Two more great meetings, and two more committed Constitutionalists get added to our list.
The meeting with Rep. Lawrence was a scheduled phone call. We talked for over an hour. He told me he was motivated to run for office against a 24 yr. incumbent because of the congressional midnight pay raise. He knew things had to change.
He ran and lost twice before he won.
He refuses state provided free haircuts, a state car, cell phones, per-diems, other perks, and most notably a state pension. What does that tell you about him?
The legislation he has been involved with is focused on debt, how we fund state activity, waste, the sneaky financing of debt and projects that work around the Constitutional provision allowing congress and people to vote on such things, giving pay raises to themselves, no requirement for drug screening for elected officials, school directors hiking salaries for spouses, and ending cooperation with the federal Dept. of Education.
Not bad, huh?
He told me that the biggest reason we are in trouble is that despite a $50 billion Pennsylvania pension liability, 42 cents borrowed for every dollar that the U.S. spends, the Social Security trust fund filled with treasury bond IOU’s, NSA data collection, etc., no one seems to care or talks about these things.
During a recent town hall meeting he said that no one asked about our budget here in Pennsylvania that did not get passed before they went into recess.
I told him we are working on a solution that will bypass the apathy and ignorance of the masses.
He knows our Constitution well, the history behind it, and the holds the same beliefs and principles as our Founders.
It was a very enjoyable conversation.
Ironically, Rep. Greiner called me in person to set up an appointment right after I finished talking to Rep. Lawrence, so I asked him if he had time to talk at that time. He did.
I told him we were calling to find out about his position on the 10th Amendment, the federal and state governments’ responsibility for our current predicament, and our right to nullify unlawful activity.
He told me right off that he is a “huge States Rights guy,” as well as “pro-life and socially conservative.”
Nice to hear first thing when you are calling to talk about the 10th and the principles that it is a reflection of.
As for our entanglement with D.C, he said that we are tied to funding, and that we cannot defund even planned parenthood without being called revolutionaries.
He told me that the people that share his values want him on the courthouse steps protesting, but politically it would be the end of him and any other Conservative politician if they come across as radical or extremist.
He said that what we’ll get is a fresh batch of people in office that will not hold our values.
What OurRepublic is doing requires a different way of thinking about fixing our problems, so I emphasized to him that it will be us, not them, that will get this done.
I ensured him that we are not looking to use them as cannon fodder in this fight. What they will be able to do very safely is stand together during a town hall meeting/press conference and announce that OurRepublic is not asking them to endorse any specific plans, only that we are correct in our assessment of the 10th Amendment and confirm the degree to which the Feds and the state of Pennsylvania are engaged in unlawful activity.
The only task we sincerely need them to perform is publicly recognizing that we are being denied our 10th Amendment right and that we are absolutely entitled to redress.
We can confidently and comfortably take it from there as we reveal our plan to peacefully, and in a very orderly manner, return the Rule of Law to Lancaster County and hopefully to our republic as well.
It was clear Rep. Greiner needs some time to digest the solution we are planning. He is an accountant by trade, and what we are doing is coloring outside of the lines laid down by those that would see the government constrain us and not the Constitution them.
We will all have to go through the process of beginning to think like free people do. They have controlled us for a very long time.
Rep. Greiner is a great guy and I really enjoyed our conversation. I’m encouraged to clearly write out the details of our plans as soon as possible so that they can all be clearer about we are asking of them.
As much as I have a vision of where we need to go, the details continue to be worked out as we are learning who our allies and enemies are. Also, as we make new contacts things become at once more plausible and more daunting.
It is hard to give out any information now, as things change and ideas and plans evolve. It will not be helpful to keep sending out emails and new announcements about all of the subtle and significant changes in direction.
But, suffice it to say, less is more. We are refining what we will be doing, but it will all hopefully remain in the vein of what we started: Challenge the status quo with the reality of our Constitution and the principles that created it. We have simply asked our elected public servants if they recognize the truth in the text of the document which they swore an oath to obey and defend.
The implications of the 10th Amendment are huge. We roll back sixty million unlawful federal rules, laws, regulations, taxes, and fees to thirteen.
What we do with these simple truths can change the course of our nation, the way our Declaration of independence did two hundred and forty years ago.
If you haven’t been to the website, or haven’t been there lately, check out the list and read through what we have there. Any feedback and constructive criticism is greatly appreciated. It doesn’t really even have to be constructive or even friendly. All criticism is welcome. In the crucible all things are made stronger.
“The Tenth Amendment is the foundation of the Constitution.” – Thomas Jefferson
“If money is wanted by Rulers, who have in any manner oppressed the people, they may retain it, until their grievances are redressed; and thus peaceably procure relief, without trusting to despised petitions, or disturbing the public tranquility.” – Continental Congress to the Inhabitants of the Province of Quebec 26 Oct. 1774Journals 1:105–13
TX 10th Amendment Restoration Bill: http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/tlodocs/84R/billtext/html/HB00098I.htm
Nullification: How to Resist Federal Tyranny in the 21st Century: http://www.amazon.com/Nullification-Resist-Federal-Tyranny-Century/dp/1596981490