FUNDAMENTAL ERRORS IN THE CONSTITUTION

THAT ONLY YOU CAN FIX

THE STATES AND THE PEOPLE

The Constitution was created by the States and the People.  It formed a Federal Government of specified and limited powers with all other responsibilities left to the States and the People. 

But who will keep the actions of the Federal Government from expanding beyond those specified by the Constitution?  It is certainly not the President, Congress and the Court.  It is in their personal interests to expand their roles, regardless of their Oaths to support the Constitution.  The history of the past two centuries certainly proves this point. 

Today, we must face the obvious.  The only parties that can limit the powers of the Federal Government are those who created it, the States and the People. 

THE FOUNDERS INTENTION

Originally the Senate was to be the States House.  Each Senator was selected by his State’s Legislature.  His first responsibility was to keep Federal role from expanding into those left to the States by the Constitution.  This arrangement was destroyed by the fundamental error of the 17^th Amendment.  Electing Senators by popular vote left the States defenseless against the Unconstitutional expansion of Federal powers.

Congress was to be the Peoples House.  Each Representative was selected by constituents of his District.  His first responsibility was to preserve the Individual Liberties of his constituents from infringements by the Federal Government, thus leaving to the individual most of the decisions that directly impact his life.  Unfortunately, political realities have intervened to sabotage the essential link between Representative and Constituent. 

MONEY TALKS

 The fact that the Constitution authorizes pay to Senators and Representatives from the Treasury of the United States is another fundamental error, although innocent in appearance. 

Senators whose first responsibility is to check expansion of Federal powers into those relegated to the States, should logically be paid by the States whose interests they are charged with defending.  We all serve most dearly the hand that signs our paycheck. 

Representatives whose first responsibility is to resist Federal encroachment into Individual Liberties of their constituents should logically be paid by the constituents they represent.  We all serve most dearly the hand that signs our paycheck. 

With their pay coming from the central government, they become creatures of the Federal Government with a built-in motivation to preserve, protect and defend their paymaster.  It can be no other way.

MONEY SCREAMS

With the advent of television, the cost of a Congressional reelection campaign is near a million dollars and the cost of a Senatorial reelection campaign can reach ten to twenty million dollars.  Most approach the office with the hope of serving more than one term, and of perhaps making the office a well paid and influential lifetime career.  Their future influence and prosperity therefore requires them to make fund-raising for reelection their primary activity; ahead of preserving the Individual Liberties of their constituents and ahead of checking the expansion of Federal powers.

Even if you are a patriot determined to protect and defend the Constitution, you must begin by hustling for reelection money or you will not remain in office. 

Lobbyists representing the largest corporations and unions will be your best friends and will help you with your fundraisers.  With this access they will lobby against regulations and taxes that could destroy their industries and their union influence.  They must have a Washington DC presence to defend their interests because they know the Federal Government has the power to destroy them.  But having established contact they will also exert their influence to obtain tax breaks (over 60,000 pages of them), industry subsidies and regulations that favor their interests.  They will convince you that these measures are in the public interest and in return you will be well positioned for the next election. 

The cost of reelection and the necessity for large corporations and unions to defend their interests creates the dominant web of corruption that is endemic to our institutions of government.  While serving your reelection, this arrangement also preserves, protects and defends the corrupting influence of large corporate and union interests.  It leaves small business neglected and leaves Individual Liberties and Constitutional Limits on the power central government ignored.

STATES AND THE PEOPLE TO THE RESCUE

1. Repeal the 17^th Amendment, thereby returning the appointment of Senators to the State Legislature.  This will restore the ability to the States to resist expansion of the central government authority beyond that specified by the Constitution.  It will also eliminate the need for the costly reelection campaigns that presently corrupt the Senate.
2. Provide Federal financing of all election campaigns for the House of Representatives with equal funding for both incumbents and challengers.  Place a limit of $200 on all contributions to Congressional election Political Action Committees (PACs), so PAC activities do not completely dwarf those of the actual campaign.
3. Require payment of Congressional Representative Salary and all office costs by the constituency represented.
4. 4.  Eliminate all perks hitherto provided by the central government, free air travel and limousines as well as subsidized health insurance and retirement benefits.  Any and all perks must come exclusively from the States and the People.

This will not eliminate all Washington corruption.  Nothing can.  But it can help free our government from dominance by corruption and put the States and the People in effective control of the Federal Government as the Constitution intended.

Bob Lessley

Capitola, CA