Reading the Constitution - Commentary by Frank Gillispie

Reading the Constitution – Commentary by Frank Gillispie 1/09/11

"The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." --Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
"Leftists screamed like demons splashed with holy water after congressional Republicans read aloud the Constitution to begin the 112th Congress this week." --PatriotPost.us, Jan.7, 2011

The chances that Members of Congress read this column are remote, so it was with surprise and pleasure that the new leadership in the House of Representatives are making a rule that I called for some time ago...

Among the new rules of the House is one that requires the author of any bill to include a paragraph specifying the constitutional authority for the bill. That is a good start, but only a start to the policy they need to follow.

They ought to have a requirement that all bills be written with the same style and vocabulary of the original constitution, and that no bill should contain more words than that document. The Constitution, with all amendments contains 4,543 words. The writers of the constitution used clear, compact statements written in simple English that anyone can understand;. Yet it contains all the rules and policies needed to establish best government in the world, or it was until the leftists finished reinterpreting it. All bills passed by congress should be equally brief and clearly written.

Editor's Note: Some would also like to see a rule that every member of Congress must sign an affidavit under oath that they have READ EVERY WORD of every bill on which they vote. No oath, no vote. That would give them some incentive toward brevity.

The two documents that established the authority and style of our federal government, The Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution with all amendments, fits easily in a small pocket size booklet that is being given to all members of congress, and being read aloud before the House of Representatives. If you would like to have a copy of this booklet, just e-mail a brief request and your address to me at frank@frankgillispie.com and I will send you one.

I discovered a long time ago that if you want to understand history, you need to read the original documents. Don’t buy what the liberal media, professors with a political agenda and activists judges say is in the Constitution, Read it for yourself. You will be surprised by how easy it is to understand.

The U.S. Constitution with Amendments
The American Ideal of 1776 - the Twelve Basic American Principles
this brilliant book by Hamilton Abert Long explains the principles expressed in the Declaration and which are the theme and purpose of the Constitution.

Some leftist bloggers have just been quoted as saying that the Constitution is no longer valid because it was written over 100 years ago. It was actually written over 200 years ago, but is still the authority on which our government depends. Without the constitution, no government action has any validity. And these actions taken by government that violate the constitution... are likewise invalid. Read the constitution, see how many of the recent bills are authorized by it and you will discover that most of our current government is in violation.

By ignoring the constitution, politicians feel they can do anything they wish. That is why I back the TEA party movement’s drive for a return to constitutional government. If we keep ignoring the Constitution, we will be in a whole heap of trouble!

The American Ideal of 1776: The Twelve Basic American Principles

Sign Up for weekly updates Now! Like this? SIGN UP now for weekly email updates in your inbox !!
Contribute now to help us maintain this website and carry on our mission!

"My aim is not to pass laws, but to repeal them. It is not to inaugurate new programs, but to cancel old ones that do violence to the Constitution or that have failed their purpose, or that impose on the people an unwarranted financial burden. I will not attempt to discover whether legislation is 'needed' before I have first determined whether it is constitutionally permissible..." --Barry Goldwater, from The Conscience of A Conservative, pp.15, (1960)
"...a wise and frugal Government, which shall restrain men from injuring one another, shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned. This is the sum of good government." --Thomas Jefferson, First Inaugural Address, March 4, 1801