The 2025 Project

 

The cure for the evils of democracy is more democracy!

H. L. Mencken, Notes on Democracy, 1926

 

{ed. Note – please read the entire post before sending e-mails that we have lost our collective minds}

 

The Madison Conservative was established to provide a constitutional perspective on matters of pulic policy. For more than fifteen years, we have advocated that adhering to the constitutional structure of government was the recipe for a thriving democracy. We have grown chagrined as petty partisan politics have become more and more prevalent, no more so than during the Biden administration. Concurrently, the distillation of conservative principles by the conservative ‘intelligentsia’ has reached a critical mass. The voices of conservatism are no longer the result of thoughtful minds such as William Buckley, but by the loudest voices  shrieking that Biden and the political left are harbingers of a coming apocalypse.

Nonsense.

Give an idiot a bullhorn and the only thing they’ll do with it is yell, with no concern for what they’re shouting.

This is true across the political spectrum.

The Madison Conservative has espoused our belief that we can debate and win  our arguments with the political left by using sound conservative values – biological men cannot become pregnant, for example.  

Once victorious, we would share a root beer float and a Cubs game with our friends who are liberal.

That last sentence as written is important. The Madison Conservative is proud and honored to call many of our political adversaries friends. Conservatives should never label anyone as a “liberal friend”. Friends are friends. The same life experiences that made them a friend shaped their liberal view of the world.

They say opposite attract. To gauge a person’s character by transient qualities such as political preferences is not the mark of a conservative or liberal.

It’s the mark of stupidity.

The same is true within any political ideology. The current stance seems to be an issue of either pledging 100percent fidelity to the most extreme views of the political party or risk being labelled as a traitor to the cause and banishment to the political wilderness.

 

Two quick points on that thought.

Try explaining that to Ronald Reagan and Tip O’Neill.

Second, the last time a nation was pretty much in full agreement on anything was 1930’s Germany, and that really did not work out well.

 

This prelude brings us to the 2025 Project, a so-called ‘conservative’ blueprint for a potential second Trump administration.

A full reading of the proposal, available online with its mission clearly stated, does showcase many brilliant Conservative voices discussing how to apply conservative ideology to government. Luminaries such as Dr. Benjamin Carson make the case on how to limit various departments to only the issues for which they have responsibility, and how to eliminate much of the bloated bureaucracy.

While we applaud many of the concepts, we are horrified at the absolute betrayal of the Constitution, specifically, and conservative principles overall.

The stated mission is to clear the governmental bureaucracy of ‘deep state’ personnel and replace them with ‘true’ conservatives.

In other words, making sure that political thought will be the litmus test for government employment.

This is an abhorrent abuse of democratic principles. Conservatives have been decrying the absolute disgrace of the ‘equity’ agenda. Diversity and inclusiveness absolutely, but equity is where the Madison Conservative opposed the DEI nonsense.

How is hiring like-mined political thinkers any different than making sure someone who only checks the most equity boxes is hired?

Our belief has always held that America believed in having its best and brightest leading the nation.

We disavow in the strongest possible terms this ‘conservative’ plan.

The Madison Conservative research team is hard at work seeking to discover if Donald Trump supports the replacement process as proposed in the 2025 Project. We do hope he considers the ideas within the document, but publicly reject its methodology.

America is a choir of voices, not a solo.

And to my conservative brethren, feel free to loudly disagree with me. I'm still treating the root beer floats.

 

 

 

The Colorado Ballot Nonsense (and why the Supreme Court should ignore it)

 

The cure for the evils of democracy is more democracy!

H. L. Mencken, Notes on Democracy, 1926

 

{ed. Note – please read the entire post before sending e-mails that we have lost our collective minds}

 

The Madison Conservative has repeatedly used its bully pulpit to expound on the reality that the United States Constitution -  the most wondrous document ever conceived on the right of people to be free – in no way, shape, manner or form accepts the concept of political parties having any legitimate function with respect to government. America was NOT created or designed as a two-party nation.

This simple fact is the foundation of our belief that the United States Supreme Court should not take up debate on the farce that is the case of Colorado keeping Donald Trump off its states primary ballot. The Justices should take all the filings and toss them in the dumpster.

And then go watch a Cubs game.

 

Now, before we are inundated with correspondence screeching that we are destroying democracy by suggesting such heresy, read on.

 

We say nonsense. In fact, our stance strengthens democracy 10-fold, in stark contrast to the anarchists of the political class and their stenographic cohorts in the media.

 

Consider these points:

 

When Colorado removed Trump from the ballot, what is lost in the argument  is that it was a PRIMARY ballot. The primaries are the function of PRIVATE ENTITIES. They have NO government standing, according to the founders and framers of the Constitution. The Supreme Court should have no interest.

 

·      The Colorado state Republican Party responded to the ballot action by stating if Trump was not restored to the ballot, the would move to a caucus process to choose their candidate. Outstanding idea. Keep the taxpayer out of it and let the private entity pay their own expenses. The caucus system worked fine for Iowa, and they were able to declare a winner in about 30 minutes. Rather impressive for a state-wide election.

·      The process for national offices is contained in the Constitution. States cannot supersede it because they hate Trump. If any state tried to remove Trump from a national ballot, at that point the Supreme Court would have a reason to intercede, and would restore his name.

·      The Madison Conservative is always heartened when the Constitution comes to the forefront of public debate. Sadly, we are convinced that many on the political left, including President Biden, have never actually read the document. The evidence for that belief is the idiocy and ignorance of those claiming Trump is ineligible because he participated in the January 6^th riots, stating categorically that the event was an “insurrection.” Remember that NO ONE, let alone Trump, has EVER been charged or convicted of that crime. As an aside, an insurrection by definition requires that the insurrectionist must be armed. NOBODY has been charged with weapons possession. The only person killed on January 6^th was an unarmed participant who was shot by a Capitol police offer. So the 14^th Amendment gambit is at best a whopper of a canard.

So the political class and media across all ideologies are completely wrong on every issue related to both the primaries and Trumps eligibility. In an effort to create the daily soap opera script that is news these days, all media outlets present their legal experts expressing that the Supreme Courts Colorado decision will decide the fate of democracy for the next millenia.

 

The Supreme Court, and the American electorate, should not allow this nonsense to continue. Political parties and their primary process should be relegated to the scrap heap of history. They have no purpose and only exist to keep the inept in power and to generate cashflow for media companies.

It is our sincere hope that the Supreme Court tells the children of politics to get off Americas grass and play somewhere else.

 

 

Forty Percent

 

The cure for the evils of democracy is more democracy!

H. L. Mencken, Notes on Democracy, 1926

 

 

{editors note: In discussions on how to approach this topic, two quotes kept entering the debate. We decided to utilize both, despite some question as to their origins.

To wit:

All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent. – credited to Thomas Jefferson

 

With the first link, the chain is forged. The first speech censored, the first thought forbidden, the first freedom denied, chains us all irrevocably.

Credited to Star Trek: The Next Generation}

 

 

Tyranny is at the door and it seems that the electorate appears to be, at best, either ambivalent or oblivious to that reality. The founders and framers constructed the United States Constitution specifically to protect the individual. It was designed to limit the power of government. The rights of freedom for America’s citizenry are beautifully enshrined within the first ten amendments, known as the Bill of Rights.

 

The political left is intent on dismantling those rights because of a specific hatred.

 

We would ask you to consider what happens when the following constitutional rights are ignored for any single American citizen.

 

To wit:

 

An American citizen is told that they may not speak about their court proceedings, but if they do, severe sanctions will be imposed for simply speaking.

First Amendment
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

 

Is it acceptable to be threatened with imprisonment for speaking your truth? The freedom of speech is meant not to protect speech you accept, but for that which you hate loathe and despise.

The same American is in dispute with the government over ownership of papers. Rather than allow the legal process to follow its just course, the government launches a raid to seize the documents. They even search underwear drawers, a site that would not be listed in a warrant, as mandated by the Constitution. Remember the Constitution limits the actions of the government. It might be difficult and cumbersome to legally delineate specifics in a warrant, but therein is the point.

 

Fourth Amendment
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

 

As the American citizen is prosecuted by the state, and while a civil and not criminal case, he is not afforded the right to examine the witnesses against him. Oddly, the only witness against him is the states prosecutor, who ran for office specifically to put the one citizen in jail. Not on a platform of protecting the people, but to railroad this singular person. The case brought against this citizen has no victims. All associated parties have all been made whole in the normal course of business. The state, however, wants this one citizen crushed. So the prosecution and persecution continues unabated.

  

Sixth Amendment
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.

 

The State, having secured a guilty verdict, a decision THEY KNOW WILL BE OVERTURNED, nevertheless continues with imposing a penalty. The populace is aware that OJ Simpson who was found liable for butchering two human beings was ordered to pay thirty million dollars. There was no victim, and no crime in the case of the Citizen. Somehow a single judge was allowed to impose a penalty in excess of ten-fold to the OJ penalty. In addition, the citizen has 30 days to post that amount in order to appeal, and the prosecutor has gleefully announced the State will seize assets to satisfy the judgement.

 

Eighth Amendment
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

 

We are confident that our readers are fully aware the citizen of this narrative is Donald Trump.

This post however is not a defense of Trump. It IS a warning to the American people to take heed of the quotes that led this column. The Constitution was written to prevent the government from doing exactly what they are attempting to do to Trump.

Love him or hate him, he is correct when he states that if they can do it to him, they will certainly do it to all of us.

We implore you to let your voice be heard in defense of the Constitution, or surely those quotes will become self fulfilling prophecies.

Unless you are comfortable surrendering 40 percent of your constitutional rights.

 

Willful Retention

 

The cure for the evils of democracy is more democracy!

H. L. Mencken, Notes on Democracy, 1926

 

 

 The special counsel investigating Joe Biden’s handling of classified documents released his final report last week. Immediately, the  political and punditry class, in conjunction with a sycophantic and stenographic media began a coordinated obfuscation of what the report said.

 

The Madison Conservative will distill the report down to its essential point and in doing so bring clarity to the issue.

 

We will wait until a later date to discuss the comparisons to former President Trump’s classified documents case until such time as it is properly adjudicated.

 

The core of the Biden case comes down to two words:

 

“Willful retention”

 

The special counsel found that Biden had KNOWINGLY  broken federal law going back to his days in the United States Senate. He had illegally taken documents out of a ‘skiff’. A skiff is a location that forbids any type of electronic devices and any type of recording instrument. Nothing comes out of a skiff. As a senator and then vice-president, Biden was fully aware of skiff protocols.

Biden and his defenders attempted to place blame at the feet of “staff”. Staff were never in the skiff. We do not know if his staff even had sufficient security clearances to handle the top secret classified documents stored in his garage. Joe broke federal law all on his own, with full knowledge of his crime.

 

The political left has attempted to paint the special counsel as a partisan hack intent on embarrassing the President. Their argument states that the only reason a prosecutor would make note of Biden’s failing memory would be to cause political damage to his hopes for re-election.

As to why a prosecutor would say such things, those decrying the  comments, they might have had a point. In unison, the buzz word is that questioning Biden’s  mental capacities was “gratuitous”. Biden himself expressed outrage at many of the comments about his forgetting the date of his son’s death. He then promptly forgot the church where his son received the rosary Biden carries. He then confused Egypt as Mexico.

There is  sadly a growing list of Biden losing cognitive function, but such examples would not support a decision by the special counsel to opt out of bringing charges against the President.

The people raising their voices to declare that Biden has been vindicated have not read the report and are wildly ignorant of the law.

 

To wit:

The evidence against Biden was deep and  damning. He was NOT found innocent. The reason the special counsel did not bring charges was that he felt a jury would not convict “an old man with a poor memory”. That belief was based upon two days of interviews spanning five hours. Biden demonstrated such poor memory he might not remember actions he had taken. Those findings are what seem to drive the political left and the media to distraction.

 

We do not understand why.

By federal statute, if a special counsel chooses not to prosecute, he MUST explain why, in his report to the Attorney General.

 

Consider that the President of the United States was found not mentally competent to stand trial, but can fulfill the requirements of his office?

 

If the Biden administration wishes to refute the findings, their course is simple and clear.

Release the recordings from the president’s interviews. Bill Clinton did.

 

The American people are waiting.

 

  

        

 

 

 

 

 

The Madison Conservative 2023 Platform - It's Your Right - Secure It Or Lose It

 

The cure for the evils of democracy is more democracy!

 

H. L. Mencken, Notes on Democracy, 1926

 

The right to vote, and to do so in secret without fear of reprisal or retribution, has been at the core of democracy for as long as people have yearned to breathe free.

Sadly, the current governing political class, across all persuasions, abetted by a sycophantic media, have not been fair and honest stewards of that dream. Rather, the need for power and control has left our electoral process in a shambles, and if we do not fight to preserve it, it and America herself, will surely  perish from the face of the earth.

This is not hyperbole. It is a guarantee.

 

Before a problem can be solved, it must be acknowledged, so let us examine where liars and narcissists have taken us.

The Republicans have tried to institutionalize their private organization by securing a “.gov” domain suffix. The “.gov” domain is intended for official government departments. The Republicans are NOT a government agency, try as they might. The Democrats use the appropriate “.org” domain designation.

 

The political left decries “dark money” in politics, then raise record fundraising totals from untold and unknown sources. Yes, the Republicans follow suit.

Hypocrisy abounds. As the saying goes, campaign finance reform is like the weather. Everybody will complain about it, but nobody does anything about it.

The Democrats and Republicans – private political parties – have created a byzantine and convoluted ballot system designed to limit third, fourth, even fifth parties from gaining equal access to being on the ballot for voter’s consideration.

The media supports the two-party power conglomerate by featuring stories on how Americans should not “throw away” their ballots on third party candidates. The media creates a false narrative by talking about “off-year” elections, which is nothing short of voter suppression.

Instead of preserving the sanctity of the secret ballot, the political class has diluted it by extending election cycles to months, under the claim that the beleaguered voter needs time to cast their ballot. This requires months?

America used to announce election results on Election Night. Because of Covid, laws were passed to extend voting windows past Election Day, under the guise of extending democracy. No one has explained how that works, and the media has demonstrated an astounding level of ambivalence on that point.

Ensuring the axiom of one man, one vote, and providing a valid ID at the polling place is now racist. Apparently securing a valid ID is too difficult

for citizens of color. Who’s the racist, given a current and valid government ID was required to receive a Covid shot?

There are an almost infinite number of issues, but time and space are limited.

Now that the problems have been identified, instead of merely complaining, we propose these following starting point solutions:

MONEY –

This has a simple remedy. If you run for office, you may only accept money from legal residents of the district in which you are running. Any monies from any other source would be considered felonious election racketeering and will be prosecuted as such. There is no reason for a Los Angeles donor to fund a congressional race in Tennessee. NOBODY is that altruistic.

 

BALLOT ACCESS -

America is a country of 350 million. We deserve more than two choices.  Any candidate who can collect signatures from 15% of the district’s electorate will be allowed on that districts ballot.

 

VOTER ID -

Every voter must present a valid, current, government issued photo ID in order to cast a vote. The strict restrictions for absentee ballots remain in place.

 

The reality is that the workforce has dramatically changed and must be addressed. Election Day should be extended to the Saturday, Sunday and Monday preceding Election Day Tuesday.

It’s time to vote for freedom from electoral monopolies.

 

The Madison Conservative 2023 Platform - Free Speech (pt.1)

 

The cure for the evils of democracy is more democracy!

 

H. L. Mencken, Notes on Democracy, 1926

 

When we decided to do the “election platform series”, our outline for this particular post was to discuss how Joe Biden and the political left, with unbridled support from the full swath of media, has been attempting to destroy free speech in the name of ‘truth’.

The world has changed quickly as of late, and the battle for free speech is being fought on new terms of engagement. We will revisit our intended discussion at a later date.

There is a more immediate debate to be had on free speech.

 

The slaughter of innocents in Israel by the terrorist group Hamas has led to protests and riots around the globe.

The concerning part is that they seem to be in support of the butcher.

In the United States, the rise of anti-Semitic rhetoric is cause for deep concern.

History has shown us that it is a short leap from word to action when the language of hate is concerned. Officials seem more than willing to prosecute citizens for calling someone  the wrong pronoun, but advocating for genocide is protected speech?

The truth is that free speech does not provide cover to anyone who is promoting a call to arms in support of murder. In the case of “mis-gendering”, the political left claims that “language is violence”.  No, language is language, the means by which we communicate. Violence is when language becomes violent action with the intent to cause physical harm or bodily injury.  Calling someone a ‘he’ who prefers to identify as a ‘she’ is an apology. Surrounding a group of people, pushing them around and chanting “death to Jews” is violence and is not free speech.

This is the delicate tightrope walk American democracy has been walking for 220+ years. The freedom of speech is not protected for just the popular, widely accepted opinions. It’s purpose is to give the minority view the same protected rights to express their thoughts with equal freedom.

As long as there is no violence, or the promotion of violence, beliefs you may find abhorrent MUST have the same right to be heard.

The axiom of “I hate what you say but will defend with my life your right to say it” must return to prominence in the debate on free speech.

Those who foment violence will get their just punishment. The rest of society must raise their voices as one to put the lie to the statement that genocide is a solution. Those who remain silent will be the next group marked for elimination.

This debate will continue, but we suggest that if you feel the need to limit somebody’s speech, take a deep breath, count to the ten amendments and reconsider your stance.   

 

The Madison Conservative 2023 Platform - Immigration Is By Definition A Legal Act

 

The cure for the evils of democracy is more democracy!

 

H. L. Mencken, Notes on Democracy, 1926

 

America can be, and is, defined in many different ways. At its most basic, America is a sovereign nation due to the fact it has clear and definable borders.

Joe Biden and the political left believe enforcing borders is hateful, racist and should allow for anyone to stroll on in.

Insanity defined.

 

The Trump administration was successful in bringing the illegal immigration chaos under a level of control, having the flow of humanity across the border slow  to manageable levels. It was not perfect, but the trend lines were heading noticeably lower. In short, the Trump policies were working. Tactics such as ‘remain in Mexico’ kept the issue as a process, not a crisis.

 

Joe Biden and the political left, driven by their psychotic hatred of Trump, blew up our immigration policies and laws. Nobody seems to know why, and our sycophantic and stenographic media has never questioned the rationale for doing so.

 

Consider:

Opponents of legal immigration asserted that Trump put children in cages, even providing photographic evidence. Minor problem – the photos dated back to the Obama administration.

Whoops.

 

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas lied to the American people, Congress, and anyone who would listen as he supported Joe’s persecution of  INNOCENT border agents, promising the nation “they will pay. They will pay!”

Pay for what? Biden tried, convicted, and passed sentence on officers who were FALSELY accused of ‘whipping’ illegal aliens. When the evidence was presented after Biden’s declaration, the President punished them and destroyed their careers in an attempt to shield his lie. Perhaps the most heinous act in the entire episode was that Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas KNEW the officers were innocent. The e-mail informing him of that fact, BEFORE Biden spoke, has been released. This man is the same one who lied to Congress that the U.S. southern border was secure, even as his department released the number showing the border was wide open.

The facts continue to demonstrate that the border is broken, with intent, by the political left, the group who keeps repeating the mantra that “no one is above the law!”

Ok. Lets frame our solution playing by their rules.

 

Every Democratic politician claims that the system is broken and the answer lies in a ‘comprehensive’ immigration process.

We ask this simple question.

Why? We have immigration laws and policies being broken every hour. How is it that future citizens are able to go through the existing process to obtain citizenship? Obviously the system is working well at some level. Apparently though, not for those who feel they can ignore the law. The same law Democrats claim everyone must obey. Their argument has no merit.

 

The political left plays the sympathy card, sobbing for the innocents who only want a better life but have been forced to live in the shadows. These illegal aliens put themselves into the shadows all on their own. Their first action when entering our country was to break the law. The law, remember, we must all obey.

Is America a land of immigrants? Of course. A nation of LEGAL immigration. Do we welcome new citizens? Also of course. But become part of the melting pot. The right way.

And the end of the line is over there.

 

{ed. Note. We will revisit this issue in much greater detail after the New Year}