America has a great task at hand. We want and need to return this country to its proper foundation, but we must first recognize what took it off track. The answer to a large degree is that we, the people, have allowed the train to derail. We have voted politicians into office to represent us, but then have been unwilling or unable to hold these individuals accountable to the rule of law. We have allowed them to neglect their oath, disregard their granted authority, and abuse the power they were given.

Individuals who have been elected or are running for office must recognize they are accountable to the Constitution of the United States and the principles of liberty. When they do not abide by this greatest of all legal trusts, namely our Constitution, we will hold them accountable—they will lose our votes and lose their jobs.

When we, as voters, begin to follow through and the candidates begin to recognize this, we will see striking changes. We will see a return to the rule of Constitutional law and to the principles of liberty. For now, however, there is no reason or desire for most candidates or incumbents to toe the line. They like the status quo: no accountability and extended job security, so long as they tell the people what they think we want to hear.

Fortunately, we can begin to reclaim America by:

1) Learning about the U.S. Constitution for ourselves &

2) Engaging the candidates and our elected officials with questions about how they regard the Constitution and how they plan to abide by it and uphold it—regardless of their party affiliation. Liberty is for all, not just for one or the other party. 

While we tend to focus on policy questions, there are other types of questions that are even more important to ask candidates. In fact, these questions should be the first ones in the weeding-out process. These questions should be used as qualifiers. Once you limit the candidate pool to those who are qualified to represent you, then you can make your final decision based on the specific issues that are most important to you.

What is the purpose of government?

The Declaration of Independence identifies certain inalienable rights and then adds that “to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men.” Anyone running for office should understand the job description is to secure the rights of the people—not the so-called privileges of government, states, elected representatives, the wealthy, or any other special class of people.

What form of government does the United States have?

Candidates must understand what form of government the U.S. Constitution created so they can participate in preserving it. Socialism, communism, fascism, and other authoritarian forms of government deprive people of their fundamental liberties. Even a pure democracy has a tendency to suppress the rights of the minority factions within a population. Our Founders understood this and so established a republic rather than a democracy, and although not perfect in execution, it is the only model of government designed to adequately protect individual liberties. Any candidate seeking your vote should have a firm understanding of the form of government that the Constitution established. 

What is the purpose of the U.S. Constitution?

A candidate worthy of your vote should prove knowledge of and allegiance to foundational principles of government established in the Constitution—those principles being popular sovereignty, limited government, separation of power, checks and balances, enumeration of rights, and representation in a republican form of government. The primary purpose of the Constitution is to ensure that government acts in a limited and defined capacity in order to maximize freedom.

Every winning candidate for federal office takes an oath in which they promise to support and defend the Constitution of the United States and to bear allegiance to the same. How can they keep that promise if they do not know or agree with what is in that document? The people, by their vote, are given the duty and privilege of ensuring that our representatives will fulfill the obligations that accompany the office to which they are elected. We let them off the hook when we do not hold them accountable to their oath. And that means we pay the price with a loss of personal liberty and the erosion of our rights.

There are hosts of other questions that ought to be asked and examined, but we must educate ourselves about what the law of the land—the Constitution of the United States—allows and what it limits and even prohibits. And we must ensure that those who are seeking office and those who are already in office are knowledgeable of and prepared to uphold this most important of all documents—the one that preserves liberty for all!

We can change the dynamic of the political discussion happening in America and mount a never-before-seen effort to reclaim America by restoring, preserving, and upholding the U.S. Constitution! We become one nation as we become one in focusing on Constitutional values and the principles of liberty. This begins with “We the People.” Together, we can save this country, but each individual effort is indispensable!  

This begins with “We the People.” Together, we can save this country, but each individual effort is indispensable!