Happy Birthday America!

 

The Constitution of the United States of America, adopted in 1789, is the oldest, written national constitution still in use today. It has remained uninterrupted since its inception, while many other nations have undergone changes to their governments’ structures and functions. We have stood the test of time. So far.

 

Our Founders chose the words of the Preamble to the Constitution with care. They grasped the significance of the moment, and it was their intention that all who came after them would grasp it, cherish it, and keep it alive.

 

The Preamble answered the question, “Why?”  “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, ensure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”

 

We the people of 2026 are the posterity for whom the Blessings of Liberty were secured. As we celebrate 250 years of independence from British rule, it is fitting that we ask ourselves how we are doing as the guardians of the freedom that was gifted to us with the blood and sacrifice of our ancestors. The answer is “not nearly well enough.”

 

We are at a crossroads in this country and the risk of losing everything becomes more real every day. Those who would fundamentally change our form of government have come out of the shadows to publicly advocate for communism and they are winning elections.

 

This is a now or never moment for freedom loving Americans and we must proceed with clarity, determination, and a willingness to do whatever is necessary to preserve our way of life. Important work lies ahead to root out the rot that our complacency and apathy have allowed to take hold. It took a long time for us to deteriorate to our current state and longer still for us to wake up to what was happening. There are no quick fixes for decades of decay but a clear path forward, embraced by all who have no intention of squandering the gift we have been given, will enable us to take our country back in time.

 

Secure Federal Elections

 

Thomas Jefferson was one of our nation’s Founding Fathers, principal author of the Declaration of Independence, and the third President of the United States. He stressed the critical role of elections in preserving freedom:

 

“The elective franchise, if guided as the ark of our safety, will peaceably dissipate all combinations to subvert a Constitution.”

 

Jefferson communicated in the style of his day, which requires translation in 2026 to be fully appreciated. “Combinations” was the term used to describe corrupt political alliances plotting to seize power. Jefferson called on his fellow citizens to protect the integrity of the vote because if corrupted, the safety of the entire nation fails. Referring to the elections themselves as the “ark of our safety” (using the biblical reference of the Ark of the Covenant) to signify the profoundly sacred, essential, and life-saving anchor of the Republic, Jefferson implored his fellow citizens to use their vote to stop power grabs before they are able to destroy the Government.

 

The right to vote in Federal elections is restricted to citizens. It is estimated that more than 25 million non-citizens reside in the United States, about half of them here legally and the other half illegally. As astounding as it may seem, there is no universal requirement from state to state to show proof of citizenship as part of the process to register to vote. The vast majority of Americans, when surveyed, favor requiring proof of citizenship when registering to vote and a picture ID when voting.

 

The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act has been passed by the House and is currently hung up in the Senate. It includes three basic requirements for Federal elections:

• Proof of citizenship when registering to vote.

• Mandatory photo ID when voting.

• Voter roll verification (Department of Justice verification that State voter rolls are limited to currently eligible voters.)

 

President Trump made this legislation a top priority, and he is battling members of both parties in the fight for election integrity. This is basic enforcement of existing law, a fundamental requirement of an orderly society. The Democrats are increasingly opposed to enforcing any laws, calling it cruel, and have labeled the SAVE Act “voter suppression” to generate public opposition to verifying voter eligibility. It becomes clearer every day that the American voters will not be buying the increasingly radical ideas the Democrats are selling, and they will have to cheat to win. Their motive for obstructing proof of citizenship and voter ID is obvious.

 

John Thune, Republican Senate Majority Leader, and many other career Republicans are as obstructive as the Democrats. They pretend to favor legislation to secure elections but hide behind Senate procedures to avoid delivering. President Trump has been hammering Thune to return to the talking filibuster to get this legislation passed and he has steadfastly refused. Every voter needs to understand what this actually means.

 

In 1975, the Senate moved from a talking filibuster to a silent filibuster. This allowed the minority party to merely state their intent to filibuster a bill and move on to other business. This was very significant because it meant that 60 votes were required to end debate and vote, even though there was no debate in process.

 

Contrast this with the talking filibuster which exhausts the minority party’s ability to delay a vote. Instead of just declaring a filibuster to block a bill, the minority party is forced to physically hold the floor and continuously speak to maintain an objection.

 

There are two critical rules that ensure an end to debate. First, a “legislative day” is defined as a “day which continues from the beginning of a day’s session following an adjournment until another adjournment.”  It is not the same as a calendar day and the party that is filibustering has to continuously speak until the Leader adjourns the session, which can be days.

 

The second rule is that Senators are limited to 2 speeches on the same legislative day. As the members of the minority party expend their speaking time, the ability to delay is exhausted. When the minority runs out of Senators who are eligible to speak, they must yield the floor and debate ends. At that point, an up or down vote with a simple majority decides the issue.

 

In addition to putting an end to limitless obstruction of the SAVE Act, the talking filibuster would force the Democrats to explain to the American people why they do not support verifying voter eligibility. John Thune has shown no indication he is willing to return to the talking filibuster. His excuse is not wanting to set a disruptive precedent. Getting behind Trump to flex our voter muscle and insist on passage of the SAVE Act is the clear first priority of the work we must do. Call your legislators! We must demand eligibility verification in the November midterms.

 

Drive the Democrats out of Office at the Ballot Box

 

Both political parties have been corrupted by money and power and ultimately will require a complete overhaul to remake them as parties that serve the people. Career politicians from both parties must be replaced by term-limited citizen legislators who serve for a time and then return to private life. But first things first. Once elections are secured, the next urgent priority must be to neutralize any ability the Democratic Party has to destroy our way of life. They are leaderless, unprincipled, and offer nothing to the American people except hatred of Donald Trump. Now, however, they have moved beyond feckless to extremely dangerous. In a pathetic and desperate attempt to regain power, they have shown they are willing to make room for communists in their Party, threatening the entire country.

 

Communists calling themselves Democratic Socialists have been winning Democratic primaries across the country and knocking out more moderate Democratic incumbents in the process. They make no attempt to hide their agenda, which is detailed on the Democratic Socialists of America website. They want to completely restructure the government and economy, replicating a form of government that has failed everywhere it has been tried. They seek to eliminate private ownership of the “means of production,” transitioning utilities, major industries, and transportation from private ownership into public cooperatives. They would allow non-citizens to vote and unrestricted passage across our borders. Defunding police, abolishing ICE, and abolishing prisons are on the list along with Medicare for all, and abolishing the Electoral College. These haters of America are very open about their plan for Her destruction. They would be just another lunatic fringe group to ignore if not for the willingness of the Democrats to placate them. Nazi Germany revisited.

 

Prominent members of the Democratic Party including Hakeem Jeffries, Minority Leader of the House, and Chuck Schumer, Minority Leader of the Senate, have only inane comments to offer when asked what this all means. They hide behind the idea of a “big tent” as an excuse for their refusal to define the limits of their tolerance. They are so desperately trying to hold on to their seats at any cost, they are willing to surrender their Party to these radicals. Ironically, they will all be cast aside the moment these extreme enemies of freedom acquire power.

 

Republicans too, in Due Time

 

Career Republicans are corrupt and dysfunctional. They serve themselves rather than the people who elected them, but they are not an immediate threat to our way of life. The Constitution will survive their incompetence and dishonesty. We can afford to tolerate them a bit longer than the Democrats, but they too must go.

 

Donald Trump understands and cherishes freedom and is willing to fight for it even when it means going it alone. He will not pretend the corruption that permeates the Government does not exist. The media and career politicians from both parties, who have been called the Uniparty for their shared devotion to a system that enables them to be one another’s fundraising foils rather than work for the people, make utter fools of themselves trying to explain the unwavering support for Trump. They haven’t got a clue.

 

We have to understand a problem before we can solve it. It took a while, but we understand the problem now. Thomas Paine, one of our nation’s Founders whose influential writing is credited with igniting the Revolution, argued that liberty is not a passive gift, but an active endeavor. He wrote, "Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom, must, like men, undergo the fatigues of supporting it”. The greatest danger to our future is apathy. What kind of difference will you make?

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Happy Birthday America! And many happy returns of the day!