The American Experiment in self-governance was an inspiration to the entire world when it began in the late 18th century. A republic founded on democratic principles and the rule of law was felt to be too difficult to manage and to susceptible to corruption to be feasible.  The world looked on as the Great Experiment began to determine if a citizen government could be sustained.  The framers of the Constitution had faith a people that valued liberty and believed in self-reliance could, in fact, manage their own affairs if sufficient restraint was placed upon government to preclude the ambitious and avaricious from usurping the God Given Rights of the individual.

The American Republic has devolved over the years from its original design as a collection of individual states working together for common purpose, assisted by a federal system that standardized methods, promoted commerce, provide for national defense and preserve equality among the larger states and the small, into an oppressive monstrosity serving only to serve the interests of the powerful.  The domination of political parties has destroyed the republican ideals of the Founders and established ruling elite that barter away the rights of the individual to the gain the support of the special interests.

Of the many consequences the Civil War one of the most significant was the identity of the nation changed from a collection of individual states united for shared purpose to that of a single nation, comprised of individual districts, fused into a collective subservient to the national interest.  The country was no longer considered the United STATES of America, but became the United States of AMERICA. 

This ascendency of the federal government brought about a radical change to politics in America, as well.  No longer did the special interests have to seek influence with the various state legislatures and executives; rather it could focus its blandishments on the federal agencies and Congress thereby achieving their ends at significantly lower cost and effort.  As the powers of the federal government expanded, the more populous states asserted dominance over the smaller via this concentration of power.  

In 1913, the fatal blow to states’ rights came in the form of the 17^th amendment, providing for the direct election of members of the Senate by popular vote.  Senators were originally selected by the legislatures of the individual states.  This was to ensure that the state legislatures were equally represented and that Senators owed allegiance to the deliberative bodies that appointed them, rather than the factions or parties to which they subscribed.

The Founding Fathers carefully devised the Constitution to maintain a balance between the rights of the states and the power of the federal government.  The House of Representatives was established as the democratic body of Congress, members apportioned based on regional populations, capable of reflecting the current opinions of the voters and local interests.  The Senate was designed as a body representative of the individual states, with each state given equal representation to prevent the domination of the more populous states over the smaller.  This was a critical distinction, established to quell the concerns of the smaller states during the Constitutional Convention.  The Great Compromise, as it was known, was essential to gaining support of the smaller states for ratification.

By adopting the 17^th Amendment, the power of the states was effectively transferred to the political parties. 

In Federalist X, James Madison wrote that political factions were the natural result of democracy.  Men are selfish and corruptible, and will invariably unite into classes and factions.  It is by these factions that a majority will always act to suppress the rights and levy the property of the minority.  Madison explains that the only viable solution to the threat of an oppressive majority is the establishment of a republican form of government where the representatives are chosen to represent the best interests of society as a whole, and not the partisan interests of the majority.  The 17^th Amendment acted to eliminate the republican nature of the Senate, eliminating the check on a capricious House of Representatives.  It eliminated the protections provided to the smaller states and empowered the majority party with the tools to control government and suppress the rights of the minority.

We see, today, that many of our elected officials are willing to compromise the values and interests of their constituencies to maintain the good graces of the party power brokers.  The Senate, originally intended to overcome the corruption of party politics, has instead become the source from which it flows.  The power of the established parties has been engrained into our system of government.

We plainly see today that our representatives to Congress and government in general, no longer fear the wraith of their constituents.  Candidates unwilling to subordinate the interests to their state, and those of their constituents, to those of the national party have no chance of receiving the funding or exposure necessary to win a popular election.

The Senate was intended to be a mature and independent body comprised of honorable and respected individuals, appointed by locally elected officials, acting in the best interests of the states and the nation as a whole.  The act of making the election of these senior lawmakers dependent upon factional interests has corrupted our politics to beyond even that of which Madison warned.  Even the judicial branch of our government, supposedly immune from partisanship, has become infected with the corruption of political parties.

As of this writing, twenty seven states have signed a petition to call a Constitutional Convention.  The purpose of this convention is explained to be for the purpose of creating a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution.  The act of calling a convention has become necessary because politicians bound by their party’s wishes will not consider passing such a resolution through Congress.  The states are therefore obligated to use the power granted by Article V. of the Constitution to force change upon the federal government.

I would propose that in addition to a balanced budget amendment, repeal of the 17^th Amendment also be considered at such a convention.  This would force delegates to the convention to choose between the interests of the party and the interests of their state.  Should they choose the party over the state, we can say that the Republic created by the Founding Fathers has ceased to exist and thereby be forced to admit the Great Experiment, that of a government by the people, protecting all the people by the rule of law, has failed.

A liberal friend of mine asked me what I thought about the thirty year contract between Russia and China for oil and gas.  Here is my response.  I hope that I have at least made her stop and think about what is happening  here.

The democrats are at it again.  They are still looking for the cheap labor they lost during the civil war.  They are proposing a pathway to citizenship for illegal aliens so that they will have a source of labor to perform the work that citizens refuse to do.  The citizens refuse to do it because they can make more money on welfare than working jobs that pay a mere subsistence wage.  

They have created a permanent underclass, fed and housed by the government,  and need a source of labor to support them.  Promising illegals 10 years of servitude will lead to citizenship guarantees a steady supply of cheap, shall I say "enslaved", labor.

Illegals are effectively exempt from the minimum wage, as they are not registered with social security and therefor have no obligation to report earnings.  If they are paid less than minimum wage, they have no recourse.

This whole immigration plan is just an effort to provide workers to support the economy while the government pays citizens not to work.  OR as they say, pursue their dreams.

Three I can think of right now!  This is only a starting point.

The informed electorate being essential to the preservation of liberty and the sovereignty of the individual states, the people’s representatives must be honest and truthful at all times.  Any knowingly false statement made to the public by any elected or appointed official, or their agents, or employees, shall be prohibited.   Should an allegation of dishonesty by an official be proffered, with a quorum present in each house, Congress shall decide by majority vote the veracity of the charges.  A finding of culpability shall result in the immediate removal of the offending official from office and the matter shall be referred to the Executive Branch for criminal prosecution on the charge of perjury.  The only exception will be during a declared state of war, when deceiving the enemy is necessary for military advantage.

No tax, fee or penalty may be assessed or attached for the purpose of deterring activities otherwise protected or compelling obeisance to any moral or social philosophy.   The federal government’s withholding of public money from any state for the purpose of compelling compliance with laws or regulations that conflict with the privileges and rights of a sovereign state shall be prohibited.

The Congress shall be prohibited from approving any budget for federal spending that would result in an overall deficit.  The annual spending budget shall not exceed the previous year's revenues.  The previous year's budget shall not be used in any manner to project a new budget.  In the absence of a bill authorizing spending by the federal government, no member of Congress, the Judiciary, or Executive Branch shall receive any monetary compensation until such a bill is authorized and signed into law by the President.  The Supreme Court may authorize the President to petition Congress for deficit spending authority during time of war or national calamity.   Exigent spending authority shall be reviewed annually by the court and rescinded at the earliest opportunity.

Tired of politicians that place party over the people?  Blame the 17^th Amendment to the Constitution.

Most of America is frustrated with the ineffectiveness of government.   Gridlock, confrontation and ideology are the norm and very little concern is given to the issues that concern the voters.  We live under a system where the politicians no longer answer to the people; instead they serve only the interests of the party.  There can be no compromise when the party leadership places its interest above those that they purportedly represent.

George Washington, probably the greatest and most prescient leader in our history warned in his farewell address that party politics was the bane of liberty.  Stating,

“[Parties] … may now and then answer popular ends, they are likely, in the course of time and things, to become potent engines, by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people and to usurp for themselves the reins of government, destroying afterwards the very engines which have lifted them to unjust dominion.”  

In the United States of America today, we see that no person, however intelligent, honorable or respected can be elected to even the least of public offices without the approval and support of either of the two major parties.   These parties, in turn, control which candidates run for elections in districts in every region of the country.   Money from the party overwhelms the resources of local candidates and chills the desire of knowledgeable and qualified patriots from participating.   Through redistricting, rural areas with traditional beliefs are disenfranchised by inclusion into districts that have metropolitan communities having opposing political interests and overwhelming numbers.  During a conversation with the manager of my representative’s local office, it was openly explained to me, that my interests and those of my neighbors were of little concern to congressman because the majority of his constituents were located in a metropolitan county 300 miles south of us.  It was these voters who had elected him and it was their interests that were his main concern.  His voting record has done nothing to contradict this revelation.

A republic is a messy system of government.  It is nearly as messy as a democracy.  The benefit of a republic is that it protects the interests of the individual from the greed and prejudices of the majority.  It is a fact that, in a democracy, 51 percent of the people will always vote to oppress 49 percent of the people.  This is the lynchpin for the social democratic philosophy.  You can buy the votes of the majority with the wealth of the minority.  This is what George Washington was warning us of.

Our government is simple in its complexity.  The genius of the Constitution lies in the distribution of power among the three separate branches of government.  The House of Representatives is the voice of the people, and was intended to represent the democratic nature of our republic.  The Senate was intended to represent the interests of the sovereign states that formed the union.  By requiring the state legislatures to nominate and select their senator, the Constitution ensured that the interests of that state would be preserved in Congress. 

By changing the design of the Founding Fathers, the ratification of the 17^th Amendment placed the election of members of the Senate in the hands of the political parties and the end of our representative form of government.  It allowed the corruption of political parties to dominate the interests of local government.  Large states were finally supreme and the interests of small states could be ignored as their members in the Senate were selected by the party power brokers and their elections funded by the special interests.

The stranglehold political parties has dispossessed each of us fair representation in our government.  State level elections are determined by the campaign funds from interests outside the individual state.  Demagogues like George Soros and Michael Bloomberg are able to influence elections by outspending independent candidates and depriving the voters of the right to have a senator that represents their interests. 

There is an old adage that all politics is local.  This is no longer valid as the people have no right to the representatives of their choice, only those granted them by the political parties.  The 17^th Amendment did away with local control of our political system.

What do you call a political leader that refuses to heed the will of the people, refuses to obey the law, and openly punishes the nation's citizens when he doesn't get his way?  The only word I can think of is "TYRANT"

Indifferent to a 37% approval rating in the latest polls Obama continues to punish, in any way he can, the American people for not allowing him to force a political and economic model on this country that is overwhelmingly unpopular.

The majority of the people oppose Obamacare and wish to see it appealed or at least delayed.  Polls show that the American people, by an average of two to one, feel that the Debt Ceiling should not be raised without significant cuts to spending.  Why, in the face of these facts, would Obama, Reid and Pelosi shut down the government and refuse to even talk to the Representatives of the People?

Remember the roll of the Congress and Executive Branch.  The House of Representatives is the people’s voice in government.  The Senate is the individual states’ voice and the executive is the enforcement arm of government.  (We could discuss the failings of the Senate since the passing of the 17th Amendment, but that is a discussion for another day.)

Despite an unpopular position in the polls, Obama refuses to meet with the People's Representatives and instead chooses to punish the American People in every way he can possibly devise to force capitulation.  He wants to realign the distribution of powers defined in the Constitution and is prepared to use coercion to accomplish this goal.

We have seen it time and time again, from Fast and Furious, where he and Holder ran guns to the drug cartels to undermine the Second Amendment, to the disenfranchisement of conservative organizations by the IRS in order to sway elections.  He will use any means available to him to further his agenda which is the complete restructuring of the American system of government.

We should not be punished for expressing support for our elected officials, who in turn stand for our beliefs in the Congress.  Should he continue to deprive us of services and access that we have paid for solely as a reprisal for thwarting his will, we will have little recourse but to demand, by any means available to us, the restoration of these rights.  This is no longer about government spending.  It is now about the relevancy of the People's Representatives in opposition to tyranny.