerned about whether the people we vote for understand the fundamental principles of liberty and constitutional government and have the moral character to defend such principles at all costs. Furthermore, we should be concerned that both “conservatives” and “liberals” look to government for the solutions to our problems instead of looking to the Natural Law principles of our Creator. Yes, Martha, the Golden Rule really does matter–even in Washington, D.C.

P.S. Readers should know that I have withdrawn my candidacy for Lieutenant Governor of the State of Montana. Here is my press release in this regard:

“Yesterday (Sunday, February 12), I called gubernatorial candidate, Bob Fanning, and told him that I was withdrawing my name as a candidate for Montana’s Lieutenant Governor. When Bob and I announced my candidacy for Lieutenant Governor here in Kalispell, I said, ‘We are in this race to win.’ I realized then that, in order to be competitive, there were certain criteria that had to be met. I knew our campaign had to raise a sizeable sum of money; and knew that we had to put together a quality campaign organization. Since making our announcement back in November, this campaign has accomplished neither task. Therefore, it is more than obvious to me that this campaign has no chance of being successful in the primary elections. And I have too much respect for the people of Montana than to ask them to support a candidacy that cannot at least be competitive. People who believe in a political campaign enough to invest their time and hard-earned money in it have a right to expect that the candidates they support can deliver a successful campaign.

“I believe that my departure from the Governor/Lieutenant Governor race will allow me to continue to pursue whatever opportunities the people of Montana would believe were best suited for those abilities and attributes that I may have in our mutual pursuance of liberty and constitutional government. And, no, I will not endorse a gubernatorial candidate at this time.

“I wish Bob Fanning much success in his future endeavors and am honored that he would ask me to be his Lieutenant Governor running mate.”

I want to thank readers for their support and prayers for me and my family as we continue to fight for the principles of liberty and constitutional government in our country, and especially in the great State of Montana.

During the third century A.D., Roman Emperor “Claudius the Cruel” ruled as a tyrant, waging incessant wars. The army needed men but there was a shortage, and married men did not want to leave their families, nor younger men their sweethearts. The Emperor believed such sentimentality was a weakness ruinous to empire, so he forbade marriage and annulled all existing engagements. He threatened any priest who performed the marriage ceremony with death.

But in the northern Italian town of Terni and then in Rome itself, the bishop St. Valentine continued to marry young couples in love at the temples in front of the altar and there he prayed for blessings upon their unions. The secret leaked out, however, and Valentine was seized and thrown into a dungeon. Some Romans appealed to the Emperor for clemency, and so Claudius met with Valentine to offer him a way out. If only Valentine would stop performing marriages and also renounce his Christian faith for pagan gods, the Emperor would show him mercy and spare his life.

St. Valentine professed his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and tried to convert the Emperor to Christianity instead! The infuriated Emperor left St. Valentine to languish in prison. The story goes that during the interval in prison, a young blind girl and daughter of the jailer would visit him. She sat and listened and talked to him through the bars, keeping him company. They ministered to each other, though she didn’t know it at first. She encouraged him when he felt down and alone and assured him he had been right to profess his faith, and also to marry the many grateful young couples who loved him still. Meanwhile, Valentine would pray for her without ceasing until one day miraculously, she recovered her sight and was healed. On the day he was put to death in February, c. 270 he left a note for his friend the jailer’s daughter. It was a tender note of Christian affection signed, “From Your Valentine.”

Pope Gelasius I eventually recast the pagan festival of Lupercalia as a Christian feast day (c. 496) and proclaimed February 14th to be St. Valentine’s Day. Notwithstanding the ancient pagan fertility rite associated with Lupercalia, the new holyday was focused on the martyrdom of St. Valentine for refusing to renounce Christ in order to save his own life. St. Valentine’s Day would not to be associated with romantic love again until the 14th century. Geoffrey Chaucer wrote a poem in 1382 to commemorate the first anniversary of the engagement of England ’s King Richard II and Anne of Bohemia. In that poem are lines, which draw explicit connection between St. Valentine’s Day and birds coming to mate. The mating season of birds in England starts later in May, but the rhyme scheme worked so well, it fired popular imagination and the connection stuck.

After his death Valentine became a Patron Saint, considered by many especially Romans, to be the spiritual overseer for notes and cards of affection. The earliest surviving Valentine’s card actually dates to 1415 from Charles, French Duke of Orleans captured at the Battle of Agincourt and imprisoned in the Tower of London . The card contains a love poem to his wife and is now on display at the British Museum . Gradually February 14thbecame the date for exchanging love messages and other tokens of affection; St. Valentine became the patron saint of all lovers. Americans began exchanging hand-made valentines in the early 1700s. In the 1840s Esther Howland began to sell the first mass-produced cards in America and became known as the Mother of the Valentine in the U.S. Today a billion Valentine’s Day cards are sent in America , second in number only to Christmas.

In 1836 relics belonging to St. Valentine were exhumed from the catacombs of Saint Hippolytus near Rome , placed in a gilded casket then transported to Whitefriar Street Carmelite Church in Dublin , Ireland , to which they were donated by Pope Gregory XVI. Each Valentine’s Day the casket is carried in solemn procession to the high altar for a special Mass dedicated to young people and to all those in love. Other relics of St. Valentine are found at various churches in Italy , France , Austria , England and Scotland . St. Valentine’s story reminds us the way in which love and sacrifice are inextricably linked, and that giving is what you do when you’re in love.

“The issue centers on provisions in the National Defense Authorization Act of 2012, signed by President Obama, for the indefinite and rights-free detention of those Washington cites as belligerents, whether American citizens or not.

“WND reported when Rep. Daniel P. Gordon Jr. immediately drafted a resolution in the Rhode Island legislature to express opposition to the sections of the NDAA ‘that suspend habeas corpus and civil liberties.’

“Now the Tenth Amendment Center confirms that the resistance to the federal bureaucracy is catching on.”

Unruh continues, “‘Sources close to the Tenth Amendment Center say as many as 10 states will consider legislation or resolutions in response to the detention provisions in section 1021 and 1022 of the NDAA,’ the organization is reporting. ‘Lawmakers in Rhode Island and Washington will likely introduce resolutions authored by the Rhode Island Liberty Coalition within the next week. Additionally, local governments, including Fremont County, Colo. and El Paso County, Colo., have passed resolution condemning the detention provisions.’

“Tenth Amendment Center executive director Michael Boldin commented that ‘federal politicians never seem to repeal federal law.

“‘It’s going to take “We the People” in our states to stand up and say, “No!” to this unconstitutional monster,’ he said.”

Unruh goes on to report, “Already, Virginia Delegate Bob Marshall, R-Manassas, has introduced HB 1160, which would prevent ‘any agency, political subdivision, employee, or member of the military of Virginia from assisting an agency or the armed forces of the United States in the investigation, prosecution, or detainment of a United States citizen in violation of the Constitution of Virginia.’”

“Mike Maharrey, communications director for the TAC, said the fight is shaping up like the conflict in the 1850s when northern states refused to cooperated with fugitive slave laws that required them to capture and return escaping slaves.

“‘It is clear to me, and I am far from alone in this view, that the detention provisions in the NDAA are vague, overbroad and open to interpretation,’ he said. ‘That leaves me to trust in the good character and moral clarity of Barack Obama, Rick Santorum or whoever happens to reside at the White House, to protect me and my fellow Americans from abuse of his power. No thanks.’

“Maharrey noted that during the latter days of slavery, ‘state and local governments in northern states stepped in and thwarted the enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Acts, which allowed the federal government to arrest and detain black people, and send them back into slavery with little or no due process.

“‘We laud these men and women as heroes,’ he said. ‘I have no doubt that history will prove equally kind to those standing up for the most basic rights of Americans today.’”

See Bob Unruh’s report at:

http://www.wnd.com:80/2012/02/states-prepare-brakes-on-citizen-detention-option/

As I have said repeatedly in this column, the only hope for the preservation of liberty and freedom in America is for individual sovereign states to do what they were created to do: protect the rights and liberties of the citizens of their states from the overreach and despotic propensities of those miscreants in Washington, D.C. If freedom-loving people in the body politic truly intend to see to it that their rights and liberties are preserved, they will pay much more attention–and be much more attuned–to electing State governors, legislators, attorney generals, etc., than they are electing US congressmen, senators, and even electing the President.

With the exception of Ron Paul, there is not a major party Presidential candidate who will make a dime’s worth of difference in protecting the liberties and freedoms of the American citizenry. Both Republicans and Democrats in Washington, D.C., are all about empire-building, foreign interventionism, and expanding the Welfare and Warfare states. Furthermore, none of them (with the exception of Ron Paul) would do anything to thwart or reverse the burgeoning police state that is currently being rapidly constructed in this country. That means, as Michael Boldin said, “It’s going to take ‘We the People’ in our states to stand up and say, ‘No!’”

And quite frankly, that’s about the only thing that the power-elite in Washington, D.C., are worried about. They aren’t worried about Afghanistan, Iraq, or Iran. Those are all orchestrated conflicts to keep our troops fighting endless wars, to have an excuse to print more and more fiat currency, to satisfy the international bankers who are making trillions of dollars off the military-industrial complex, and to give them an excuse of “national security” in order to strip away more and more freedoms from the American citizenry. But State governors, legislators, and attorney generals who actually believe the Constitution and who have the courage to defend it, now THAT scares them to death! Why? Because they know that the real power in this country rests with “We the People” who, through their state governments, have the ability to actually stop their quest for globalism and feudalism.

America’s Founding Fathers clearly understood that the states are the ultimate guardians of the peoples’ liberties. James Madison (and even Alexander Hamilton) spoke to this eloquently in the Federalist Papers.

In Federalist #46, Madison said, “Were it admitted, however, that the Federal government may feel an equal disposition with the State governments to extend its power beyond the due limits, the [states] would still have the advantage in the means of DEFEATING SUCH ENCROACHMENTS” (emphasis added). By “defeating such encroachments,” Madison included “opposition,” “refusal to cooperate,” “frowns of the [State] executive,” “obstructions,” and “plans of resistance.”

Did you see that? America’s third President and Father of the Constitution said that it was the duty of the states to obstruct, oppose, resist, and otherwise refuse to cooperate with any federal policy or mandate that runs counter to the principles of liberty. And, remember, this is from the man who authored the so-called “supremacy clause” of the US Constitution!

In Federalist #45, Madison said, “Thus, each of the principal branches of the federal government will owe its existence more or less to the favor of the State governments, and must consequently feel a dependence, which is much more likely to beget a disposition too obsequious than too overbearing towards them. On the other side, the component parts of the State governments will in no instance be indebted for their appointment to the direct agency of the federal government, and very little, if at all, to the local influence of its members.”

Did you get that? In the mind of America’s founders, the federal government would be dependent upon the State governments, not the other way around! But what do we hear today? Even these so-called “conservative” politicos and talking heads say just the opposite. They keep insisting that the states are dependent upon, and subservient to, the federal government.

Even the colonists’ biggest proponent of central government, Alexander Hamilton, had it right on the power of the states to resist federal encroachment. In Federalist #26, Hamilton said, “Independent of … the national legislature itself … the State legislatures, who will always be not only vigilant but suspicious and jealous guardians of the rights of the citizens against encroachments from the federal government, will constantly have their attention awake to the conduct of the national rulers, and will be ready enough, if any thing improper appears, to sound the alarm to the people, and not only to be the voice, but, if necessary, the arm of their discontent.”

Wow! Did you catch that? Hamilton said that the states held the right and duty to resist federal encroachment with their “voice” and with their “arm.”

Does any of this sound like America’s Founding Fathers expected the states to be lap dogs for federal usurpation of power? They fully recognized that it would take the individual states standing against any potential federal overreach to protect and secure the rights and liberties of the American people.

I will say it again: it is far more important who is elected as your governor than who is elected President. It is far more important who is elected as your State attorney general than who is appointed US attorney general. It is far more important who is elected to your State legislature than who is elected to the US House and Senate. It is far more important who is elected as your sheriff than who is appointed as the Director of the FBI. But if all you watch is FOX News, CNN, NBC, CBS, and ABC, you will be mesmerized with national politics, and you will forget about that which is the most important defender of our liberties: our individual state governments. In fact, in many cases today, our State and local governments are as abusive of our liberties as is the federal government. This is mainly due to the inattention and misunderstanding of the People as to the importance of electing local and State leaders who will accept, as their first responsibility, the maintenance of liberty for the people they represent. And by nature, that means being a faithful watchdog to the incursions of the federal government against our freedoms.

It is encouraging to read that at least ten states are pushing back against the monstrously unconstitutional NDAA. If all fifty states would act as courageously as these tenacious ten–and not just against the NDAA, but also against EVERY assault of the federal government against our liberties–America could be restored to the “land of the free” very quickly. As it is, however, the protectors and guardians of our liberties (our State leaders and county sheriffs) are being bribed, coerced, cajoled, harangued, and intimidated into cowardly submission by these belligerent bullies in Washington, D.C.

Thank you Representative Daniel P. Gordon, Jr. of Rhode Island. Thank you Delegate Bob Marshall of Virginia. Thank you to all of you State legislators, State senators, and county sheriffs across our great land who truly understand the oath you took to the Constitution and who are willing to stand as the watchdogs of our liberties. It is a truism that if your tribe does not increase, our freedoms are surely lost.

P.S. Attention to any professional barber who is a like-minded patriot and who wants to relocate to, or currently resides in or near, the Flathead Valley of Montana. There is a job opportunity for a reliable, professional barber in an established shop located in a newly revitalized business area. This shop’s services include shaves, all style cuts, perms, and colors. References will be checked. This owner is a personal friend of mine and a real patriot. He wants to hire a fellow patriot in his shop. If you qualify and are interested, call Mike at Artistic Barbering, 236 2nd Ave. W., Kalispell, MT 59901, 406-755-1353.

Of course, you know what they say about wishing in one hand and picking up horse hockey with the other: one hand is likely to get fuller than the other. I reckon the wish must obtain a will and the necessary resources to in fact change things. God help us. Today the federal government literally employs extortion on the States with the money it taxes from us. To make you wear your seatbelt and do a hundred other things, the feds withhold funds from sovereign States, unless and until those States pass particular laws. They did the same thing after the War Between the States: permanent military occupation unless the States would approve certain constitutional amendments. The contexts are indeed different, and there were hard historical and practical realities to settle during the Reconstruction. But is another Robert E. Lee or Jeff Davis left anywhere in this unified, chained and tethered house of ours—locked down from the inside out? Is there a governor with backbone anywhere in the country to point out and even put an end to . . . (shall I name it? Are you willing to recognize it?). Tyranny.

Some of you will say, gosh he’s gone over the top (again). So you think, “I’m free, right?” Not if you think you ought to be in charge of the money you set aside for retirement, or the age you choose to retire. Not if you think you ought to be able to choose when your child goes to school, for how many weeks he or she should study, as well as what subjects. Walter E. Williams reviewed Sheldon Richman’s excellent new book, Tethered Citizens: Time to Repeal the Welfare State (available at www.laissezfairebooks.org and www.amazon.com). In the review, he asks “What if you think your child is capable of having a job at age 12, as I was? No dice. The government determines the age at which one can work, and for how long and at what pay.” Andrew Jackson joined the American Revolution at the age of 14, and he was a natural soldier. I’m glad nobody told him No dice, Andy. (He probably would have killed somebody on our side). Of course, I’m not advocating enlistment of child soldiers—just pointing out the arbitrariness of well-meaning rules, forced and enforced down every throat in the country—where no one possesses the slightest degree of discretion and no State retains a sovereign prerogative.

Alexis de Tocqueville predicted Americans would face this kind of despotism, to which democracies are prone—more widespread and milder than other forms, degrading men rather than tormenting them. In his masterpiece Democracy in America, he writes that our leaders are likely to become as schoolmasters. Our government will try to keep us “in perpetual childhood” and will do this by providing security and necessities, assuming responsibility for our concerns, managing our work. He foresaw government, which “gladly works for [‘the people’s’] happiness but wants to be the sole agent and judge of it.” Williams sums up his review with a very insightful comment, that “Democracy gives an aura of legitimacy to acts that would otherwise be deemed tyranny.” Moreover, my fellow tethered citizens, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe observed, there is no one quite as hopelessly enslaved, as the person who thinks he is free but is not!

How did it happen? How did Christians lose their love? Of course, our Lord predicted that the day would come when “the love of many shall wax cold.” (Matthew 24:12) Sadly, this truism also obviously applies to many of us calling ourselves Christians. But how did it happen? How did Christians lose their love for souls? How did they lose their love for the Brotherhood? How did they lose their love for truth? How did they lose their love for peace? How did they lose their love for liberty? How did it happen?

I sat aghast as I watched the Republican Presidential debate in South Carolina and listened to hundreds of the GOP faithful (which included a great number of Christians) boo Congressman Ron Paul when he injected the Golden Rule into the discussion of America’s foreign policy. To say I was stunned is the understatement of the year! Christians booing a Presidential candidate (who, himself, is a Christian) for suggesting that our country practices the Golden Rule? Egad! What’s next? Christians cheering when people are thrown to the lions? I confess that I am flummoxed beyond words to describe!

I was raised in a Christian home by Christian parents who never missed Sunday School or church. My dad saw to it that I began memorizing scripture before I started kindergarten. I have heard the great Bible stories taught and re-taught. And while Christians have always differed on the nuances of particular Bible doctrines, the fundamental principles of God’s Word were universally taught and accepted.

Universally, Christians believed and taught, “God is love.” We understood the virtue and necessity of loving God and our fellow man–especially our brothers and sisters in Christ. Universally, we accepted the primacy of the Golden Rule, which states, “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.” (Matthew 7:12)

So, what has happened? How is it that the people who cheer the loudest for ever-burgeoning wars of aggression overseas are Christians? How is it that Christians will be the first ones to boisterously sing the chorus with John McCain, “Bomb, Bomb, Bomb, Bomb Bomb Iran”? How is it that it doesn’t seem to cross their minds at all that the hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqi men, women, and children were killed, wounded, and maimed by our government in a needless and unconstitutional war of aggression? How is it that the US government can wantonly wage war with an almost unlimited number of nations–killing and maiming thousands upon thousands of innocent people in the process–and Christians cheer? Some even join with the likes of Madeleine Albright and pompously spout: it is “acceptable collateral damage.” How did this happen?

So deep is our bloodlust that when a Republican Presidential candidate (Ron Paul), who is the only military veteran in the entire GOP Presidential field, by the way, introduces the Golden Rule into a political debate, he is booed and jeered–by Christians! What in God’s name has happened to us?

Watch and listen to Christians booing Ron Paul’s suggestion that America practice the Golden Rule:

Is war sometimes justified? Yes! Do 2000 years of Western Civilization and even all of Biblical history recognize the right of men to protect and defend themselves, their families, their communities, and their country? Yes! Christians on the whole have never been pacifists. A few have been, but they have always been the exception to the rule. In the strict definition, the Lord Jesus Christ was not a pacifist. He proved that when he removed by force those moneychangers from the Temple. In the South Carolina debate, was Ron Paul suggesting that America not protect and defend itself? Absolutely not! Dr. Paul proudly supported Ronald Reagan’s “Peace Through Strength” initiatives. He simply asked, should not our dealings with foreign countries reflect the principles of peace and goodwill as exemplified and taught by our Savior? And for that, Christians jeer and boo him?

I believe there are a couple of mitigating factors in this propensity of today’s Christians to relish in bloodlust. First, many Christians have lost respect for their own character. When men give in to hatred, bitterness, jealousy, resentment, etc., they do more damage to their own soul than to anyone else’s. Our Lord said that if we hated our brother we murdered him (in our hearts). So, what do we commonly see in our churches today? Envy, bitterness, resentment, gossip, rancor, and hatred! Rightly does the scripture state, “If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar; for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?” (I John 4:20)

If we Christians take delight in “murdering” our “friends” and fellow believers through our bitterness, envy, and hatred, why should we lose any sleep over the deaths of thousands of unknown people who live halfway around the world? And nevermind that many of these innocent victims are also our brothers and sisters in the Lord! For example, most Christians in the United States refuse to even acknowledge the fact that there is far more state persecution against our Christian brothers and sisters in Iraq since the US-backed puppet regime took power. Far more!

People who allow their heart and soul to be taken over with bitterness and hatred become angry, vengeful, and even dangerous. People with the love and peace of Christ in their hearts do not salivate for war; they do not desire violence. They seek peace with their fellowman. Oh yes! They are prepared to defend themselves against the wolves and lions who seek to prey on their neighbors. Yes Sir! For sure! But that is a far cry from hollering out for war against people who have not even harmed us–or who may not even have the capability of harming us. And it is a far cry from booing a Christian man who actually believes in the Golden Rule.

One of America’s great warriors, General Douglas MacArthur rightly said, “War is a scourge.” Why would Christians cheer for a scourge unless, as King David said, “I am for peace; but when I speak, they are for war.” (Psalms 120:7)

Secondly, many Christians have developed a Caesarean “might makes right” philosophy regarding patriotism. But from the earliest days of our nation, our leaders respected Saint Augustine’s “Just War” doctrine. Daniel Webster and other American statesman gave eloquent tribute to the necessity and importance of never fighting unjust wars.

Was Pharaoh justified when he ordered the deaths of thousands of innocent babies? Was King Herod justified when he ordered the deaths of thousands of innocent babies? Were Hitler, Stalin, and Mao Tse Tung justified when they ordered the deaths of millions of innocent men, women, and children? Is violence against innocent people justified merely because the one ordering violence is powerful enough to get away with it? If so, will somebody please tell me what those Nuremberg trials were all about?

If power-mad potentates of history were unjustified in the manner in which they ignored the moral, Natural Law principles of God, how can Christians rejoice when power-mad leaders in the United States do the same thing? Do we really think that God has given some sort of special dispensation to America?

Missouri Senator Carl Schurz gave what must regarded as one of the truest and most insightful oratories regarding genuine patriotism ever given. In a speech delivered at the Anti-Imperialistic Conference, Chicago, Illinois, October 17, 1899, he said, “I confidently trust that the American people will prove themselves … too wise not to detect the false pride or the dangerous ambitions or the selfish schemes which so often hide themselves under that deceptive cry of mock patriotism: ‘Our country, right or wrong!’ They will not fail to recognize that our dignity, our free institutions and the peace and welfare of this and coming generations of Americans will be secure only as we cling to the watchword of true patriotism: ‘Our country–when right to be kept right; when wrong to be put right.’” Schurz, Carl. The Policy of Imperialism. New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1913. Print.

Instead of cheering when we see our country’s leaders ignoring the Golden Rule, constitutional government, and the Natural laws of God, we Christians should be on our knees begging God to forgive and mend us–and vociferously demanding that these leaders cease and desist their illicit conduct! The same trepidation that filled the heart of Thomas Jefferson should fill our hearts also: “God who gave us life gave us liberty. And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are of the Gift of God? That they are not to be violated but with His wrath? Indeed, I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, that His justice cannot sleep forever.”

Figuratively speaking, Christians in South Carolina threw Ron Paul to the lions. They tried to boo him off the stage when he proposed that America follow the Golden Rule in its dealings with foreign nations. I shudder to think what they would have done if he had quoted Jesus saying, “Blessed are the peacemakers.”

For those who have not figured it out, Ron Paul has chosen to run as a Republican, not as a candidate of the Libertarian Party, nor as a candidate of the Constitution Party. As a Republican, we cannot vote for him in the Republican primary. The choosing of a candidate is a party function, and only Republicans can choose their candidate.

Should Ron Paul be the Republican candidate who makes it to the ballot in November, it is reasonable to expect that many, if not all of us, will be voting for him. But we will be doing so as individual voters, not following a Constitution Party endorsement.

In the meantime, we urge you to pay close attention to the way the Republican Party treats the one constitutionalist in their ranks – he is treated as a pariah, an outcast. The smear campaign against him has been vitriolic, from the mainstream press to those shills for the Republican Party — the pseudo-conservative talk show hosts. Pay attention, because you are seeing the heart and soul of the Republicans at work, and you can learn from their methodology. In short, it may be summed up as, “Speak conservative and nominate a socialist for office. The conservatives will have no choice but to vote for our socialist, who is ‘the lesser of the two evils’.”

What swirls about us like a three ring circus, the hullabaloo of the Republicans choosing which National Socialist will oppose the International Socialist of the Democratic Party, it is all an exercise in futility and irrelevance. It is a sideshow designed to distract you from the business of more important business, such as the selection of a Congress who, we might pray, will do battle with whoever wins the White House in November. If you have a candidate (of any party) who is running for the House of Representatives, or for the US Senate, who really grasps the Constitution and whom you believe will fulfill his oath to support and defend it, then you need to work for that candidate, and forget about the race for president. Dr. Ron Paul is not going to win the nomination. The power elite that controls the Republican Party will not allow it.

Until conservatives wake up and realize that the two major parties, in Congress assembled, have brought us this mess today, they are not going to do anything about creating a viable alternative. Republicans are every bit as guilty as the Democrats for deficit spending, printing phony money, illegal and unconstitutional wars, and an insane immigration policy. Instead of griping that the Constitution Party is not going to make the ballot, why not get to work this year to build the party in your county so that in the next election, we’ll be strong enough to seriously contest some seats in Congress? That is the way that you can make a difference, so that we may all have a real choice at the ballot box. When conservatives get tired of being played for suckers, we’ll be here to welcome you to an old concept – “Hope and Change that the Founding Fathers believed in!”

Our Texas State Convention will be held this year in Huntsville, Texas. The date is currently not decided, thanks to unwarranted meddling by the federal courts, but probably in June. If you want things to change, then we invite you to join this party, or at least make a regular donation, so that next time you will have a constitutional alternative.