“Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.”
I’m sure you’re familiar with this George Santayana quote. Aphorisms over time tend to be true. It’s also true that learning and studying history is critically important to the health of our society. It’s the way we pass to our heirs our customs, traditions and mores. These are the bases of a society’s culture. And without an agreed upon culture, it’s impossible for a country to maintain a civil society.
In his book Rules For Radicals, author Saul Alinsky’s third rule is this: “Whenever possible go outside the experience of the enemy.” He continues, “Here you want to cause confusion, fear and retreat.” As a Statist, Alinsky attacks and discredits established institutions to diminish their citizen trust. Refusing to teach actual history gives the Statist opportunities to substitute contrived narratives with alternative facts. And today, we see numerous examples of this in movements such as “Defund the Police” and the push to destroy historical monuments. There is no question that using this tactic has been successful.
In the mid-2000s there was considerable frustration with the direction of the country and with President Bush 43’s profligate spending – accentuated by the $800 million TARP bailout of financial institutions. When President Obama took office and advocated for the $1 trillion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, and Obamacare, citizen frustration reached boiling point and the Tea Party movement was born.
The Tea Party had a “throw the bums out” mentality but not much direction. Its focus was to defeat Republicans in Name Only (RINOs) and replace them with conservatives in the 2010 midterm elections. The result was Republicans flipped 63 seats in the House and six seats in the Senate. This was a historic wave election with a grand hope that things would change. Unfortunately, little has changed.
Back then the Republican Party held a majority in the House only. As justification for inaction Speaker John Boehner used the excuse, “We’re only one-third of one-half of the federal government.” Boehner’s phrase was true, but all appropriations bills originate in the House, and the House has tremendous leverage over the legislative process. Even though freshmen like John Boehner and Paul Ryan rode the Tea Party movement to rise to power, they were unwilling to flex their legislative muscle to effect change.
Next, we were told that Republicans had to gain a majority in the Senate to stop President Obama’s agenda. That way the Party would control both legislative branches. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell pledged to rip out Obamacare “root and branch.” And in 2014, voters supported the Republican Party’s promises. The Republicans strengthened their majority in the House by adding 14 seats. Senate control then shifted parties with Republicans gaining nine seats for a ten-seat majority. Together, with a 59-seat majority in the House, things are really gonna get done now!
Yes, but it didn’t turn out that way, did it? This new majority had barely been sworn in before it started backtracking on its campaign rhetoric. More disappointment. More broken promises. More of the same.
This brings us to the 2016 Presidential election cycle. The Democrat Party field was somewhat competitive. The Republican primary field was quite interesting. The field began with 17 candidates. Sixteen of the candidates were considered traditional with most all previously elected to office. And yet, there was one candidate…let us say…who was unique. Donald Trump did not speak like the others. He was brash. He used snappy nicknames for his fellow competitors. He also said things that conventional wisdom advised against.
In one primary debate the topic turned to the selection of Supreme Court Justices. All the candidates stated they’d nominate textualists or originalist judges. Judges vetted by groups like the Federalist Society also were mentioned as criteria. Then, Donald Trump said what ‘could not’ be said. “I will nominate justices who will overturn Roe v Wade.” Uh, I beg your pardon.
Trump’s approach resonated with Republican voters. For years, candidates controlled by political operatives had crafted messages tested by focus groups, only to have their promises abandoned once elected. Many in the electorate were tired of this pattern. The 2010 Congressional election had yielded few long-term results. The same occurred in 2014. Perhaps it was time to elect a different type of candidate…a candidate who would disrupt Washington DC. Sure, there was a chance that some good the federal government did would be lost in the process. Seeing how most of what occurs in DC is a negative for the country, voters decided the juice was worth the squeeze. So in 2016, Donald Trump was elected the 45th President of the United States.
What occurred next was problematic. Many grassroots political activists relaxed. We saw this with our active Convention of States Action volunteers. President Trump was going to “drain the Swamp” as he promised. Our prayers were answered! But wait, not so fast! The term “Trump Drunk” was used to describe this phenomenon.
It turns out the Swamp is pretty swampy. President Trump achieved some major accomplishments in his first term, but ‘Draining the Swamp’ wasn’t one of them. The federal bureaucracy dug in even more. The events in the fourth year of the Trump Administration launched much of the tyranny and many of the economic conditions that continue today.
“The price of liberty is eternal vigilance.”
We are at a critical juncture in our republic. As we enter another presidential election cycle, it’s important that we do not make the same mistakes again. Elections are vitally important but they are insufficient to correct the course of our country. Regardless of whom you support in the party primaries, we cannot rely on them to solve our problems. We do not have a personnel problem in D.C. We have a structural problem.
A supermajority of Americans agree that D.C. does too much, spends too much and stays there too long. They also agree D.C. is unable and unwilling to do anything about this. Fortunately for us, The Framers provided us with a solution to act when the federal government outgrows its constitutional authority.
Convention of States Action’s resolution addresses each of the aforementioned problems. Limiting the size, scope and jurisdiction of the federal government focuses on the number of decisions made at the federal government level. Restoring fiscal restraints affects the amount of money the federal government can spend. Discussing term limits for Congress and other federal officials can break the cycle of career politicians.
This effort will not come to fruition on its own. Our State Legislators need the encouragement of their constituents. Our fellow Americans must be informed this solution exists and they can be part of the solution. Saving our republic will require the participation of citizens – active citizens. Be part of our team by going to https://conventionofstates.com/take_action. Be part of the solution that is as big as the problems.
In liberty,
Brett
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