[Photo courtesy Hays Post]
I woke up yesterday early, and when I mean early. It was some time around 5:30, an early start to ensure I was in studio with Joseph Ashby in Wichita by 7:30. I wouldn't be able to drop the kids off at school this morning. Instead they were dropped at the babysitters by 6:15 again so I could make it to Wichita in time for the interview.
Typically when I drive I try and work by calling and touching base with volunteers and leaders throughout my region, but obviously that was not going to be possible at that hour. I took the time to reflect upon my upcoming day and to pray. My thoughts quickly turned to one of betrayal.
I couldn't help but to reflect on how many times I have felt betrayed this same way in the last several years only to have it reoccur with seemingly more frequency. You see my prayer included thoughts for this country and for Congress to reject the massive budget deal that was clearly set for quick passage that day.
I made it to Ashby's studio in plenty of time. I listened to him the last five minutes of my drive. He was talking about the impending Paul Ryan budget. Sitting down and getting ready to go live, there was no preparation to how we would discuss our topic of the day, but at that point, there really didn't need to be. It was clear that Paul Ryan had prepared us both to discuss why I was there.
You see, I represent a small microcosm of a movement sweeping across America. Hundreds of thousands of individuals like myself are devoting their days, evenings, and weekends to help fix this nation. Paul Ryan's budget deal is simply a symptom of the problem that this movement is attempting to fix. Washington, D.C. will never fix itself. No matter who we put in charge, we will consistently get the same results, until we fix the root of the problem.
I'm often told, "If these guys would just follow the Constitution, we would be just fine!" While that is true wisdom, the days of strict constitutionalism are gone. They have been for some time. In fact we live in a post-constitutional era, and the sooner we come to this realization the better. We must realize that Congress, the President, and all the alphabet soup executive agencies are following the Constitution that the Supreme Court has given us, not the one our Founding Fathers did.
We are not dealing with checks and balances any longer. It's more like juvenile delinquents spending Mom and Dad's hard-earned money, stealing the neighbors car for a joy ride, and then getting their favorite uncle, who happens to be the judge in town, to get everyone to look the other way.
Constitutional conservatives are exhausted at yelling at televisions, radios, and various other non-responsive items. They say things like, "Why don't they use the Power of the Purse?" and "Good grief, that is why impeachment was put into the Constitution!" My favorite is, "He doesn't have that power! He can't do that!" Maybe you have heard yourself say these same things from time to time? What boggles my mind is that these same Constitution-loving individuals do not embrace the entire Constitution.
This brings me back to why I got up so early and how the Paul Ryan budget deal teed me up for my interview. You see I was there to talk about the solution big enough to fix the mess. The excrement sandwich that Congress gave us was example number 9,000 as to why we need to hold a Convention of States.
Yes, Article V is in the Constitution. It was put there by our Founding Fathers if and when the national government would become oppressive. They knew that that the fix would never come from the tyrant, it would have to originate with the people. In fact George Mason stood up near the very end of the Constitutional Convention on Sept 15, 1787, and declared "No amendments of the proper kind would ever be obtained by the people, if the Government should become oppressive" (emphasis added).
Paul Ryan's budget gave me everything I needed to talk about during that interview. The government has become oppressive, and we are fools to believe that any change "of the proper kind" would ever come from them.
Now back to the constitutional conservatives. If you believe that an Article V Convention of States is foolhardy, you are no better than the Republicans that refuse to use the other checks and balances available to them. You are essentially agents of the status quo, or you believe in anarchy, and want this country to fall apart in revolution. Doing nothing leads to one of those two options.
The Convention of States Project is what gives me hope. There is a way to solve this mess, and it is in the Constitution. We must now use it. The best part about it is, we don't need Congress, we don't need the President, and we don't need the Supreme Court to solve it. We need volunteers to educate others and spread the word. I was blessed to be on a radio show yesterday. What can I do today in the fight for liberty?
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Listen to the podcast from the Joseph Ashby show featuring David Schneider HERE
Volunteer to help the Convention of States efforts in your state by clicking HERE
David Schneider is a Regional Director with the Convention of States Project, he lives in Kansas and was the State Director of that state for the Project until assuming his current role. His region includes Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, Minnesota, and Wisconsin.
