Representation of the people has ceased to exist in Washington as we know it. Nowadays in Congress, the so called representatives of the people represent more of a party agenda than their constituents in their home districts. What we now have in Washington are men and women who represent one party or the other and don't really listen at all to what the people who elected them really have to say or want out of their congressman/woman. Today, it is all about party advancement and power. It is as simple as that. Look at how many of the representatives have been there for more than a decade. It is seemingly obscene, because some of these men and women haven't done anything to deserve the tenure that they have retained.
When the Founding Fathers envisioned representation of the people, the one thing that they could agree on is that these men needed to represent the people, and not a particular party or creed. They were being elected to represent their constituents and to do what was right for the country, keeping in mind that it was in the best interests of the people back home. They were to hold to particular standards and their power was to be limited to the constraints of the Constitution and would be checked by the other branches of government. They were to be virtuous and not be power hungry. The original intent was not for those elected to be finding a career. Though there were not limits placed on how many terms a congressman or senator could serve, it was not supposed to necessarily be a lifetime career. However, nowadays, we see men who have held onto power and who are long past their prime, who don't even get up and take the floor. Their messages are delivered by aides and read to the members in attendance. They do not understand that being a congressman or senator is being called to a position in which they are there for the good of the people, not the good of themselves.
And these men and women who now hold office represent party politics more than they represent the people. The Founders had hoped that a republican form of government would help to stem the rise of factions, but unfortunately, they counted on virtue to stem that tide, and virtue is not a trait that many humans are able to hold to for long. Man is corrupt. As Shakespeare said in Hamlet, "What a piece of work is a man…" Man will hold onto power when they get it in their hands, and when they have it, they will not let go. And over the years, Congress has been granted more and more power, making the position ever more enticing, and ever harder to let go of. And therein lays the problem.
Congress has strict and enumerated powers that were laid out for them in the Constitution of the United States. These powers are quite simply stated. Congress was given the power to create and collect taxes, which is the revenue which the country uses to run itself. They were given the capacity to declare war, raise an army and navy, to draw up the rules for both, and to call into service the militia (National Guard) in times of need. They were given the power to regulate international commerce and to coin money and regulate the value of it and its relation to foreign currency. It was to establish post-offices and the means of getting mail to its destination. These are the basics, as outlined in the Constitution, Article 1, Section 8. At the end of Section 8, Congress is given the power to "make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by this Constitution in the government of the United States, or in any department or officer thereof." However, if one goes further into the Constitution, to the Bill of Rights, you will see Amendment 10, which states thusly: "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution or prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." In Federalist No. 45, James Madison said it quite simply. He said that the "powers delegated…to the federal government are few and defined." These enumerated powers are to be "exercised principally on external objects as war, peace, negotiation, and foreign commerce…"
However, the necessary and proper clause has been construed to mean that Congress has the power to do whatever is, in their opinion, necessary and proper, for whatever purpose. This clearly violates Amendment 10, which says that what is not delegated to Congress is to be reserved to the states or to the people of the nation. The so called necessary and proper clause only pertains to the enumerated powers outlined in Section 8. Remember that little phrase that follows necessary and proper: "for carrying into execution the foregoing powers." They are allowed to do what is necessary and proper within the limits of the enumerated powers. To go outside of those lines is, well, unconstitutional.
So, why are we not crying out in shear anger about the misrepresentation in Congress? My friends, we should be crying out in outrage about what we are seeing in our government today. Look at the so called American Recovery and Reinvestment Act that has now been passed into law. How is this within Congress's powers? This so called stimulus package is basically a pork filled appropriations bill so that the Socialist Democrats who hold the majority can carry out their pet projects. How is $30 million in funds dedicated to preserving the habitat of the Salt Marsh Harvest Mouse supposed to stimulate the economy and pull America out of this recession? The congresswomen who proposed this, none other than the Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi of California, has said that helping to preserve this rodent and its habitat will somehow stimulate the economy of her home district of San Francisco. Or how about Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada appropriating $8 billion in order to create a high speed rail link between Los Angeles and Las Vegas, when Amtrak, which used to run trains between the two cities, shut the line down because of low ridership? Is this the proper way for Congress to be spending our taxpayer dollars, the money we give the government in order for it to have some benefit for us, not for some small rat that lives in California?
It is time to stand up my friends. It is time to stand as one united front and say no more will we stand for this misrepresentation that is becoming more and more prevalent in Washington DC. We are now in a new American crisis, and this one is even worse in some ways than the ones before. We are reverting to a European model of living, and that is something that would make Washington, Jefferson and Madison roll in their graves, for they fought to make this country far different from Europe, and now our politicians are trying to make us more like what we fought to separate from. Well no more!! We must say no more! Stand up to the rise of socialism in America and stand firm for the principles of hard work and virtue that our Founding Fathers tried to instill in us. They are reaching out through the years and attempting to tell us to stand tall. Will you?
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