WE THE PEOPLE “in order to form a perfect union, establish justice, and ensure domestic tranquility do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.” Last night the U.S. Senate voted 79-18 to keep debating the proposed “constitutional amendment” to overturn the US Supreme Court decision in Citizens United which gave corporations and unions the green light to spend unlimited sums on ads and other political messaging that would call for the defeat or election of individual candidates. Today you would think the headlines would be solely dedicated to this vote, the details behind the issue and why it is so incredibly important to every individual in the country. Yet, the Ray Rice ban due to domestic violence trumped this issue across every news story board. It’s not that I don’t think the Rice issue is news worthy, I just think this issue is of much greater importance as it affects the very foundation and intent of our Constitution. Our Constitution has only been amended twenty seven times in our country’s 200+ year history. Thomas Jefferson stated four specific reasons for our Declaration of Independence and the ensuing Constitution: 1) the King has been unfair to the colonists, 2) people have rights that cannot be taken away by kings, 3) a government should protect the people’s rights and 4) a government should listen to its people. Notice how Jefferson refers to the “people.” He does not refer to the wealthy, powerful, organized groups or corporations. Very simple: the people. The Citizens United ruling by the Supreme Court in January of 2010 has bastardized this very simple concept which is evidenced by the first three words of our constitution: “We the people.” People are the citizens of the country. They are not corporations, organizations, unions or otherwise. As a matter of fact during the mortgage meltdown banks and financial institutions refused to grant mortgages to entities of any kind, the mortgage would only be issued to the “person” behind the entity. So which is it? Are we a country that conveniently twists interpretation to benefit the wealthy, powerful, or organized? No we are not. However, we lost our way and Citizens United was very much a part of our straying from our roots, our beliefs, and our founding principles. So, here is the pure beauty of our constitution-we the people can amend it. Yes, we must make our voices heard so that the legislative branch (both the House of Representatives and the Senate) know what our desire and our mandate is. Last night 79 Senators heard the people. Eighteen Senators did not. The names of the eighteen should be posted today on every website and in every news article yet nothing but a vigilant search and surmise would provide this information. I do know for a fact that Texas Senator John Cornyn is a definitive no along with the Senate GOP leaders including Mitch McConnell who refers to the issue as a stunt by democrats before the election. Really? A stunt. Hey Mitch, here’s some news for you, I could care less about either political party but I do care about this country, its constitution and its people. You would think everyone would be thrilled over the positive vote last night. However, many reports indicate that this is just a ruse, a way for Republicans to act like they support the appeal so they are not hurt in the upcoming election but everyone has a basic understanding that the amendment will never pass. Yesterday’s vote just means that the Senate has agreed to “debate and discuss” the issue further. The real vote comes when the debate and discussion is over. So, is it all a ruse? Is this just more political gaming? It may very well be. BUT, there is something we can do. We the people can make sure it is not a tactic. We the people can insist that our voices be heard. We the people can tell our elected officials that we mandate their vote to appeal Citizens United and restore our Constitution to the spirit in which it were written. We, more than any other generation in history have the means! We have internet, phones, radio, and television. Speak up now! Otherwise, the rich, the powerful, and the organized will buy our government and “We the People” will be no more.
Posted on: Tue, 09 Sep 2014 20:14:44 +0000
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