Ten Constitutional Questions for Candidates

Ten Constitutional Questions for Candidates
By Paul B. Skousen

America is angry. If any foreign power had swept in, taken control and pulled this recent national health care stunt on us, we’d be up in arms—literally and figuratively.

But violence isn’t the way to go. The Founders handed us the weapons by which we cleanse our government of usurpers: the power to vote—but that can only be effective with the right target in mind.

While you’re out shopping for replacements for Congressional and Senatorial incumbents, consider these ten questions. They contain basic principles that all candidates should understand and be speaking about openly in talks and debates.

The complete list of “101 Constitutional Questions To Ask Candidates” written by W. Cleon Skousen has been included in the back of The Five Thousand Year Leap (see p. 337). Review these ten questions and then see how well you can recite the principles back to your family or friends. This is the level of conversation we need to have when evaluating candidates for public office.

1.  Under the Constitution, who has the sovereign authority to govern?

The Founders said it is in the people “by God’s own allowance.” No branch or agency of the government should be allowed to operate in violation of the expressed will of the people. Their collective will is set forth in the Constitution and the laws passed by the people’s representatives. (See p. 337)

2.  What is the purpose of government?

The Founders said the basic reason for creating a government is to protect the inalienable rights of the people. The government is to provide “liberty under law,” which means that no law should be passed unless it is specifically designed to protect the freedom, liberty, and well-being of the people. (See p. 338)

3.  Is it a mistake to call the United States a democracy?

Yes. The only part of the American system which is borrowed from “democracy” is the popular election of government officials. Except for this, the Founders strongly emphasized the republican aspects of the American system. A republic places the responsibility for sound government and decision-making on the people’s elected representatives rather than allowing the fluctuating and superficial emotions of the people to override law and order or the rights of minorities. The classical example of government functioning on republican principles and prevailing over “pure democracy” would be the case of a sheriff (the representative) protecting a prisoner against a lynch mob (the majority). (See p. 339)

4.  How should the powers of government be separated?

The separation of powers is designed to circumvent human nature’s tendency to grab all the power it can The Founders wanted political power separated vertically, like a pyramid. Beginning at the bottom, the principle power base of society is the family. On the next level up, there are a few things which a community of families can provide better than a single family (such as police protection, fire, water, utilities, etc.). Power to perform these functions is therefore delegated upwards to the community.

Then there are a few things which groups of communities can do better than the single community. These tasks are assigned to a higher level—to the county. There are also a few things that a group of counties can do better than a single county and these are assigned to the State level.

The Founders also discovered that there were certain matters dealing with foreign affairs, problems of war and peace, imports, etc. which need to be handled in behalf of all the states. These responsibilities are therefore assigned to the top of the pyramid—the Federal Government. It should be noted that the Founders’ pyramid of power provided that the greatest number of responsibilities should rest with the family. Only a few responsibilities were assigned to the levels of government above the family and the Federal Government was to have the least of all. (See pp. 339-340)

5. Has socialism or “collectivism” worked anywhere in the world?

It has not. In fact, the militant forms of socialism such as Communism, Nazism, and Fascism have caused more wars and shed the blood of more human beings than any other system of government in the history of the world. Even the so-called “peaceful” forms of socialism such as Democratic Socialism and Fabian Socialism, have proved counter-productive and have continuously crept along the razor’s edge of perpetual bankruptcy.

Americans have sent over hundreds of billions of dollars in foreign aid trying to help the socialist nations survive. Now we are bordering on bankruptcy ourselves.

6.  Did the Founders structure the American system so that socialism would be unconstitutional?

Yes. They did it by setting up a “limited” form of government with carefully enumerated powers. Jefferson called these limitations on government the “chains” of the Constitution.

7.  How have these seven presidents violated the Constitutional protection against socialism and their related presidential duties?

A. Theodore Roosevelt?
Roosevelt said the president could do anything except that which the Constitution forbids. He was wrong. The President and all other officials of the government are only allowed to do that which is expressly authorized. The Founders referred to any exercise of power outside of these Constitutional chains as “usurpation.” (P. 342)

B. Woodrow Wilson?
Wilson said the U.S. should become involved in the political and economic affairs of the world. The Founders had continually warned against foreign, entangling alliances. The Founders believed the U.S. should try to be friendly with all nations, but behold to none. They knew that political interdependence leads to the development of power blocs, and power blocs ultimately lead to war. (P. 342)

C. Franklin D. Roosevelt?
Roosevelt’s New Deal was structured on collectivist principles designed by such men as Harry Hopkins who saw socialism as a tremendous vehicle to acquire power over the people and their resources. His famous formula was “tax, tax—spend, spend–elect, elect!” (P. 342)

D. Lyndon Johnson?
Johnson said “We will take from the haves and give to the have nots.” There is absolutely no Constitutional authority for the government to engage in any such invasion of private property rights. Throughout history it has always been popular for governments to pretend they are going to “soak the rich,” but such programs have always ended up with government officials using this newly acquired power to violate the inalienable rights of both rich and poor. It is a political trick to build bigger government with bigger debts and bigger taxes. (See pp. 342-343)

E. Richard Nixon?
Nixon pushed the United States onto the world stage, calling for us to become part of a new world order. It is extremely dangerous for Americans to enter into foreign engagements where decisions for Americans are made by non-Americans. The Founders believed that we should coordinate but never consolidate our free and independent society with foreign nations—an international form of socialism. (See p. 343)

F. Jimmy Carter?
Carter began meddling in the domestic affairs of foreign nations. The Monroe Doctrine specifically promised that the US would never undertake to meddle in the domestic affairs of other countries. Any president or Secretary of State who has followed a policy of “interventionism,” has operated outside of his Constitutional authority. (See p. 343)

G. Barack Obama?
Obama is the most anti-American to ever hold the office of chief executive of the United States. He usurped powers meant to be the people’s using deceit, double-speak, broken promises and the complete misinterpretation of Article 1 Section 8 where the enumerated powers of Congress are explicitly laid out.

Without a fully cooperative Congress joined to his hip he could not have violated the Constitution as fully and completely as he did. National health care violates the Constitution in at least 13 places. The checks and balances meant to curb such tyrannical abuse of authority were supposed to be employed by Congress but they failed in their Constitutional duties to reign in the President. The rule of law, the rule of the Constitution, the protection of freedom and our rights were all shredded in the process. 

It will take a leadership of Constitutionalists to repeal these bad laws and practices, and restore liberty as it was originally intended, and which was—for a very long time—so much enjoyed.
                      
8.  Are executive orders constitutional? Why or why not?

The Founders would have considered these unconstitutional. The President can issue executive orders to the administrative branches of government under his supervision, but he has no authority whatever to make “laws” for the people. The Constitution assigns that authority exclusively to the Congress. An act of Congress could stop this whole illegal procedure. (See p. 343)

9.  May the Supreme Court make laws?

No. This is called “judicial legislation.” This occurs when the Supreme Court creates a new law by pretending to interpret an old one. In the Federalist Papers the Founders specifically warned against this type of arrogance by the Supreme Court. (See p. 344)

10.  What is the Butler Case and why did it create so much damage?

In this decision, Justice Roberts included in his opinion a dictum that the Congress would no longer be restricted in its taxing and spending powers so long as it was for the “general welfare” of the nation. This immediately opened the U.S. Treasury to looting for all kinds of give-away programs which politicians began using to buy votes—the so-called pork barrel or earmark spending. This has led to Federal control over practically everything which affects inter-state commerce either directly or indirectly. This usurpation of authority by Congress (which has been upheld by the Supreme Court) , has shattered some of the most important restrictions on Federal intervention in the business and commercial life of the nation. (See pp. 345-346)

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 23rd, 2010 at 2:28 pm and is filed under Blog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.