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The guiding principle in the creation of \r\n\r\nour Constitution was that any power not expressly authorized to \r\n\r\nthe government was strictly forbidden<\/em>. <\/p>\r\n The ninth and tenth amendments, taken together, state clearly \r\n\r\nthat the Constitution is not meant to be a complete list of the \r\n\r\nrights of the People; but does afford a complete list of all powers \r\n\r\nexpressly entrusted to the federal government. Today the \r\n\r\nfederal government itself subjectively decides what the meaning of \r\n\r\nthe Constitution is. It holds a monopoly over the \r\n\r\ninterpretation of the very document that was created to keep it in \r\n\r\ncheck. Just as Thomas Jefferson once warned, it has, in \r\n\r\nactuality, become the sole judge of the limits and extents of its \r\n\r\nown powers. The fact to be stated is that the Constitution has \r\n\r\nfailed in its original purpose. The States and the People, in \r\n\r\npractice, are rendered defenseless, and now retain only those rights \r\n\r\nand powers which the federal government decides to allow them.<\/p>\r\n In every free government, the people must give their approval to \r\n\r\nthe laws by which they are governed. This is truly the \r\n\r\ndifference between a free government and a despotic one. The \r\n\r\nformer are governed by the will of the whole, and the latter ruled \r\n\r\nby the will of just one or a few. If the people are to give \r\n\r\ntheir sanction to the laws by themselves, or through people chosen \r\n\r\nand appointed by them, the method of the choice, as well as the \r\n\r\nnumber of representatives they choose, must be done in such a way so \r\n\r\nthat the representatives possess, and are highly qualified to make \r\n\r\nclearly known, the exact opinions of the People. For, if they \r\n\r\ndo not know, or are not properly qualified to state the opinions and \r\n\r\ndesires of the people, the people do not truly govern, and the \r\n\r\nsovereignty is thus left in the hands of a few.<\/p>\r\n It is failures and deficiencies such as these that have led me to \r\n\r\nthis examination of our government's structure, and the publishing \r\n\r\nof my findings in these papers. In my last few editions, I \r\n\r\nhave begun the daunting task of analyzing closely, the inherent \r\n\r\ndefects in the structure of the federal legislature. It is \r\n\r\nthis branch, which in every free government is to be the strongest \r\n\r\nbranch, which can never receive too much attention in our study.<\/p>\r\n As discussed previously, the Senate, the aristocratic body in our \r\n\r\ngovernment, is constructed on the most disparate foundations. \r\n\r\nFrom this examination of the organization of the federal government, \r\n\r\nit appears to me to be self-evident that it is nearly devoid of all \r\n\r\nresponsibility or accountability to the People, and far from being a \r\n\r\nproper half of the legislative branch; it is, in practice, an almost \r\n\r\npermanent aristocracy.<\/p>\r\n The United States Senate, as examined in previous papers, has a \r\n\r\nunique combination of legislative, executive, and judicial powers, \r\n\r\nwhich in my opinion, not only clash with each other, but leaves open \r\n\r\ntoo great a possibility of collusion with the other branches to \r\n\r\ndestroy our liberties.<\/p>\r\n As a brief review, the Senate is the following: 2. A part or branch of the executive. In this respect, \r\n\r\ntheir assent is required for the appointment of ambassadors, the \r\n\r\njudiciary, and many other public servants, and for the approval of \r\n\r\ntreaties.<\/p>\r\n 3. Part of the judicial. In this respect, they form the \r\n\r\ncourt of impeachments. In theory and in reality, the right of \r\n\r\nimpeachment in the House has held little importance or effect; due \r\n\r\nto party alliances, and other outside motivations, the House does \r\n\r\nnot often expect to convict the transgressor, and has seldom \r\n\r\nexercised this right.<\/p>\r\n Such various, extensive, and important powers, resting in one \r\n\r\nsmall body of people, is inconsistent will all standing maxims of \r\n\r\nfreedom. In order for the People to safely entrust their \r\n\r\nrulers with power, their representatives must be chosen by them, \r\n\r\ntheir power must be adequately limited, they must closely resemble \r\n\r\nthe wants of the People if they were assembled as a whole, and the \r\n\r\nPeople should be well-acquainted with their abilities to govern with \r\n\r\ndiscernment and justice. The Senate is lacking so greatly in \r\n\r\nall these matters that it is dangerous to our freedom and liberty. \r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n We are often told that \"we can vote for whomever we please\", and \r\n\r\nbecause of this, we will most often elect good people to \r\n\r\ngovernment. But, in examining the structure of our \r\n\r\nlegislature, and more specifically, the Senate, is it truly possible \r\n\r\nfor the People to elect capable and suitable representatives when \r\n\r\nthe number comprising it is so small?<\/p>\r\n Having the ability to vote for whomever we please is a statement \r\n\r\nmade without proper attention to the reality and facts of our \r\n\r\nsituation. To explain what I mean by this, it is necessary to \r\n\r\nconsider three groups of people which are most commonly candidates \r\n\r\nfor the House and Senate: <\/p>\r\n 1. People who make of the natural aristocracy which was defined \r\n\r\nin a previous paper. As our experience has so plainly shown us, when the people of a \r\n\r\ndistrict or state are called upon to choose federal representatives, \r\n\r\nthey most often give a major portion, if not a large majority, of \r\n\r\ntheir votes to some very famous or popular person. Our \r\n\r\nexperience has also taught us that the representation in the House, \r\n\r\nand even more so in the Senate, is so small compared to the great \r\n\r\npopulation of this nation, that normally very few, if any, of the \r\n\r\nthird group are ever elected. A person that is well-known \r\n\r\namong a few thousand people is most often completely unknown among \r\n\r\nmuch larger numbers; and therefore, it has been found to be almost \r\n\r\nentirely impracticable for those people of the third group to \r\n\r\nachieve enough popularity and votes to be entrusted with the public \r\n\r\noffice. Because of this, the federal government has not been a \r\n\r\ntrue representation of the People, but rather, it has been more so \r\n\r\nthat of an aristocracy, or a group of popular demagogues. <\/p>\r\n The small numbers in Congress is not the only danger we \r\n\r\nexperience. Since we draw our elected officials in Congress \r\n\r\nfrom the same groups of people, its bicameral structure itself, upon \r\n\r\nan enlightened examination, becomes pure illusion. It is \r\n\r\ndeceptive to tell a people that they are electors, and can choose \r\n\r\nwhomever they want, if they cannot, in the reality of the system, \r\n\r\nchoose people from amongst themselves, and genuinely similar to \r\n\r\nthemselves; truly representing their interests. Thus, the real \r\n\r\nobject here is to enlarge the representation in Congress enough so \r\n\r\nthat a proportional number of the third group will be elected to \r\n\r\noffice instead of almost entirely the first two. An \r\n\r\nappropriate restructuring and enlargement of Congress has the \r\n\r\npotential of rendering one branch, the Senate, obsolete. A \r\n\r\nfurther examination and complete details of this structure will be \r\n\r\nbest examined in a future paper.<\/p>\r\n The mere existence of an elected branch is in no way an assurance \r\n\r\nof free government. In ancient Rome, the people were \r\n\r\ndespondent, even though they had three branches; consuls, tribunes, \r\n\r\nand senators<\/em>. Their miserable state was mostly \r\n\r\nbrought upon them because of an improper and feeble \r\n\r\nrepresentation. What was the consequence of this paltry \r\n\r\nrepresentation? The people of Rome almost always elected for \r\n\r\ntheir representatives, people who were well-known for their military \r\n\r\ncommands, riches, or other professional popularity; and this did \r\n\r\nlittle to defend them against the machinations of the nobles.<\/p>\r\n A short summary of the concept that I have attempted to present \r\n\r\nhere has been that when the legislative branch of government is too \r\n\r\nsmall, the People have no true defense or assurance of liberty, and \r\n\r\nthey have everything to fear from those who wish to consolidate \r\n\r\npower. If they expect, or even hope to find honest and open \r\n\r\npolitical friends in the rich and powerful, they are fools. On \r\n\r\nthe other hand, create an appropriate democratic branch, held to a \r\n\r\nhigh-level of responsibility to the People, and the power of the \r\n\r\naristocrats in government, as well as the executive, will be \r\n\r\nlimited. The People will then have very little to fear, and \r\n\r\ntheir liberties will always be secure.<\/p>\r\n I will continue this examination of the defects of our federal \r\n\r\nsystem in my next paper, on November 17, 2005. In parting, I \r\n\r\nam also reminded of the words of Demosthenes, often considered the \r\n\r\ngreatest orator of ancient Greece: <\/p>\r\n \"That there is one common bulwark with which people of \r\n\r\nprudence are naturally provided, the guard and security of all \r\n\r\npeople, particularly of Free states, against the assaults of \r\n\r\ntyrants. What is this? Distrust.\"<\/em><\/p>\r\n
1. One branch \r\n\r\nof the national legislature. In this respect, it possesses \r\n\r\nequal powers in all matters with the House of Representatives; as I \r\n\r\nregard the right of the House to originate budgetary bills to be \r\n\r\ninsignificant, since the Senate is needed to concur. <\/p>\r\n
2. Popular icons.
3. The vast, \r\n\r\nrespectable part of our society, who are thoughtful, perceptive, and \r\n\r\njust; but because they are not in the public eye, they are most \r\n\r\noften disregarded.<\/p>\r\n
In the spirit of liberty and prosperity,<\/p>\r\n
Franklin<\/p>\n","contact":"","link":"www.populistamerica.com","address":"","phone":"","parent_id":0,"mime_type":"text\/html","summary":"Deficiencies of Our Current Federal System, continued","numcomment":0,"fileurl":"\/uploads\/","filesize":null,"article_url":"\/news\/2005\/11\/138588.php"},"attachments":[],"comments":[]}