Asking for help from my Gulcher friends

Posted by Robbie53024 11 years, 1 month ago to Government
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Our congressional district is going to be "up for grabs" this year, as the incumbent has decided not to run again. I fear that the debate will center on irrelevancies instead of substance. To counter this, I propose 5 questions to determine what sort of perspective the slew of candidates has regarding government.

What do you think? Did I get a good set? What did I miss, or what would you recommend as being more important?

Here's my proposal.

The five important questions for our next Republican congressional candidate.

With the VA mess, the Benghazi debacle, failure of Obamacare, etc., it will be easy for the Republicans of the 6th Congressional District to lose perspective when selecting our next candidate for congress. I'd like to propose five important questions that we should be asking our slate of candidates to gain an understanding of their philosophy of governing.

Number 1: Will you support an audit of the Fed, to include an inventory of the gold reserves in Ft. Knox and all other precious metals reserves?

Number 2: Will you support and actively push for a constitutional amendment to repeal the 17th Amendment?

Number 3: What should be done regarding the alphabet soup of federal agencies (EPA, USDA, FDA, Dept of Ed, VA, etc.)?

Number 4: Should there be a constitutional amendment to invalidate Marbury v. Madison? Should the Congress have an ability to override Supreme Court decisions?

Number 5: Should the Commerce Clause of the Constitution be refined by amendment to more clearly identify that it only applies to actual commerce - that of sales of goods and services between suppliers and customers in different states, and nothing more?

Discussion:
1) The Federal Reserve has manipulated our currency and affected the economy profoundly. The American people need to know if the assets "owned" by the Fed in trust for the American people are real, or whether the money supply has been inflated to a point of unsustainability. The people deserve to know just how badly the money supply has been inflated.

2) The 17th Amendment changed the way that US Senators are selected, changing it from a selection by the state governments to a direct election by the citizens of the states. This process reduced the influence of the individual states on the working of the federal government, effectively making the states totally subservient to the federal government. Repealing this amendment would return the balance of power between individual states and the federal government.

3) The alphabet soup of agencies have usurped law making authority from the congress. They are unaccountable to the people as unelected, irrepealable bureaucrats whose actions have the force of law without the accountability of lawmakers. This power must be returned to lawmakers accountable to the electorate.

4) In Marbury v. Madison, the Supreme Court of the US gave itself the authority to be the last authority of the land. This is a power that the framers never envisioned in the court. In fact, the SCOTUS was envisioned as the least powerful branch, not the final authority. The framers always envisioned that the court members would not be affected by political concerns in their decisions of fact, but did not expect them to be the final word - that was always meant to reside in the two branches that are accountable to the people, the House of Representatives and the President.

5) The Commerce Clause has been bent in so many directions to mean and provide justification for the intrusion of government into nearly all aspects of our lives. This was never meant to be the case. The Commerce Clause was merely supposed to ensure that trade between members of different states was honestly conducted and if there were disputes, that they would not be handled by state courts, which could be biased, but rather be handled by the Supreme Court, which was envisioned as being "impartial" to matters between the states.


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  • Posted by JeanPaulZodeaux 11 years, 1 month ago in reply to this comment.
    On the face of it, Chief Justice Roberts opinion is absurd given that the ACA originated in the Senate, and because of that could not possibly be a "tax" or at the very least, an unconstitutional tax. However, by focusing on that issue what gets obscured is the question of liability.

    I have never met a single soul who has ever stopped to question how it was they became liable for the so called "income tax". The question of liability doesn't even occur to most people, but with this ruling, anyone who is morally and justly opposed to the ACA should use this ruling to begin the process of challenging the jurisdiction of the IRS on all matters of taxation.

    This has been one of the first and biggest clues yet to the American people regarding the matter of liability for the "Personal Income Tax". According to the SCOTUS, the only people who are liable to the ACA are those who are statutorily defined "taxpayers". The non-taxpayer quite obviously has no liability to either the "Personal Income Tax" or the ACA.
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  • Posted by 11 years, 1 month ago in reply to this comment.
    I am linked in with several grass roots (TEA party) groups and am a rather prolific letter to the editor writer. Based on answers, I would then communicate my interpretation of the stance of the various candidates.
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  • Posted by $ jlc 11 years, 1 month ago in reply to this comment.
    My point is, "Speaks volumes to whom?"

    If you are looking at this changing the perception of the voters reaction to these candidates then your questions need to be comprehensible to the people - and important to them.

    Jan
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  • Posted by 11 years, 1 month ago in reply to this comment.
    The problem with a balanced budget is that it can be achieved by raising taxes.

    I do like the voting issue question.
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  • Posted by 11 years, 1 month ago in reply to this comment.
    One senator that bribes to be appointed is tolerable. What we have now are 100 that essentially do the same.
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  • Posted by 11 years, 1 month ago in reply to this comment.
    Thanks. I intend to press these on to the candidates, so if they cannot grasp the issues, then that speaks volumes as to their governing philosophy. The other, less esoteric, questions, I fully expect to be asked. I'm looking for a more fundamental perspective.
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  • Posted by strugatsky 11 years, 1 month ago in reply to this comment.
    If you truly believe in this part of your post: "
    I would add that the salaries of all State and Federal employees (including POTUS all the way down to floor sweepers) be reduced to the average annual income of the American worker AND all pay increases limited to cost of living with a maximum of an additional 3% based on performance", I would recommend reading AR' Anthem.
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  • Posted by tozierpatriot 11 years, 1 month ago
    I am more on board with the push for a 28th amendment- term limits and the idea that laws apply equally to citizens and their reps ACROSS THE BOARD! I would add that the salaries of all State and Federal employees (including POTUS all the way down to floor sweepers) be reduced to the average annual income of the American worker AND all pay increases limited to cost of living with a maximum of an additional 3% based on performance. Also, any alphabetical agency that crosses-over jurisdiction with another agency should be eliminated, and especially that any federal agency that conflicts with a similar State or Local agency be eliminated (which is already a provision of the Constitution). Reigning-in the Federal govt as a whole should be job 1.
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  • Posted by RonC 11 years, 1 month ago
    #3. The alphabet soup agencies should be examined for constitutionality with the 10th amendment as the measuring stick. For too long congress has abdicated it's power to make laws by allowing these agencies to govern with "rules" which are crafted within the agencies, not in the house and senate. If these agencies are not constitutional on the face of it, they should be taken apart in deference to the separate states or to the people. An example of this would be Department of Education.

    If they are constitutional, the agency should be accountable to the congress, not left to run their own show. It could be argued whether IRS is constitutional. While the Constitution does not specifically provide for IRS, I am of the opinion the government is afforded the responsibility of collecting taxes. In a recent example IRS made the ruling that businesses could not terminated medical coverage and give salary increases to employees, allowing them to find their own coverage. This is an example of a government agency effectively writing law. This should not be permitted. Congress should make law, and face their constituents when they overstep. When IRS makes a rule, or EPA, OSHA, FDA,etc; where do the people file their grievance?
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  • Posted by $ blarman 11 years, 1 month ago
    While I agree with the gist of the repeal of the 17th Amendment, the history of that one bears scrutiny. My son had to do a history on the man responsible, and it was interesting to note that it was because of the actions of a Montana Senator who was very literally buying his appointment to the Senate each term by bribing the State Representatives that this Amendment was passed.

    I believe that with the proper transparency, this kind of thing could be mitigated, as I do agree that the popular vote should be restricted to the Congressional Representatives for the sole purpose in maintaining States' rights.
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  • Posted by AdmNelson 11 years, 1 month ago
    See also F.A.Hayek's "The Road to Serfdom" We have arrived.
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  • Posted by j_IR1776wg 11 years, 1 month ago in reply to this comment.
    To put an exclamation point on the privately held Federal Reserve Bank, the owners of this bank are: "Who actually owns the Federal Reserve Central Banks? The ownership of the 12 Central banks, a very well kept secret, has been revealed:

    Rothschild Bank of London Warburg Bank of Hamburg Rothschild Bank of Berlin Lehman Brothers of New York Lazard Brothers of Paris Kuhn Loeb Bank of New York Israel Moses Seif Banks of Italy Goldman, Sachs of New York Warburg Bank of Amsterdam Chase Manhattan Bank of New York (Reference 14, P. 13, Reference 12, P. 152)

    These bankers are connected to London Banking Houses which ultimately control the FED. When England lost the Revolutionary War with America (our forefathers were fighting their own government), they planned to control us by controlling our banking system, the printing of our money, and our debt (Reference 4, 22).

    The individuals listed below owned banks which in turn owned shares in the FED. The banks listed below have significant control over the New York FED District, which controls the other 11 FED Districts. These banks also are partly foreign owned and control the New York FED District Bank. (Reference 22)

    First National Bank of New York James Stillman National City Bank, New York Mary W. Harnman

    National Bank of Commerce, New York A.D. Jiullard

    Hanover National Bank, New York Jacob Schiff

    Chase National Bank, New York Thomas F. Ryan Paul Warburg William Rockefeller Levi P. Morton M.T. Pyne George F. Baker Percy Pyne Mrs. G.F. St. George J.W. Sterling Katherine St. George H.P. Davidson J.P. Morgan (Equitable Life/Mutual Life) Edith Brevour T. Baker (Reference 4 for above, Reference 22 has details, P. 92, 93, 96, 179)" from this site http://www.apfn.org/apfn/fed_reserve.htm...
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  • Posted by Solver 11 years, 1 month ago
    Any one can make a federal reserve audit report. Just take white piece of paper that it totally blank. Be sure it is of legal size. Now starting at the top of the paper draw a horizontal line with a thick black marker. The marker should be as thick as a standard highlighter but not highlight anything. Now continue drawing horizontal lines until you reach the bottom of the page. Be sure not to miss any area of the paper.
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  • Posted by 11 years, 1 month ago in reply to this comment.
    That might be a state office. The federal congresspeople get something like $178,000/yr +.
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  • Posted by 11 years, 1 month ago in reply to this comment.
    I was looking to keep things on a more fundamental level as these topics will provide insight into basic governing philosophy. There will be many others who hit on hot button topics. But thanks, you seem to have some insight on what I am facing in deciding on a new congressman.
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  • Posted by strugatsky 11 years, 1 month ago
    These are all valid questions. But, and here's the but -- you are entrenched in the constitutional process and expect the respondents to respect this process. The reality of today's America clearly shows that the constitutional process is given lip service at best, and ignored most of the time. The Left is in fact waging a war on the Constitution and on the American form of government. The RINOs have joined the Radicals as the bandwagon rolls toward Power, which is the ultimate goal for them. In your questions, what is to prevent a candidate from giving an answer his audience wants to hear and then doing what the power establishment does? Remember, lying, according to the Left’s godfather, Alinsky, is a virtue. Surely, the RINOs or anyone else is not exempt from this virtue. My recommendation for weeding out RINO power seekers – have a prospective candidate sign a contract where he pledges to take certain enumerated actions and vote in a certain way, backed by specific financial penalties from his personal coffers upon failure to live up to the contract. Real believers in the Free Market will not have a problem with such an approach, while the RINOs will drown in rhetoric justifying their opposition to it. The question is, will the voters insist on this, or would they rather have more Obama-phones?
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  • Posted by wiggys 11 years, 1 month ago
    how about asking what their qualifications are to be a representative first. if they can actually give a sound reason then ask how they would as your representative get things that interest you done. a fellow I know is now running for office, because his business isn't doing that well and as I understand it the political job pays 36,000.00 a year. maybe that is his real reason for running. if he is successful and wins I am quite sure he will only occupy space like the rest of them.
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  • Posted by ISank 11 years, 1 month ago
    1) I wonder how much an audit of the Fed would do. I would support one but They each have a staff of pretty well educated (not necessarily correct) economists and can show the books to look however they want. That's my guess, and I've only had 1 glass of wine with a Fed economist.
    2) wipe out the 16th and the 17th please.

    3) I dunno, shut them all down but the elected one will not

    4) congress does have the power to overrule a scotus decision, see aforementioned 16th amendment.

    Ok I only answered 1,2 and 4, but I wish you much success in getting a worthy one elected.
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  • Posted by $ CBJ 11 years, 1 month ago
    I would add questions about candidates' positions on NSA snooping, undeclared wars, income tax repeal, not raising national debt limit, patriot act repeal, Obamacare repeal.

    Delete questions regarding 17th Amendment and Marbury; our positions would get no traction with voters at this point in time.
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  • Posted by $ MikeMarotta 11 years, 1 month ago
    Auditing the Federal Reserve is common call these days from both the left and the right. Back in 2010, in Ann Arbor, I worked the Art Fair for the LP. We shared the tent with the Ron Paul initiative for an audit and those people got way more signatures on their petitions. Earlier this week, at a meeting of Texans for Accountable Government, a campaign worker for a Larouche Democrat addressed the meeting. She lost them when she praised Franklin D. Roosevelt, but they agreed with her call to audit the Federal Reserve. Left and right are both unhappy with the Federal Reserve.

    I suggest also that your text spell out Federal Reserve System (its proper name) and specify also Federal Reserve Banks, and the Federal Reserve Board, as needed. See www.federalreserve.gov and note that it is in the Dot Gov domain. You would have to make a special case for calling it a "private" bank. Calling it "the Fed" is not clear: do you mean the federal government? We know what you mean. Not everyone will.
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  • Posted by robertmbeard 11 years, 1 month ago
    Good questions. I'd probably put the Commerce Clause as question #1, since it has been misused to expand government power the most.

    In the discussion on alphabet soup agencies, I would point out that many of their activities violate the Tenth Amendment (issues under state jurisdiction) and is a big contributor to out-of-control government spending. What will the congressman do to reduce staffing at all alphabet soup agencies, reduce spending, and in some cases eliminate entire agencies (Dept. of Education, NEA, Homeland Security, Agriculture, NSA, etc...) that in most cases operate in areas of state jurisdiction (10th Amendment).
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  • Posted by $ MikeMarotta 11 years, 1 month ago
    This deserves professional proofreading. Congressional and Constitutional should be capitalized as much for grammar as for clarity.

    You should specify what the 17th Amendment is. My first reactions were that you wanted to make alcohol illegal again or take the vote away from women.

    Defining the problem of Marbury v. Madison is a challenge in "25 words or less" but it can be done. Most people - even those who consider themselves informed - will not know what you mean by the reference.

    Your campaign against the Commerce Clause is highly important to anyone who shops online. You must be clear that the Founders intended to make online shopping unregulated by the states.

    Your Point 3) glosses over the fact that these "alphabet agencies" are fully Constitutional. Congress created them. Congress funds them. More deeply, it is a fact that democracy depends on bureaucracy. See Max Weber: each piece of paper must move from desk to desk irrespective of class or clan. If you want to decrease their authority, you must "strike at the roots" and insist that government must only do those things that are minimally required for an ordered society. That is not an easy discussion.

    My experience with conservatives and Republicans is that the activists come to processes such as this with an agenda voiced in other language, entirely. Translating across those and yours is a challenge.

    If your goal is to win an election, then it might be best just to articulate the broadest possible call for an "originalist" Constitutional intention and leave the rest undiscussed and undefined.
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