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OPINION: Read the Constitution, don’t listen to liberal bloggers

Posted by

Frank Gillispie

in Opinions

Friday, January 14. 2011

Comments (13)

The chances that members of Congress read this column are remote, so it was with surprise and pleasure that the new leadership in the House of Representatives are making a rule that I called for some time ago.

Among the new rules of the House is one that requires the author of any bill to include a paragraph specifying the constitutional authority for the bill. That is a good start, but only a start to the policy they need to follow.

They ought to have a requirement that all bills be written with the same style and vocabulary of the original Constitution, and that no bill should contain more words than that document. The Constitution, with all amendments, contains 4,543 words. The writers of the Constitution used clear, compact statements written in simple English that anyone can understand. Yet, it contains all the rules and policies needed to establish best government in the world, or it was until the leftist finished reinterpreting it. All bills passed by Congress should be equally brief and clearly written.

The two documents that established the authority and style of our federal government, The Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution with all amendments, fits easily in a small pocket-size booklet that is being given to all members of Congress, and being read aloud before the House of Representatives. If you would like to have a copy of this booklet, just e-mail a brief request and your address to me at frank@frankgillispie.com and I will send you one.

I discovered a long time ago that if you want to understand history, you need to read the original documents. Don’t buy what the liberal media, professors with a political agenda and activists judges say is in the Constitution. Read it for yourself. You will be surprised by how easy it is to understand.

Some leftist bloggers have just been quoted as saying that the Constitution is no longer valid because it was written over 100 years ago. It was actually written over 200 years ago, but is still the authority on which our government depends. Without the Constitution, no government action has any validity. And these actions taken by government that violate the Constitution, are likewise invalid. Read the Constitution, see how many of the recent bills are authorized by it and you will discover that most of our current government is in violation.

By ignoring the Constitution, politicians feel they can do anything they wish. That is why I back the Tea Party movement’s drive for a return to Constitutional government. If we keep ignoring the Constitution, we will be in a whole heap of trouble!

Frank Gillispie is founder of The Madison County Journal. His e-mail address is frank@frankgillispie.com. His website can be accessed at http://www.frankgillispie.com/gillispieonline.

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#1 Joe Christmas on 01/14/11 at 04:46 AM [Reply]

Frank I'm sorry to break this to you but your Tea party friends are just like the Liberal bloggers, they like some parts of the Constitution and ignore other parts. I refer to the 14th Amendment of the United States Constitution. If you don't have your pocket sized version handy I will quote it for you.
"All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and the State wherein they reside."

#1.1 John Fulford on 01/15/11 at 09:36 AM [Reply]

Yes Joe you are right about what is written but do you know why it was written and who it was intended for ?

#1.2 Mike Rojas on 01/15/11 at 03:44 PM [Reply]

Hey Joe,
Everybody who knows anything about the Constitution realizes that the 14th Amendment was to grant full citizenship to former slaves. The next thing your going to tell me is that the general welfare clause covers all actions taken by the government, not specifically addressed.C'mon Joe, let's be intellectually honest here and READ IT!

#1.3 SardonicVeracity on 01/17/11 at 10:52 AM [Reply]

You forgot to include the rationale for the argument that you were attempting to make. I think you might make a better argument using the sixteenth, but you picked the fourteenth so please elaborate on your position.

#1.4 Daniel on 01/17/11 at 08:14 PM [Reply]

Joe Christmas,

According to reports the Tea Party does not desire to ignore the Constitution as those on the left do. They wish to repeal the 14th Amendment as the US Constitution allows for. (See 21st amendment). The left cares nothing about a legal challenge to the Constitution but to "interpret" based on personal opinion rather than the Constitution via the activist judges Frank spoke of.

As for Ben Had's comment below concerning the Patriot Act, the Founding Fathers also provided us a way to deal with laws that we perceive as unconstitutional. The Judiciary branch of our government rules on the constitutionality of such laws as the Patriot Act.

In conclusion, the Tea Party wants to change the US Constitution through legal means while the left wishes to change it through whatever means necessary.

#1.4.1 Joe Christmas on 01/18/11 at 05:52 PM [Reply]

Daniel you are correct, the Tea Party does not wish to ignore the Constitution. They wish to change the parts of the Constitution they do not like. Thank you for your honesty. I guess it won't be long before the Tea Party wants to change the first amendment to only protect speech that the Tea Party approves.

#2 Ben Had on 01/14/11 at 11:14 AM [Reply]

Interesting. I guess the Constitution didn't matter back when the Patriot Act was passed,or when we started the war with Iraq.
Thank you Frank for being so predictable. Seems like only yesterday when the biggest issue in your life was the state flag.
Ah, those were the good ol' days.

#3 MC taxpayor on 01/17/11 at 07:02 PM [Reply]

So guess we listen to Pethel and his buddies and their needs such as Sam Bruce road. These guys are the liberals in sense of give me give me and give me more.

#3.1 Redneck on 01/18/11 at 06:55 PM [Reply]

hey there MC taxpayor you got it right. scream and scream and you get bridge and that is our county money that could be spent better elsewhere. Yep those type ask what Governement and us can do for them. Is Pethel democrat or what ?

#4 Miss Redneck on 01/20/11 at 05:25 PM [Reply]

If I scream enough can I get MC BOC to give me pedicure treatments for free which would be less costly than new bridge and all.

#4.1 MC person on 01/21/11 at 08:06 AM [Reply]

Miss Redneck : I actually like your comment and see your purpose behind it. Our county is for all its citizens and it is not we vs they vs them. The vocal few able to bully their way and that is the problem here in MC. We have some people at the courthouse that have lived here 40+ yrs and it is my view they favor groups vs others. Time to change that.

#5 George Elston on 01/27/11 at 03:34 PM [Reply]

Lets peel the layers back and get to the facts here folks. The true enemy to "The Constitution" is neither democrat or republican, liberal or conservative, it's progressivism. Progressives hide in both parties and can be either conservative or liberal however most are found in the democratic party. Progresives wish to move away from the Constitution because they SAY it is outdated and does not apply to modern society.(The truth is, it simply doesn't suit their purpose) They feel in order to "progress" they must first destroy that which stands in their way..."The Constitution". Progressives will use ANY means possible to acheive their goal. They believe, "The ends justify the means."
Joe Christmas is a progressive. He is more than willing to distort the truth. Instead of wasting your time in fruitless debate with someone who has no interest in the truth, I would suggest your time might be better spent studying the Constitution in its original text AND to further understand what the Founding Fathers had in mind when it was written, I suggest reading the "Federalist Papers" written in their own words.

#5.1 Joe Christmas on 01/29/11 at 07:19 AM [Reply]

To my friend Mr. George Elston. First I would agree with your assertion I am a progressive. I will also contend that any thinking human being is also progressive. I won't bore you with the many advantages of progressive thinking, electricity, medical advances etc. As for me distorting the truth, I wrote the 14th amendment of the U.S.Constitution. This seemed to send you and some of your non progressive friends into a freenzy. As for distorting the truth, how about you saying that only you know what the founding fathers had in mind?

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