BALANCE OF POWER IN OUR GOVERNMENT

Separation of Powers

The Constitution, itself, in Articles I through VI, enumerates the powers which may be exercised by the federal government. Article I, Section 8 which delineates the authority of the Congress. The Tenth Amendment says: "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." I support the Enumerated Powers Act.

I do not believe that Constitution is being followed in our government today. I call for a restoration of the balance of power that was originally intended in the Constitution. We must rescind all Executive Orders and Presidential Directives and deny "Fast Track" authority since it is a clear violation of the separation of powers.

We must end judicial activism. Article 3 section 2 clearly gives Congress the authority to override almost any decision made by the Supreme Court.

We must restore to the States and to the people their rightful control over legislative, judicial, executive, and regulatory functions which are not constitutionally delegated to the federal government. Government agencies and institutions having no basis in the Constitution must be promptly terminated or transferred to the respective states.

We must repeal all Emergency Powers thus ensuring power is returned to the Congress, the states and the people in accordance with the original intentions of the U.S. Constitution. I stand opposed to any regionalization of governments, at any level, which results in removal of decision-making powers from the people or those directly elected by the people.

Secession and State's Rights

The federal government should stop making unconstitutional mandates on the States. It should only have the powers that have been specifically given to it under the Constitution.

Any land taken by the federal government from a state with out the consent of its state legislature should be returned to it immediately as this is a violation of Article I section 8 paragraph 17. I oppose any restrictions placed by the federal government concerning the use of land not legally purchased by the federal government. State attorneys general should sue the federal government to regain control of these illegally taken or regulated lands.

Concerning Indians, the right of the tribesmen to enforce their own law on their own land should be respected. The Federal government has unlawfully usurped this right which has resulted in lawlessness. If the residents of an Indian reservation no longer wish to be separate and would willing to come under the jurisdiction of Federal, State and local governments, then this would be an acceptable course of action. But if this is not what they want, then we should honor all past treaties with the Indian tribes and repeal all laws which have taken away their sovereignty.



States have the right to secede from the United States. The Declaration of Independence says:

When in the course of human Events, it becomes necessary for one People to dissolve the Political Bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the Earth, the separate and equal Station to which the Laws of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent Respect to the Opinions of Mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the Separation.

Under no circumstances should the Confederacy of the South ever be revived. If seceding states wish to join to together to form a new union, this would be acceptable, but it would be wise not use the Confederate flag or to exclude states from the new union because of racial or ethnic considerations. I would rather have the President use U.S. attorneys to bring the murderers of unborn children to justice, and then if some states don’t like this, let them be the ones to secede. The Constitution of the Southern Confederacy is unacceptably racist, denying blacks the basic, God-given rights that we tend to take for granted today.

In a previous edition of this blog, I wrote:

I believe in “one nation under God”. States should not consider secession from the union--not yet. If it ever got to the point that people would be jailed by the federal government for having certain religious beliefs or for speaking about their religious beliefs, then I would be in favor of it. If women would ever be forced to have abortions by the federal government, then the citizens of states who appreciate the sanctity of life should attempt to secede.

Since then I have heard of a case in the U.S. where a retarded teenager who was raped was forced to have an abortion. The abortion doctor was not prosecuted. That’s the last straw.

Congressional Reform

I am in favor of cutting the salaries and perks of Congressmen. I am against Congressional pensions. All laws concerning taxes, Social Security, Medicare, and all other financial restrictions should apply to the general population, should also apply to congressmen. They should not be exempt from anything. The size of Congress should be expanded to its Constitutional limit of one representative for every 30,000 people (Article I, section 2). This would make them more accountable to the people.

Congress must repeal all laws that delegate legislative powers to regulatory agencies, bureaucracies, private organizations, the Federal Reserve Board, international agencies, the President, and the judiciary. I would repeal the seventeenth amendment, restoring to the States legislatures the right to elect U.S. Senators. This would help restore a proper balance of power and would help to prevent corruption, overspending, and unconstitutional usurpation of States’ rights.

I support legislation to prohibit the attachment of unrelated riders to bills. Any amendments must fit within the scope and object of the original bill. I am against line-item veto legislation, but every spending bill should be limited by law to only one item.

I would require that for all legislation brought to the floor of Congress, the portion of the U.S. Constitution that grants its authority to enact such legislation be cited. Any legislation currently in effect that cannot meet that strict criterion must be rescinded.

Penalties can and should be given to Congressmen for missing votes (Article I section 5). However, a congressman should not be punished for abstaining from a vote if there was not enough time given to him to decide how to vote on an inch thick bill that has had earmarks added to it at the last minute. Congressmen should be allowed 3 full business days to decide after the final version of bill was drafted except in cases in which the bill addresses a state of emergency declared by the President.

Crime

Crime, in most cases, is to be dealt with by state and local governments. To the degree that the federal government, in its legislation, in its judicial actions, in its regulations, and in its executive branch activities, interferes with the ability of the people in their communities to apprehend, judge, and penalize accused lawbreakers, it bears responsibility for the climate of crime, which has grown more destructive with each passing year. I applaud the Congress for repealing the portion of the John Warner National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2007 which gave the President the authority to use the military as a police force in place of federal, state, and local authorities.

I favor the right of states and localities to execute criminals convicted of capital crimes and to require restitution for the victims of criminals. Criminals who are unable to make restitution should be forced into labor to defray the cost of any damage they have caused. Federal involvement in state and local criminal justice processes should be limited to that which is constitutionally required.

All (including non-citizens) who are accused of crimes, petty to capital, shall have a trial by jury upon request, and the jury shall be fully informed of its right to nullify the law. Furthermore, I oppose defendants being charged and tried by both state and federal jurisdictions under different laws for the same alleged criminal act, thus violating the constitutionally secured prohibition against double jeopardy.

I recognize that a real reason for the designation of "hate crime" is to extend federal jurisdiction to crimes which would otherwise be in the province of the states. Less emphasis should placed on victimless crimes.

Domestic Federal Aid

I am against domestic federal "aid" not authorized by the Constitution. The States should decline to accept all monies from the federal government for any purpose not specifically and clearly articulated in the Constitution, and reject all federal mandates and regulations which are unconstitutional, thus restoring the intended balance of power between the states and their creation. Examples include the “No Child Left Behind” Act.

Executive Orders and Presidential Powers

I am against the National Security Act. The President should not make any executive orders if the power to do so is not specifically stated in the Constitution. Congress should repeal any such orders. I oppose the use of "signing statements" which the President (George W. Bush) has used to nullify laws passed by Congress. This is de facto line item veto and is unconstitutional.

Jury Duty

I believe in the principle of jury nullification. A juror has the right to judge both the fact and the law. If a law is unconstitutional, jurors should ignore it and they do not have to follow instructions given by the judge if they believe them to be unfair. Lawyers should not be punished for mentioning that jurors have this right.







I think that it is unfair to force potential jurors to answer such personal questions that have nothing to with the case. I think that all Voir Dire questions should limited to those which determine if a juror or someone the juror knows would stand to gain anything by a certain result in the case. Attorneys should not be allowed to choose or reject jurors based on their experiences, occupation, or beliefs. I think it is especially unfair to remove jurors because they have knowledge of some subject, such as science, so that this will be to their advantage if the preponderance of scientific evidence is in favor of the opposing side. I think that peremptory challenges should be limited to one for criminal cases and none for civil cases.

Jury duty should be strictly voluntary for law-abiding citizens. Compulsory service is banned by the 13th amendment. Jurors should be paid at least minimum wage as long as such laws exist.

The Census

I affirm the constitutional role of the Census Bureau in enumerating the citizens of the United States for purposes of reapportionment of congressional districts. Non-citizens should not be included in the numeration as this is irrelevant to the constitutional purpose of a census. Census takers should not ask personal questions which invade the privacy of our citizens. Congress should cut off all funding of the Census Bureau beyond what is constitutional required. In a census, there should not be any numbers generated by statistical sampling, but every citizen should actually by counted.

The Judiciary/Judicial Activism

I don’t agree that the Congress has the authority to impeach Supreme Court justices for any reason. The “good behavior” clause is only for criminal behavior, and this should not be used because one disagrees with a judge’s decision. I do, however, favor the impeachment of judges who cannot cite clauses of the Constitution to defend their decisions. Congress shall have the power to overturn federal judicial decisions that misinterpret the laws Congress has passed. Congress must exert the power it possesses to prohibit all federal courts from hearing cases which Congress deems to be outside federal jurisdiction pursuant to Article III, § 2 of the Constitution. They have the authority to restructure the Federal Judiciary including the elimination any federal judicial seat (except on the Supreme Court). They should use this power to get rid of activist judges.

Former Chief Justice Roy Moore of the Alabama Supreme Court was wrongfully removed from office for displaying the Ten Commandments in his court. I commend him for his brave, uncompromising stand. I support legislation such the Constitution Restoration Act, which would prohibit federal judges from reviewing cases involving matters of religion in politics.

I deny the validity of judicial rulings that use foreign court rulings or foreign laws except British common law to overturn U.S. precedent. British common law should only be used when there is no U.S. law that can resolve a case. The judiciary is forbidden from making or striking down laws. If a judge strikes down a law, then the appropriate governing bodies should simply ignore the ruling. Countries which do not observe the rules of evidence of U.S. courts should not be allowed to introduce evidence into U.S. trials.

Judges should never be given any authority to determine how a region should be districted or redistricted. Judges should never be given the power to appoint individuals to positions of power in the government or to oversee elections (unless contested).