CONSTITUTIONALGOV.NET

Yesterday, I went to a BBQ in the hopes of avoiding all political discussions and just enjoying the day.  You see, I’ve gotten myself into trouble before talking about politics at family functions, so I had vowed to spend a day mute on all things political. I made it three hours.  Then, while standing in the kitchen with my nephew and two of his friends, I was asked what I thought about SB1070 (Arizona’s illegal immigration bill).  Damn, I thought, I can’t walk away from this discussion.  So I asked the questioner if he had read the legislation.  To which he responded that he had watched a lot of media coverage on the bill, and therefore, knew what it was about.  So I said, “but you haven’t read the legislation, is that correct?”  To which he replied, correct.  So I said, “then, please let me educate you on what this bill is really about.”  I subsequently shared the four goals of the legislation which I’ve written about here and here.  I explained to him that if we were still allowed to have honest discussions in America, the Arizona citizens would be allowed to participate in an intellectual discussion on whether or not the goals the legislation attempts are worthy goals, just and in the best interest of Arizona citizens.  His final reply on the subject was, “well we should have voted on the legislation.”  And that is the crux of today’s piece, our youth think we are a democracy instead of a republic, and until we educate them on the differences, we have little hope of seeing the “Great American Experiment” survive.

First and foremost, it is imperative that all Americans understand that we are not and never have been a democracy.  We are a Constitutional Republic, a nation bound by laws with the supreme law of the land being our U.S. Constitution.  Our Founders knew, based on history, that democracies only succeed in small subsets, and have never succeeded on a grand scale; therefore, when setting up both our States and our U.S. Government, they did so as a republic and not as a democracy.  We have representative government, which is supposed to represent the will of the people, but there is no democracy in this representative government.  If our representatives fail to reflect our views, then we are to vote them out and put in their place representatives that will represent our views, but again this is not a democracy.  It is a representative, Constitutional republic.

It isn’t difficult to understand why the youth, and especially the youth of Arizona, think that we are a democracy.  Just a couple of weeks ago, we voted on a proposition in Arizona on whether or not to raise our own sales tax.  Why did we do that?  Because the State Legislature didn’t have the fortitude to make the hard choices on their own and figure out whether or not to raise sales taxes or decrease spending, so instead of acting like a representative mandated in upholding the Arizona State Constitution, they instead left it to a democratic vote of the Arizona registered voters.  The sales tax passed the vote, primarily because 2 million dollars were spent in support of the measure by unions, especially the teachers’ union, and the university system because these special interest groups would benefit the most by this legislation passing.  Meanwhile, the State Legislators know this is only a band aid and will not fix the budget crisis that the State of Arizona still faces in the years to come.  As stimulus dollars dry up (which in large part have continued to fund the States’ over bloated budgets, and as Obamacare begins to go into effect substantially increasing the Medicaid budgets of the States, Arizona will continue to run deep deficits until it reigns in spending for its two highest budget sucking dollars (medical, i.e. Arizona’s version of Medicaid, and K-12 along with State University spending).  At some point, these two expansive budgetary items are going to have be cut and cut substantially if Arizona is ever going to be in the black again.  All passing the sales tax increase did was prolong these tough decisions another year (even though the tax is for three years), and a year from now the constituents of Arizona will see absolutely no positive affect of their uninformed vote to raise their own taxes.  This represents democracy in action.  It is a losing proposition.  History has shown us that, and now the Arizona voter will be able to witness firsthand how their democratic actions will have no positive effect and will not solve the problem they hoped their vote would solve.

Let me give you another example of democracy in action that will absolutely kill this nation if the Constitutional Republic in which we live does not rectify the misguided democratic action.  Obamacare passed earlier this year.  Against the will of the people, our Congressional representation passed the law and President Obama signed it into law.  Now many of you might argue, see our representative republic doesn’t work because the majority of the people didn’t want Obamacare, but it passed using our system of representative government.  The problem with this argument is that it leaves out one important component of our republic and that is the rule of law.  Obamacare is Un-Constitutional.  I’ve written numerous times on how the individual mandate to purchase health insurance is Un-Constitutional. If you wish to see this argument in its detail, I encourage you to read Senator Hatch’s wonderful speech on the floor of the Senate as I summarized it here.  So when Obamacare finally makes it to the Supreme Court, if our Constitutional Republic remains intact, it will be found to be Un-Constitutional and the legislation will enter the waste bin of history where it belongs, and will not become the law of the land.

These are just two small examples of how a majority vote (democratic in nature) does not solve the problems of our land.  More importantly, it shows how ignoring our Constitutional Republic only brings us trouble providing no solutions to the problems we face.  It is imperative for the sake of our country that we not only return to Constitutional governance and government, but that we also educate our youth as to why it is preferable and the system under which our Founders put in place.  To do any less is to abdicate our responsibility to preserve our Nation and our freedoms.

I leave you with a few quotes from our Founders with respect to democracies and republics:

Yes, we did produce a near-perfect republic. But will they keep it? Or will they, in the enjoyment of plenty, lose the memory of freedom? Material abundance without character is the path of destruction.  –Thomas Jefferson

 Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself.  –John Adams

 Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote!  –Benjamin Franklin

 If a republican government fails to secure public prosperity and happiness, it must be because the citizens neglect the divine commands, and elect bad men to make and administer the laws.  –Noah Webster   

Hold on, my friends, to the Constitution and to the Republic for which it stands. Miracles do not cluster, and what has happened once in 6000 years, may not happen again. Hold on to the Constitution, for if the American Constitution should fail, there will be anarchy throughout the world.  –Daniel Webster (technically not a Founding Father (born 1782)

Finally, I ask that you watch the following YouTube video with your children.  The video describes the various forms of government and in particular compares and contrasts a democracy and a republic.