This is the third in a 4-part series we are running this week. Our purpose is to help remind America where we came from, how and why we got our Constitutional government and why it is so important to keep it all together in these troubling times. Christians turn to the Bible when in personal or moral distress. As a nation we should turn to our Constitution, it is there we find the real answers to what we can all sense is going so wrong. This week we delve into what a Constitution is, why we got one and how it can guide us to solutions today.

Assuming you’ve read Parts 1 & 2 of this series you are now well aware of why our Founders went with a constitutional government and why ours has a Bill of Rights Amending it. Early Americans had witnessed the disasters political parties had wreaked upon other democracies and republics and sought to avoid the same fate. Our country is technically a representative republic and all that means is that the qualified general population gets to vote for leaders who then represent constituents as part of a larger body of assembled representatives. Those representatives employ democratic actions to reach agreements by voting for agreements. They are (theoretically) to vote as their constituents are best served.

This series is about our particular Constitution and the challenges to it today. Democracies and republics are defined by subtle differences that have been debated since inception but that does not matter here. Combining elements of both our Founders covered all the right bases. When complete they had a framework reflecting the educated demands of a wary citizenry. The entire system of 3 balanced branches cross-checking each other to limit power was designed because everyone feared parties would destroy their hard won nation as they had done to other nations. They discussed this at great length and we will be adding a list of their warnings against parties at out website.

So, with all of the warnings, all of the well planned balances and all of the clearly written limits, how did it come to the mess we see today? One simple answer; our Founders were right and our parties did exactly as our ancestors feared, Republican and democratic forms of government can only be maintained as long as citizens are free to elect the right people at the right time. Working with their own experience and knowledge of history our Founders assumed citizens would be smart enough to remain engaged in the process and act as vigilant sentinels of representatives and officials working for us under well defined rules. This is self-government but that demands self-discipline which was the norm in that era of a hard working, family based Christian society. Those people were acutely aware of the fact WE OWN GOVERNMENT. It is ours and ours alone, everyone with a job in government, whether a janitor or a President is an employee of ours. We pay them, we provide for them, we put them in place and by God they better act like it. We expect and demand they be responsible stewards of our trust or they answer for it.

That does not leave room for treacherous egomaniacs to operate in but they are the ones who most commonly dedicate the entire focus of their existence to gaining power and then using it. Voters were supposed to weed out the bad ones and let the best filter up through the election process and serve under our watchful eyes. Gradually more and more of the bad ones slipped in. America became a successful nation for reasons we don’t have time for here but that success has led to a lax kind of comfort for every nation that has ever attained it. Success brings growing wealth which brings recreation, leisure, comfort and, unfortunately, greed, complacency and a focus on grabbing more of the wealth. An odd trait of mankind is we are at our best when times are the worst, challenges focus our priorities and force us to examine our values. Success permits self-indulgence and at that point business of caring for the Golden Goose grows lax. Who bothers checking the spout when so much is flowing from it?

Over time the wrong type of people, our bad element crept into place and went to work solidifying their powers. As our Founders warned, their vehicle for accomplishing their goals was the parties that incubate our leaders.

This is the time to note: While our Constitution does refer to the People there is not one reference to parties. They are not mentioned or addressed in any way. There is the evidence of the underlying suspicion and contempt early Americans held for political parties, they were completely left out of all protections and rights guaranteed and ratified. They were considered temporary parasitic entities that arose for various purposes but wore out their welcomes and were soon replaced because their structures provided pathways to nefarious ambitions.

That was how our Founders and ancestors saw it, the trouble is, those who would use a party for selfish interests were watching and learning too. Once our Constitution was firmly established the bad guys knew the rules and set about finding the loopholes, cracks and wiggle room. Why do you think so many who seek office are lawyers? A system lacking vigilance of the People is a feeding ground for self-centered manipulators schooled in the function and application of law. It became a game and instead of our best and brightest rising on merit our most devious rose by deception. Then they began tweaking the system to protect their power and that meant the stepping stones of party structure they stood on must be cemented into place. All the while citizens let their guards down because who would, or could sound alarms and man the defenses when the standard of living was climbing at an unprecedented rate? America worked so perfectly well warnings would have seemed absurd.

In this environment of general satisfaction party powers realized and seized upon their opportunity to violate our most basic American principles. After decades of lurking meekly in the mix, party strategists recognized the roads to expanding their influence was clear if they could maneuver to create protections for themselves the architects of our Constitution had so deliberately avoided. It was surprisingly simple. Heavily staffed with self indulgent attorneys the parties merely had to work with friends and social acquaintances already in office to begin a series of steps favoring their mutual needs. This was the beginning of the corrupt networks the Democrat and Republican parties rely on today to maintain the chokehold of power they preserve for crony establishments. While our nation slides deeper into decline they sit at the top confident their entrenched parties can preserve the income streams to themselves and chosen accomplices. They have no regard for the hard working citizens footing the bill or the futures of families damaged by their corruption. They care not about our country but only for what they can glean from it by any scheme they can devise.
A lengthy series of changes began to occur which enable the Democrats and Republicans to become so entrenched new parties would struggle to challenge them. Both parties united to accomplish these goals which absolutely defy and trample what began as our most basic American principle—the self-government rights to own and control our process using the freedom to remove any party or official who failed to serve well. This was the most critical concern during our founding. Who talks of this today? Today 99.5% of Americans claim to honor our principles but their talk and actions show no awareness or effort to reestablishing their power as owners and masters of our system. They are in full surrender and submission to 2 corrupt parties. The parties got over on them, pure and simple.

Stealing the power of citizens for parties was easy but specific changes were needed and they covered every base.

The first thing they had to do was take Congress fully into control of schemers instead of citizens. That is hard to do when elections can remove them so a few changes occurred. The offices were just paid part time jobs so citizens could be elected, serve then return home to work on career goals, retirement, future of the family etc. This was our Founders goal, a basic principle, government of citizens, not a permanent professional political class. (Another violation of principles Americans accept today) To begin stealing government from us they had to be able to stay there a long time-and why not become wealthy as a full timer instead of going back home to work in the mess they made like the rest of us? Companies provide benefit packages to retain the best people for long time careers. Lousy failures in Congress voted benefits for themselves to violate principles and make Congress an extremely lucrative millionaire maker complete with hair styling, free private congressional gyms and spas, health insurance better than ours, large budgets for staff and luxuries, travel on our dime, insane retirement programs and much much more. Pensions and benefits for Congress MUST be removed if anyone in America is honest about keeping our principles.

So, they can stay for long lucrative careers and retire wealthy but what if voters throw them out? They covered that too. Remember, Democrat and Republican leaders are not stupid, they are devious. They both welcomed the insane pay and perks they shower on each other as they pretend to oppose each other while divvying up the loot. As our Founders had witnessed in the Parliament, two parties morph into a mass that protects their corruption. It happened just like they warned. To remove the threat of being voted out they had to ensure their guys always won, that means control the money. That is why Congress has a 92% disapproval rating but a 93% reelection rating. They made themselves untouchable by controlling campaign money.

From party (DNC & RNC) headquarters down to the lowliest local official parties have constructed intricate spider webs of donors, lobbyists, superpacs and dirty money streams so they can always outspend anyone who won’t play the game. Meanwhile so much cash flows around the field of play a veritable army of supporters in major TV & radio media, industries like banking, insurance, global investors etc are willing to aid the game because they are getting rich on it too. We are sold out. Try to remove them and they have the cash to finance your defeat. The crony networks that benefit from government corruption will pay to protect the corrupt officials who bend laws to accommodate their personal pursuits. An America who lets 2 parties do this right out in the open is not an America that honors our Founders, Constitution, principles or those who sacrificed to leave us the opportunities now ignored.