(Written Saturday morning.)
I hope that people in the 5th Congressional District GOP take note of this post I made earlier this week…big opportunity to get it right…reposted here for today….
The 5th Congressional District GOP Committee has a big decision before them. I’m sure the members are already getting calls from candidates who want to fill the seat occupied by Congressman Tom Garrett who is stepping aside. If I lived in the 5th District, I might be one of them making those calls. While I did represent Fauquier, which is part of the 5th, I do think that the candidate should live in the district they represent.
That said, the 5th Congressional District GOP Committee has a huge opportunity to select a candidate who will actually commit to a conservative reform agenda that will save the nation from its looming demise. Here is my “freedom agenda” that I would require of any candidate I would support were I part of that committee.
• Term limits for Congress: Five for the House, two for the Senate. Careerism is killing the legislative process in America and is the preeminent threat to our system of government. A citizen legislature was the intent of the Founders. It has become an oligarchy that doesn’t even live under the same rules they write for everyone else. Besides, if you can’t get done what must be done in 10 ot 12 years, another year won’t make a bit of difference. Pick a candidate—by the way—who will self-impose these limits on themselves as a condition of their nomination.
• Term limits for Federal Judges: Judicial activism is destroying the legal system and upending the balance of power at the Federal level. Moreover, Congress and the President are abrogating their responsibly to legislate by allowing—in some cases—the courts to do that job. We should embrace the Virginia model where both houses of the legislature vote to put judges on the bench, under term limits, and then evaluate them before reappointment. This is vital for America.
• A balanced budget amendment to the US Constitution and a line item veto for the President: These important fiscal disciplines are present and working in most of the states that compose our nation. If we don’t impose these commonsense requirements on our national government, our fiscal system will fail. We are perilously close now. We must do this.
• Build the wall and reform the immigration system: Enough said. Do it.
• Close all (that means all, not some) departments and commissions of the Federal government that do not have a clear nexus to the powers of the Federal government as articulated in the US Constitution: Next to careerism, federal overreach is an existential danger to the nation. Our government is too big, bloated beyond all recognition, and expensive. Stop it, please. I need a government that will protect my rights as stated in the Bill of Rights, not a nanny.
These are not all of the “issues” that are important to this old Colonel. Those of you who know me know that. But I think just about any candidate the 5th District GOP nominates will be “right” on the issues that concern many of us. The question is will they commit to the reforms above and be willing to step aside in the next election if they fail to make a determined effort to implement them. In other words, will they commit to being specifically accountable to the people to actually stake their position on advancing these goals. Not just lip service, but by real action, both in and out of Congress.
If they are not willing to embrace this “Freedom Agenda” as I would call it, then I suggest you politely thank them for their interest in running for Congress and move on to the next candidate. If you don’t nominate a candidate who will specifically subscribe to this program of action, you will get more of the same, and “same” is not what is needed…
12 comments
To say we need Term Limits is to say
*just replace* the alligators in The Swamp, drain The Swamp by drying up the money.
How about Congressional Candidates get their signatures then just
$200,000.00 from the Goverment for Campaigns 80% to be spent on advertising. Any left reverted back to Goverment.
NO PAC money!
Let’s be more innovative.
Furthermore why hasn’t the Republican Majority addressed
Line Item Veto?
Quit sell lemons, used car salesman.
Take the Old Jaloppy ideas off the market.
The Nightmare Amendments from COSP’s “simulated convention” show why Virginia should reject any candidates for office who support an Article V convention
Our federal Constitution delegates only a handful of powers to the federal government.
But everyone ignores our Constitution – even State Legislators have no idea what it says.
The mess around us is the result of ignoring our Constitution.
The Convention of States Project (COSP) says we must amend the Constitution in order to “limit the power and jurisdiction of the federal government”, and we can get amendments which do that at an Article V convention.
But our Constitution already limits the power and jurisdiction of the federal government to a mere handful of powers! Furthermore, it is impossible to rein in the federal government by amendments because amendments can’t take away powers which weren’t delegated in the first place!
Accordingly, COSP can’t produce even one amendment which would fix the federal government’s violations of our Constitution.
During September 2016, with great fanfare and hoopla, COSP staged a 3-day “simulated convention” at Williamsburg, Virginia, apparently to make us believe that at a convention called by Congress under Article V of our Constitution, the Delegates would not “runaway” and write a new Constitution; but would do nothing more than propose wise amendments which would “limit the power and jurisdiction of the federal government”.
The Delegates to the simulated convention produced six amendments: One for term limits, and five which would dramatically increase the power of the federal government.
The texts of the six amendments approved at the simulated convention, and how Delegates from each State voted, are HERE.
HERE is the list of Delegates from each State. The Delegates from Virginia were Senator Amanda Chase, Delegates Jim LeMunyon & Scott Lingamfelter, and former Speaker Vance Wilkins. They voted for the amendments marked with a *
One of the amendments the Virginia delegates voted for would make Congress’s existing – and unconstitutional – practice of spending wildly on whatever they want, constitutional for as long as Congress
continues to approve increases in the debt. *
Another would delegate to the federal government dictatorial new powers over individual Citizens such as I witnessed 40+ years ago in Communist East Europe and the Soviet Union: it delegates to the federal government total power over the “movement” or “transportation” of “persons” across state lines! That amendment also would delegate to the federal government additional soviet style dictatorial powers over Citizens.
Under our existing Constitution, only Congress has the power to make law [Article I, §1], but one of the amendments would transform into “law” every word, order, dictate, ruling, opinion issued by anyone in the Executive Branch of the federal government. *
Another would authorize Congress to impose a national sales tax & a national value added tax.*
Another would legalize the regulatory administrative law state and rule-making by federal executive
agencies. All those rules and rule-making are now unconstitutional as in violation of Article I, §1, and
as outside the scope of the enumerated powers. *
So the amendments don’t “limit the power and jurisdiction of the federal government” – they would increase
the powers of the federal government by delegating new dictatorial powers over Americans and by legalizing powers the federal government has already usurped.
One assumes that Delegates Amanda Chase, Jim LeMunyon, Scott Lingamfelter, and Vance Wilkins didn’t understand the ramifications of the amendments they voted for and were misled by others at the convention who hold “insidious views”.
The convention lobby is funded by powerful moneyed interests [primarily the Koch Brothers of Texas and George Soros]. They want a new Constitution for this Country. The way to get a new Constitution is at an Article V convention. That is what this push for a convention is all about; and they are exploiting State legislators to get it, by telling them that at a convention, they can get amendments to “limit the power and
jurisdiction of the federal government”.
Statecraft is serious business – it takes systematic study of original source documents to master. I respectfully suggest that the ignorance and gullibility of the American People – including State Legislators – is so great today that we have no business tinkering with our Constitution. I also suggest that any candidate for public office who supports an Article V convention is constitutionally illiterate and unqualified to hold office.
For more information and the links, see: COS Project’s “simulated convention” dog and pony show and what they did there: http://www.renewamerica.com/columns/huldah/180108
You are off-base. You missed the real intent of the meeting. Very purposefully too on your part, I suspect knowing your obvious hatred for the CoS.
It was clearly stated that the “Simulated Convention” was a trial run about process. A test to see how a convention of states might be run, and the process attendees could use during the meeting to vote on proposed amendments. They needed fake amendments to use to test the process so they asked their volunteers to submit their ideas.
NO WHERE did they say that what was used during the meeting are actual amendments that they want to be proposed during a future real convention of states. (Good thing too because they were horrible for the most part.)
If you insist on continuing to assert that the CoS considers the fake amendments to be ones they want propose, then show hard proof from the source — links from the CoS website — where they state this clearly. Also, show proof they are pushing those “amendments” post-simulated convention.
I thought the simulated convention was poorly executed. It lacked focus and tried to do too many things apart from the main objective of a trial run. CoS management never followed up on it either, from what I have heard. It was a disgrace to the thousands of volunteers country-wide.
Who picks the delegates to the COS? The same that voted in Medicaid Expansion?
I believe it would be state legislators. Not a happy thought with our current list. It all gets back to our electing good legislators. The root of the problem is us. Tragic.
There is no hatred on my part. Perhaps you are projecting your own emotion onto me.
Of course the amendments approved at the simulated convention won’t be proposed at an actual Article V convention! The convention lobby has no intention of merely getting proposed amendments at an Article V convention. They intend to get a new Constitution. The establishment elite wants a new Constitution which transforms the United States from a sovereign nation to a member state of the North American Union. Americans would never go along with this – so COSP is selling an Article V convention as a way to get amendments which will “limit the power and jurisdiction of the federal government”.
The purpose of my article is to show that there is no such thing as an amendment which will address the federal governments violations of our existing federal Constitution. COSP can’t come up with a single amendments which would do what they claim they want to do. Instead of amendments which “reduce the power and jurisdiction of the federal government”, their amendments always INCREASE
The wisdom of Delegate Ling.. Virginias Good Delegate
Delegate Lingamfelter!
I agree with you on all points! You are a wonderful patriot and I appreciate your efforts over the years to rein in government overreach. I look forward to your next endeavors!
Let me make this clear on these three particulars posted above;
1) term limits is a smoke screen claim
and does not go far enough, dry up the money , keep campaign finance at a very minimum. Otherwise there is a line of BS Congressman and Senators to refill the position.
2) Heard the line item veto my whole life, neither party when holding a majority has delivered. Congress will never give that much to a President.
3) Build the wall and Immigration reform , enough said is total BS!
The wall has not one darn thing to do with immigration reform! Separate these two issues.
Spend the hundreds of Billions to Build the Wall ,make a
National E-Verify law including the 1099 (grow a pair, Scott). Oh and I have very much more on this one.
If only these half hearted measures Scott (The Delegate) speaks of are taken you are merely delivering America/Virginia (the 5th) a turd covered in crome.
At the end of the day you just have a polished turd.
Remember folks you can’t make chicken salad out of chicken crap.
Take notice Scott has posted The Republican Congressional Candidates photo. I truly hope that the Candidate pictured is smarter than the suggestions in this story posted by a Republican Virginia Delegate.
Contained above is a bunch of window washing that will have nothing more than an ill effect if later enacted. There is nothing about social issues and nothing that will truly cure the ills of society. We may build a wall, but we will not solve the problems of immigration. We can balance the budget, but Clinton even did this. We can have term limits, but that will not limit the evil and corruption. We can end departments and careerism, but we will not impact society for the good.
The bankruptcy of both conservativism and liberalism is precisely the same thing: Conservatives try to solve our ills by limiting government and thinking these things will be the solution; liberals solve them by limiting their citizens. One argues for term limits and the other argues for gun control.
Neither are the solutions, but thinking they are may be problematic as we fool ourselves in thinking the conservative ideals will bring about the best society.
We are doomed. There is no hope. Your “philosophy” of nihilism is so depressing.
Ah! A Dickens of a good comment with the voice of Reasoned Introspection and Observation speaking both loudly and clearly. And indeed, the people can be relied upon to continually fool themselves. And the Masters know exactly just what porage to spoon out to the masses, and for both sides of the contrived equation.
First off, a constitutional convention has been the promotion of the elites ever since the mid-20th century. And the objective has always been the same, the replacement of unalienable rights language with secular human rights language.’ And whatever right or rights are granted to the people in the newly minted secularized constitutions, these rights can be and will be overturned at sovereign whim provided that the state can demonstrate a ‘higher controlling interest.’ This the state can and will do, and to whatever suits its purpose. The rest, such as what Lingamfelter proposes, is mostly window dressing designed to achieve the main objective which is a total control of populations by controlling how rights operate in ‘law.’
That the people seem not to notice that the high-minded sounding rhetoric lacks real substance does not bode well.