This is what federal overreach looks like

Dr. Anthony Fauci appeared before a House subcommittee on Monday, and the hearing went, well, about as well as one can expect from Congress. That is to say, it was raucous, contentious, and primed for social media.

But largely lost in the meaningless kerfuffle was a genuinely disturbing revelation from Georgia Representative Rich McCormick, who revealed that the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases once fantasized about making life “difficult” for the American people until they got vaccinated.

“Once people feel empowered and protected, legally, you are going to have schools, universities, and colleges… say, ‘You want to come to this college buddy, you’re going to get vaccinated, lady, you’re going to get vaccinated,’” Fauci said, as heard in an audio clip played by McCormick. “Big corporations like Amazon and Facebook, and all those others, are going to say ‘You want to work for us, get vaccinated,’ and it’s proven that when you make it difficult for people in their lives, they lose their ideological [expletive] and they get vaccinated.”

There’s a lot to unpack here.

First, to hear the contempt in Fauci’s voice as he bashes “empowered and protected” Americans is revealing: he and his fellow federal elitists view liberties and rights as an obnoxious hurdle in the way of their agenda. (Blasted Constitution! If only “We the People” weren’t so empowered, Fauci might finally get his way!)

That is, in effect, what the doctor-turned-autocrat seemed to express in his shocking quote. He added that one might have to “make it difficult for people in their lives” before they finally caved and accepted his COVID vaccine. Of course, while he purported to speak about the coronavirus, he also opened a window into the mind of a despot: simply rack up the pressure on the so-called “empowered and protected” people, and eventually, they will capitulate on any issue—or, at least that’s the plan.

This is what federal overreach looks like—a single bureaucrat, not to mention an unelected one, should never be allowed to make life “difficult” for millions of Americans. And yet, that is exactly what Fauci did.

He (literally) cursed our ideological convictions—how dare we, simple folk, question his authority?—and flaunted his ability to make us pay for our resistance. Now, although he has since retired, that same power still lurks in Washington—waiting for the next lawmaker, apparatchik, or tyrant to take up the mantle.

In many ways, the doctor’s despotic diatribe against us liberty-loving folks reminds me of Nemik’s manifesto from the excellent political thriller and allegory, “Andor.” In the series, the last great entry in the popular franchise, the Empire is consolidating perfect control over the “Star Wars” galaxy, hiding behind, as the author of the anti-Imperial manifesto puts it, “40” grievances of justice rather than “a single incident.” Young and idealistic, Nemik urges his fellow freedom fighters not to lose hope in the face of oppression:

“Freedom is a pure idea,” he declares. “It occurs spontaneously and without instruction. Random acts of insurrection are occurring constantly throughout the galaxy. There are whole armies, battalions that have no idea that they've already enlisted in the cause. Remember that the frontier of the Rebellion is everywhere. And even the smallest act of insurrection pushes our lines forward. And then remember this. The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that. And know this, the day will come when all these skirmishes and battles, these moments of defiance will have flooded the banks of the Empire's authority and then there will be one too many. One single thing will break the siege. Remember this. Try.”

O.K., I know you didn’t open this article expecting a lecture about geopolitics “in a galaxy far, far away,” but don’t miss the parallels here. Tyranny requires constant effort, Nemik opines, because it is unnatural. Similarly, when bureaucrats like Fauci laugh at and trample on our rights, it is because they know that when we exercise them, we undermine and gnaw at their leviathan of power. 

Under the supervision of men like Fauci, Washington, D.C. has swelled into a borderline tyrannical administrative state, which, like tyranny itself, requires constant effort. But, if we rise up—peacefully and constitutionally—we can break the dam—before it breaks us. To hear our “leaders” threaten to make our lives “difficult” if we don’t obey them should incense us. It should serve as the catalyst we need to push back on their excesses.

With an Article V convention, “We the People” can halt tyranny in its tracks. We can extinguish the pervasive mentality that liberties and rights are merely problems to be solved on the path toward federal preeminence. And we can ensure that no doctor is ever again allowed to control our lives.

Sign the petition below to get started!