Imagine an America where the will of the people is carried out by its representatives in Congress. A country where the president, to the best of his abilities, will “preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.” This was the vision of our founding fathers, and was once the state of our nation.
After extensive research across America in the 1830s, Alexis de Tocqueville shared concerns about what a citizen’s course of action might be should he be maltreated in some way. These were his words from Democracy in America:
When an individual or party is wronged in the United States, to whom can he apply for redress? If to public opinion, public opinion constitutes the majority; if to the legislature, it represents the majority, and implicitly obeys its instructions; if to the executive power, it is appointed by the majority, and is a passive tool in its hands…
Tocqueville’s years of interviewing America’s citizens and observing the political process in action led him to the persuasion that the majority opinion in America determined the actions of Congress. This idea is foreign to politicians today.
Recent polls reveal that only 41% of Americans are in favor of a government-controlled healthcare system, with 56% opposing it, yet Congress seems determined to ramrod it through regardless of the will of the people.
Tocqueville continued that the executive branch “is a passive tool in its [the people’s] hands,” yet President Obama continues to maintain that health control legislation WILL be passed, despite overwhelming evidence that Americans do not want it. Forcing legislation on the people is nowhere listed in the job description of the president (see Article II of the United States Constitution).
According to a recent Rasmussen poll, 83% of Americans believe that proposed legislation should be available online for viewing prior to it being taken for a vote, but according to Senator Max Baucus, this is not an option since it would take two weeks to post the proposed senate healthcare bill online. Really? The fact that our federal government does not have the capability or intelligence to post the bill online should concern us all. Even if it did somehow take two weeks, isn’t something as important as our healthcare worth the wait?
Congress knows from the recent town hall meetings during the summer recess that if given the opportunity, Americans will take the time to read the bill. The last thing Congress wants is an informed electorate, which is no doubt why they are trying to force the legislation through without giving the people an opportunity to view it. This is alarming to the American people.
We do need change, but not the kind of change that we are seeing. We need change that leads us back to the principles of our founders, back to the Constitution and back to the will of the people.
