The Rules Still Matter

The cure for the evils of democracy is more democracy!

 

H. L. Mencken, Notes on Democracy, 1926

 

 

There is legislation moving through Congress which is a blatant attempt by the political left to circumvent the United States Constitution and establish single party rule in America, the precursor to a socialist state.

H.R. 1 –(the House) and S.R. 1 (Senate) aim to federalize elections in this country. The (1) denotation in each bill demonstrates that this was the first priority of the Democratic party. To bolster their argument for passage, they are employing a multi-layered strategy.

In no particular order, they say that COVID-19 necessitates the need for mail-in balloting. The party that decried President Trump’s pattern of ‘not following the science’ is now willfully ignoring the science that says things can open up again, while following certain reasonable accommodations. In stead of being honest with the electorate about COVID, the Democratic party is instead attempting to force the citizenry into fearing any outside contact. People can go to restaurants, supermarkets, malls, etc., but going to vote could kill them. This is the sum total of their COVID ballot strategy.

The Democrats also contend that requiring some form of ID is racist, and would disenfranchise minority voters. People have to show ID if they’re trying to return an item at most stores. If you want to get into the People’s House, the House of Representatives or the Senate, do not even attempt to do so without a valid ID.  Folks who wish to do their banking in person, it is not an option if you have no valid ID.  If you choose to drive any type of vehicle, you best be carrying valid ID. The Democrats keep making the racism claim, but never get questioned as to how they come to that conclusion. Proof of who is casting a ballot seems a reasonable request for one’s civic responsibility. Of course, given the flood of illegal immigrants flooding the country, perhaps there are other reasons why the democrats want to send out millions of untraceable ballots that will require no authentication. In some ways, such a proposition brings into greater clarity which political party is exhibiting racist tendencies.

 

There is perhaps little doubt that given their congressional majorities the political left will succeed in their attempt at election appropriation.

 

Of course, they seem to be overlooking one minor flaw in their grand scheme.

 

The rules still matter, and the rules always seem to find a way to upset such nefarious plans.

 

Consider this troublesome little clause in the United States Constitution, Article. 1, § 4, that reads as follows:

 

“The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof; but Congress may at any time make or alter such Regulations, except as to the Place of chusing Senators.”

 

Before somebody tries to point out that Congress can change the regulations, it is important to understand there is no prescribed methodology for doing so, and that Congress will need to explain its reasoning in court. There will no doubt be lawsuits filed in protest of such passed legislation, and saying they can just do so will not be successful in any federal court. In addition, such lawsuits will linger into the next Congress, and it will prove a much bigger lift once the facts are presented to the American people.

 

As a quick, and we mean very quick, proof of this belief is that Roe v. Wade was a Supreme Court decision on personal privacy that the left posited as a ruling on legal abortion. In almost 50 years, why has no Congress ever codified that belief into law? Because they knew it would never pass. This is why the are trying to break the rules to get their agenda passed.

 

The founders and framers constructed the Constitution in such a way as to prevent such actions. For almost 234 years, the process has worked.

 

Why?

 

Because the rules still matter.

 

 

Whither A Free Press?

 

The cure for the evils of democracy is more democracy!

 

H. L. Mencken, Notes on Democracy, 1926

 

 

President Joe Biden gave his first press conference, as president, this past week. The reviews of it seemed to center on his style rather than content. The political left was enthralled with how ‘presidential’ he appeared, while the political right gleefully aired clips of Biden’s forgetfulness, blank stares and reliance on prepositioned notes and responses.

Such partisan views would be all well and good if it were not for the content of his responses, the presentation be damned.

The Madison Conservative is troubled by many of the Presidents responses, but none more than his comments on a free and open press. Even more troubling was the stenographic and sycophantic media’s silence on the Biden administration’s apparent strategy to remove the first amendment’s protection of a free press.

What seems almost regularly required first, however, is a need to clarify another Joe Biden outright lie about the Trump administration. Biden specifically noted that no previous administration left unattended minors alone on the border to die of thirst or hunger, until the Trump administration, which Biden claimed, had a policy of killing migrant children. Trying to justify his own incompetence in dealing with the caravan crisis on the United States southern border by making such disgusting claims mandates that Biden be called out publicly, often and as loudly as possible.

The Madison Conservative is more than happy to oblige.

 

Moving on, there used to be a universally held belief that the press existed to bring truth to power. The founders and framers knew that a government-controlled press was a giant step towards the death of democracy. A free and open press was intended to be the watchdog of government, to bring light to the process of government. While the press is sadly limited to staffing itself solely from the human race, this intent, while imperfect, mostly worked as intended for the first 240+ years of the greatest nation the world has ever seen.

Somewhere around the day Donald Trump was elected, the mainstream media decided to be advocates whose sole purpose was the destruction of the Trump administration and the man himself. The fact record is clear; if Trump supported something, it was hourly described as racist, homophobic, xenophobic, and any other phobic they could imagine. The facts were never an issue; everything he did was wrong and hateful. At some point the Madison Conservative will discuss in great detail the impartial facts of President Trump’s successes. The record is clear and one Trump and Americans should value.

 

Upon taking office, Biden spewed the common line that they would be as transparent an administration as the nation had ever seen. Biden stated he would always be direct with the citizenry, be honest with them no matter the facts. The lie to that statement was proven during his press conference.

He was asked, point blank, if he would support transparency and allow the press access to the migrant centers, so that the American people could see what the government was doing in their name. He responded with a resounding yes, he would support said transparency and allow the media in.

He was asked when that would happen.

In a response that should appall all Americans, and no doubt bring the founding fathers to rage from their respective cemeteries, President Joseph Biden, sworn to protect, defend and preserve the United States Constitution, said this:

 

He would grant access once his plan to address the issue was implemented.

 

He was asked when specifically, that would be. His response:

 

“I don’t know”.

 

In other words, the President of the United States, leader of the free world, and supposed defender of the United States Constitution unilaterally dismissed the concept of a free press. He told America, her allies, and her enemies that a free press would only be permitted by his fiat.

 

The deafening silence from the media was total and horrifying.

 

In broad strokes, the liberal media noted how great it was that Biden was bringing ‘normalcy’ back to Washington after four years of the Trump terror, while the right leaning media, led by Fox News, kept beating the point that the Fox White House correspondent was not selected to ask a question.

 

Neither side seemed bothered by the apparent dismissal of Constitutional rights.

 

This should alarm the American people and be a warning of what is to come.

 

The Biden administration declared that the press could operate only within its declared limits, and report only what the administration decided was acceptable.

 

And the media accepted the Biden whim of press censure.

 

The people need to have their voices heard. This is no longer a partisan fight, but rather a call to action under the guidelines set forth in our most sacrosanct document, the Constitution. A free press is an extension of free speech. Once the press has been subjugated to governmental whim, it is a guarantee that free speech will soon fall.

This is not hyperbole; look at autocratic regimes around the world. The first thing to be controlled was the media, and then speech.

 

A nation of the people, by the people, and for the people, shall certainly perish from the face of the earth if they willingly surrender their rights.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Dangers and Fraud of 'Hate Speech'

 

The cure for the evils of democracy is more democracy!

 

H. L. Mencken, Notes on Democracy, 1926

 

The recent shootings in Atlanta have again brought forth the hackneyed and predictable hue and cry from the political left on the subject of so-called “hate speech”.  The Madison Conservative rejects the premise outright because the United States Constitution provides for something called ‘free speech.’ Sadly, the political left seems to give belief to the free speech concept, but only in so far as the citizenry walking in lockstep with what they consider ‘acceptable’ speech. A tenet of conservatism is contained in the following quote:

“I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.”

The words above reportedly originated with an English author named Evelyn Beatrice Hall in 1906. Simple, direct and wildly American, almost uniquely so.  The members of the sycophantic and stenographic media dutifully promote the concept of ‘hate speech’ without giving any indication of the troubling nature of the term.

Consider:

A citizen has, let us say, the predilection of spewing forth racist language. They do not act on it in any way, and yet still wonders why they are shunned by neighbors and co-workers. It is their birthright to say what he wants, just as much as it is others right to ostracize them. No one has a right to silence another’s speech. It is that simple and basic. The Madison Conservative will explore the rights of free speech and social media in forthcoming posts. Sadly, the political class, under the guise of empathy, has concocted the nonsense that is ‘hate speech’.  The effect is that now, if a citizen commits a crime, the prosecution can investigate somebody’s THOUGHTS, and if they are found to be unacceptable, ADDITIONAL penalties for the crime can be assessed, not because of their actions, but because of the operation of their mind. This should concern those who hold dear the principles ensconced in our founding documents. As the political left lurches and careens into full blown socialism, how soon until those who espoused capitalism are brought before a judicial tribunal to answer for their crimes of thought.

The Madison Conservative does not engage in hysteria or hyperbole. For anyone who might think such a scenario to be wholly ridiculous, please note that Richard Reich, former Clinton cabinet member, along with some freshman congress people, have been promoting the concept of a ‘truth commission’. Their target? All those who actively or passively supported the Trump administration. Holding some 75 million Americans accountable for what the state has deemed unacceptable thought is a despotic regime’s dream scenario. Freedom must be fought for and defended at every turn. If someone commits a crime against another, or the public as a whole, they should be brought before a court and held responsible.

The act of thinking must never rise to that level of accountability.

The argument that unlimited free speech helps create Hitlers is nonsense. What creates Hitlers is the environment where speech and thought is driven underground to grow and fester.  The willingness to listen, and to defend speech you find repugnant, is the hallmark of a thriving democracy and a worldwide model of the freedom enjoyed by a self-governing people.

Fear of free expression is a guarantee that freedom shall perish from the face of the earth.

For anyone who feels that this column is hate speech itself, perhaps they should first gaze into their mirrors.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Workers" - A Guest Commentary

The cure for the evils of democracy is more democracy!

 

H. L. Mencken, Notes on Democracy, 1926

 

 

The Madison Conservative strives to focus on the political in a manner that relies on facts and the United States Constitution as the founders and framers created it. Occasionally, the political can only be discussed in the personal tone, and on such occasions, we invite a guest commentary to discuss the issue at hand. Such is the case of the Biden administration, the political left, and the word ‘worker’. We now hand it off to our guest writer.

 

There seems to be a fixation on the American ‘worker’ these days. There is of course great merit and sense of self in honest work. The issue is not with the concept of work, but the classification of worker as used by the current political left.

Take for example how Biden proffered this bit of wisdom when discussing his intention to shut down coal mining. His point went along the lines of if the ‘workers’ could learn coal mining, they could easily learn such skills as computer coding, a skill set the government will need moving forward. In one fell swoop, Biden dismissed the families that made housing plans, college tuition plans for their children, etc. by simply deciding for tens of thousands how they will best serve the government. The oil that was to flow   through the pipeline will still need to get to market. John Kerry made similar comments when explaining the effects of closing the XL pipeline. The ‘workers’ could simply switch to making solar panels. Were there solar panel factories near the ‘workers’ home, or would they need to uproot their homes and families to meet the needs of the Biden regime? This is not the hallmark of democracy, but rather the tell-tale signs of autocracy. The only victims of the Biden policies have been the ‘workers’ they seem so intent on destroying.

At the outset of the COVID pandemic, the delineation of ‘essential worker’ was used as a way to keep the virus at bay. It seems long forgotten now, but President Trump began planning to reopen the economy by Memorial Day 2020. Trump spoke of the imperative for America to get back to work. He did not blather on about ‘workers’, but rather the collective unity of America. The political left, seeing an opportunity to destroy Trump, willingly put ‘workers’ on the metaphoric altar of sacrifice in order to score political points. They cared not a whit about ‘workers’.

The American people may be the best and most industrious people on the planet, but they are not collectively ‘workers’, beholden to the needs and whims of the bloated bureaucracy. A family trying to feed their children and make the rent payment cannot be seen as ‘non-essential’ individuals. The truth is that the only ‘non-essential’ people in America are the political class.

Also, if further clarification is needed, note the political lefts use of the term ‘worker’ and where the term is a part of a government’s official description.

 

The Chinese Peasants' and Workers' Democratic Party

 

The Communist Workers' Party (USA)

 

The Revolutionary Workers' Party (RWP; )  - Russia.

 

In April 2011, activists from the RWP,  merged their organization into the Russian Socialist Movement. In May 2019 part of the RWP split and merged into the International Marxist Tendency, naming themselves Marxist Tendency. It should be noted that United States Senator Bernie Sanders is an avowed socialist.

America is a land of diverse individuals, people with a rich and full history. The American people are many things, but they are not ‘workers’ in the way Biden, Kerry and others see them.

They are a free and independent people. They must remain so if America is to continue to grow and prosper, independent of the government and its whims.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Presidential Address to the Nation - 3/11/2021

 

 

 

 

The cure for the evils of democracy is more democracy!

 

H. L. Mencken, Notes on Democracy, 1926

 

President Joe Biden gave his first national address on March 11, 2021. While not particularly inspiring to a country emerging from a year of lockdowns, it was chilling to those who hold the United States Constitution as a sacrosanct document.

Before addressing the focus of this column, there needs to be a quick bit of context to President Biden’s attempts to flout his belief in the success of his administration in dealing with vaccines.

The president referred to the status and number of vaccines when he assumed office on January 20^th, 2021.  His statements were no doubt intended to convey the impression that in 50 short days his leadership made possible the great increase in vaccines created and vaccines injected.

This is wholly a pile of what one might find on the road if walking behind a bull.

The fact is that these vaccines were not on the shelf, available to purchase at the local drug store. They needed to be created from scratch. There are testing protocols that need to be followed to insure the manufacture of vaccines are exact for each dose.

The reason Biden has been able to ramp up vaccinations is because President Trump and the Warp Speed endeavor did what the experts said was impossible; bring a vaccine to market in less than a year. In his obvious disdain for his predecessor, Biden seems intent on the obliteration of Trumps leadership from the annals of history.

The Madison Conservative will not allow that to happen. The vaccines that are coming online are Trump vaccines. That is not opinion, that is fact.

 

That clarification made, herein are the parts of the speech that should concern every American.

Biden stressed that the American people needed to put their faith and trust in the government. This is the intent of this administration as it has been with all totalitarian regimes throughout history. We will discuss some of the actions taken in these first 50 days of the Biden regime in subsequent columns, but the overriding theme is that the government knows best.

With all due respect Mr. President, the Madison Conservative will put its faith in God and trust in family and friends. The government has very few constitutional responsibilities in the Constitution. Supplanting God and family is not among those responsibilities. We have a right to free speech and free expression of the religion of our choice.

President Reagan said it best when he quipped that the nine most destructive words to America:

“I’m from the government; I am here to help.”

Perhaps if the Biden administration governs under the rules of the Constitution, it may earn the respect of its citizens, but to ask for its faith and trust is a harbinger of disaster. A government of, for, and by the people must remain dependent on themselves, not on a distant bureaucracy intent on its own power.

President Biden also spoke of the patriotic mandate of taking the vaccine. The Madison Conservative does not take a position on whether the citizenry must ingest anything to prove their fidelity to the state. There are any number of clear and rational reasons NOT to take the vaccine. The right of self-determination is the foundation of America, and it’s concept is at the heart of the Constitution. Government invoking patriotism to do anything is also the hallmark of despotic governments. There will no doubt be attempts to force compliance, but the question will still remain: why? There is talk of invoking Covid passports to limit travel for those who have not complied with the Biden edicts. The restriction of movement within the contiguous 48 is unconstitutional. The Biden administration has offered us a glimpse into out future if vaccine acquiescence is not total, and it goes to the very heart of democracy.

President Biden, in no uncertain terms, said if that everybody “did their part”, it might be possible too have small, limited gathering for Independence Day. Of course, he continued, if things changed, it might be necessary to return to a state of lockdown.

In other words, comply or suffer the consequences. The tenth amendment clearly states all powers and rights not vested in the Constitution to the federal government are the rights and powers of the states and the people.

In the guise of patriotism, the Biden administration is attempting to subjugate the citizenry to their will.

The American people must resist this attempt and reassert their rights as a free people.