And
the LORD said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a
stiffnecked people. (Exodus 32:9, KJV)
I
TRANSITION is the never-ending story of America. Alexander Hamilton compared and contrasted a
despotism and a republic on the first page of The Federalist Papers. The one depends on “accident and force”; the
other relies on “reflection and choice.”
In later pages, James Madison defined a republic in words polished and
made as clear as glass. But Thomas Jefferson
had captured the essence in the Declaration of Independence, stating that rights
were to be protected by governments “deriving their just powers from the
consent of the governed.” The meaning of
that phrase was not a mystery, as Thomas Paine noted its significance: “The right of voting for representatives is
the primary right by which other rights are protected. To take away this right is to reduce a man to
slavery, for slavery consists in being subject to the will of another, and he
that has not a vote in the election of representatives is in this case.” Thus, the original intention is not obscure. And, as long as the struggle to make ideals
and reality one continues, the plot will be the same. Every chapter may not be a cliffhanger but
still involve an element of suspense.
II
The
Constitution’s voting rights provisions begin with Article I, Section 4, Clause
1.
“The times, places and manner of holding
elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof; but
the Congress may at any time by law make or alter such regulations….” (Emphasis added)
James Madison
explains the importance of Article I, Section 4, Clause 1.
“The
definition of the right of suffrage is very justly regarded as a fundamental
article of republican government. It was incumbent on
the Convention, therefore, to define and establish this right in the Constitution. To have left it open for the occasional
regulation of the Congress would have been improper for the reason just
mentioned. To have submitted it to the
legislative discretion of the States would have been improper for the same
reason….” (The Federalist Papers,
No. 52)
Alexander Hamilton
notes the importance of Article I, Section 4, Clause 1 in regards to national
security.
“Its propriety
rests upon the evidence of this plain proposition, that every
government ought to contain in
itself the means of its own preservation…. “Nothing can
be more evident than that an exclusive power of regulating elections for the
national government, in the hands of the State legislatures, would
leave the existence of the Union entirely at their mercy. They
could at any moment annihilate it by neglecting to provide for the choice of persons
to administer its affairs…. “If the State
legislatures were to be invested with an exclusive power of regulating these
elections, every period of making
them would be a delicate crisis in the national situation, which might issue in
a dissolution of the Union, if the
leaders of a few of the most important States should have entered into a previous conspiracy to prevent an
election….” (Emphasis Hamilton’s)
The threat, as
Hamilton makes clear, is not imaginary.
“The people of America may be warmly
attached to the government of the Union, at times when the particular rulers of particular States, stimulated by the
natural rivalship of power, and by hopes of personal aggrandizement, and
supported by a strong faction in each of those States, may be in a very opposite temper. This diversity of sentiment between a
majority of the people and the individuals who have the greatest credit in
their councils is exemplified in some of the States at the present moment, on
the present question.” (The Federalist Papers, No. 59)
Hear the echo
of Madison’s words.
“The
definition of the right of suffrage is very justly regarded as a fundamental
article of republican government. It was incumbent on
the Convention, therefore, to define and establish this right in the Constitution.” (The Federalist Papers, No. 52)
Now listen as
Hamilton tells us how Madison’s words are twisted.
“But it is
alleged that it might be employed in such a manner as to promote the election
of some favorite class of men in
exclusion of others by confining the places of election to particular districts
and rendering it impracticable to the citizens at large to partake in the
choice.” (The Federalist Papers,
No. 60)
The States
accused the United States of the very things for which they themselves could be
convicted.
The
influence of the Articles of Confederation was present at the Convention. Thus, it was not possible to establish “one
uniform rule” for voting. (James Madison,
The Federalist Papers, No. 52) Instead,
those who were eligible to vote for the lower House of the State Legislature
could do so in Federal elections.
(Article I, Section 2) Now, because
of the Fourteenth, Fifteenth, Nineteenth, Twenty-fourth, and Twenty-sixth Amendments,
there is a national standard with consequences for those States that deny or
abridge the right to vote. Yet, with
so many Republican States opposed to what Madison called “the elective mode of determining
rulers,” the response to King George III on July 4, 1776 applies to them. (The Federalist Papers, No. 52) “But when a long train of abuses and
usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object, evinces a design to reduce
them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw
off such government and to provide new guards for their future security.” And there is a way to do so.
III
“The
United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a republican form of
government....” Article IV, Section
4 is clarified through brief remarks by James Madison. “A republic, by which I mean a
government in which the scheme of representation takes place....” (The Federalist Papers, No. 10) And then he goes into more detail.
...(W)e may define a republic to be, or at least may bestow that name on, a government
which derives all its powers directly or indirectly from the great body of the people, and
is administered by persons holding their offices during pleasure, for a limited period, or
during good behavior. It is ESSENTIAL to such a government that it be derived from the
great body of the society, not from an inconsiderable proportion, or a favored class of it;
otherwise a handful of tyrannical nobles, exercising their oppressions by a delegation of
their powers, might aspire to the rank of republicans, and claim for their government the
honorable title of republic. It is SUFFICIENT for such a government that the persons
administering it be appointed, either directly or indirectly, by the people; and that they
hold their appointments by either of the tenures just specified; otherwise every government
in the United States, as well as every other popular government that has been or can be
well organized or well executed, would be degraded from the republican character.
(The Federalist Papers, No. 39; CAPITAL emphasis Madison's; italics added)
Relying on the
Constitution itself is a powerful response beyond the remains of the Voting
Rights Act—and the hopes for its renewal.
Rather than waiting and listening to the Senate’s words about reform of
the filibuster, this is a time for deeds.
“Energy in the
Executive is a leading character in the definition of good government. It is essential to the protection of the
community against foreign attacks; it is not less essential to the steady
administration of the laws; to the protection of property against those
irregular and high-handed combinations which sometimes interrupt the ordinary
course of justice; to the security of liberty against the enterprises and
assaults of ambition, of faction, and of anarchy.” (Alexander Hamilton, The Federalist Papers,
No. 70)
In taking
the oath to “preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States,”
the President must then “take care that the laws be faithfully executed”; and
the Constitution is “the supreme law of the land…any thing in the Constitution
or laws of any State to the contrary notwithstanding.” (Article II, Section 1, Clause 8; Article II,
Section 3 & Article VI, Clause 2)
Therefore the Executive can go to a District Court to get cease and
desist orders against States in violation and couple Article IV, Section 4 and
Section 2 of the Fourteenth Amendment.
Fusion that is the true nuclear option.
Threaten recalcitrant States with loss of representation in the House,
which simply adheres to the old adage—Where there is a right, there is a
remedy. By doing so, the President
would “take care that the laws be faithfully executed”—the first law, the
Constitution. Otherwise, as Hamilton
reminds us, “a government ill executed, whatever it may be in theory, must be,
in practice, a bad government.” (The
Federalist Papers, No. 70) And,
finally, cries of “States’ rights” can be greeted with the words of Madison.
In a confederacy founded on republican principles, and composed of republicans members,
the superintending government ought clearly to possess authority to defend the system
against aristocratic or monarchial innovations. The more intimate the nature of such a
union may be, the greater interest have the members in the political institutions of each
other; and the greater right to insist that the forms of government under which the compact
was entered into should be substantially maintained. But a right implies a remedy; and
where else could the remedy be deposited, than where it is deposited by the Constitution?
Governments of dissimilar principles and forms have been found less adapted to a federal
coalition of any sort, than those of a kindred nature. (The Federalist Papers, No. 43;
emphasis Madison's)
Section 5 of the Act required States to obtain federal permission before enacting any law
related to voting—a drastic departure from basic principles of federalism. And Section 4
of the Act applied that requirement only to some States—an equally dramatic departure
from the principle that all States enjoy equal sovereignty.... As we explained in upholding
the law, “exceptional conditions can justify legislative measures not otherwise appropriate.”
But Madison's words make Swiss cheese of the
Court's. The opinion notes “that all
States enjoy equal sovereignty,” as if the Articles of Confederation
applied. But apparently the Civil War,
Jim Crow, purging voter rolls, and requiring Photo ID as another version of the
poll tax are a figment of the imagination instead of “exceptional conditions.”
“Governments
of dissimilar principles and forms,” Madison observes, “have been found less
adapted to a federal coalition of any sort, than those of a kindred nature.” And a pervasive pattern of contrary conduct
raises questions: How committed are
certain States to a republican form of government? Is it just coincidence that a majority of the
former Confederacy—Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina,
Texas, and Virginia—are Section 5 covered jurisdictions? Had officials in Shelby County read these
words by the Father of the Constitution—The more intimate the nature of
such a union may be, the greater interest have the members in the political
institutions of each other—would those self-styled “strict
constructionists” still have objected to Section 5? Or would they have seen that legislative
provision as consistent with the supreme of the land?
If words
matter, a high-sounding sentiment must have meaning—“No one is above the law.” So, even if cease and desist orders are granted,
the Executive must bring charges against Governors and legislators who have violated
the Constitution’s voting rights provisions—the Fourteenth, Fifteenth, Nineteenth,
Twenty-fourth, and Twenty-sixth Amendments—and the statutes enacted to enforce them. For they are engaged in a conspiracy to deny or abridge
the right to vote under color of law. (Title
18, Sections 241 & 242 of the United States Code)
This is what a
study of elections, from the Presidency to dogcatcher, between 2000
to 2014 by Justin Levitt, a former professor of law at
Loyola and a former Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Civil Rights
Division, revealed—thirty-one POSSIBLE cases of voter fraud out of
one billion votes, which comes down to 0.00000003 of 1%. Ivory
Soap is not that pure.
Despite the
facts, Republican claims of voter fraud continue. Steps supposedly taken
to prevent the same create some rather odd situations—with or without a time
machine.
This is in the
report, foreshadowed by Alexander Hamilton in No. 29 of The
Federalist Papers, that President Washington had Secretary of War
Henry Knox send to Congress in support of Universal National Service: “Therefore,
it ought to be a permanent rule, that those who in youth decline or refuse to
subject themselves to the course of military education, established by the
laws, should be considered as unworthy of public trust or public honors, and be
excluded therefrom accordingly.” But, if those who did so much to
make the United States of America a reality were alive today, their Armed
Forces ID would not be enough to allow them to vote in certain States, and they
would be excluded therefrom accordingly.
While on
active duty, some of us travelled across borders without a passport because
of a Status of Forces Agreement. All that was needed was our Armed
Forces ID and a paper signed by the Commander stating that we were
going to such-and-such a place. Thus, a foreign government showed us more
respect than some States that do not accept the Veterans ID of the United
States Government.
In 2016, the
Republicans used Operation Crosscheck. Kris Kobach, the Secretary of
State of Kansas, was the commander. His faulty list of approximately 7
million voters was used by GOP counterparts in 27 States to remove Democratic
or Democratic-leaning voters from the rolls by claiming they were voting in
multiple States. A first and last name was enough for a match. Jr.
and Sr. did not matter, nor middle names, nor different Social Security
numbers.
“The program's method of
identifying and purging voters especially threatens the registrations of
minority voters who are...67% more likely than white voters to share America's
most common names: Jackson, Washington, Lee, Rodriguez and so on,”
according to Greg Palast.
In the three crucial States that were supposed to be
the Democratic firewall, the gentleman from New York "won" by 44,000
in Pennsylvania, 11,000 in Michigan, and 23,000 in Wisconsin. Crosscheck
removed up to 344,000 in the first and 449,000 in the second. In the
third, Photo ID, which is used to stop non-existent “voter fraud,” made the
difference by depressing turnout in Milwaukee. Thus, the 20 electoral
votes in Pennsylvania, 16 in Michigan, and 10 in Wisconsin went to the
Republican instead of Mrs. Clinton. And so, the legitimacy of the
gentleman from New York goes beyond the question of foreign influence.
The domestic covert operation against certain American
citizens was successful because the self-styled “mainstream” press failed—and
still fails—to cover this story. But the falsehood about 3 million “illegal
aliens” voting—circulated by the Kobach crowd—was covered. Yet 7
million citizens on a list to deny them the right to vote are ignored.
In
2017, lo and behold, Kris Kobach was appointed Vice Chairman of the White House
Advisory Commission on Election Integrity—after a Republican presidential
campaign surrounded by Russians. But, in
2018, after finding no voter fraud, the Commission was disbanded. Nevertheless, the Republicans did not let the
facts get in the way, and their lies led to an insurrection at the Capitol.
IV
“And the LORD
said unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for thy people which thou broughtest out of
the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves.” (Exodus 32:7, KJV)
The people had
grown impatient awaiting the return of the prophet. They wanted a god they could see—the golden
calf, and the celebration of its creation caused quite a commotion.
“There is a
noise of war in the camp,” said Joshua. (Exodus
32:17, KJV)
When Moses saw
the molten image and the dancing, with singing piercing his ears, he threw down “the two tables of the testimony of the law” in anger and
broke them. (Exodus 32: 15 & 19,
KJV) And he demanded an answer.
“Who is on the
LORD’s side?” (Exodus 32:26, KJV)
Today we are
again at the foot of the mountain. The
Chief Traitor has broken the tablets kept in the Archives but carried in the
hearts of the American people. Thus, the
line has been drawn. And, for those who
worship and dance before the golden image of the gentleman from New York, a question
remains: Who stands with the God of
truth? (Deuteronomy 32:4, Psalm 31:5
& Isaiah 65:16) For knowledge is the
foundation of the American Republic. And,
as James Madison reminds us, “Knowledge will forever govern ignorance; and a
people who mean to be their own governors must arm themselves with the power
knowledge gives.”
An
oath was taken. And for those who said
“So help me God,” Alexander Hamilton leaves no doubt as to what is required.
The republican principle demands that the deliberate sense of the community should govern
the conduct of those to whom they intrust the management of their affairs; but it does not
require an unqualified complaisance to every sudden breeze of passion, or to every transient
impulse which the people may receive from the arts of men, who flatter their prejudices to
betray their interests. It is a just observation, that the people commonly INTEND the
PUBLIC GOOD. This often applies to their very errors. But their good sense would despise
the adulator who should pretend that they always REASON RIGHT about the MEANS of
promoting it. They know from experience that they sometimes err; and the wonder is that
they so seldom err as they do, beset, as they continually are, by the wiles of parasites and
sycophants, by the snares of the ambitious, the avaricious, the desperate, by the artifices of
men who possess their confidence more than they deserve it, and of those who seek to
possess rather than to deserve it. When occasions present themselves, in which the interests
of the people are at variance with their inclinations, it is the duty of the persons whom they
have appointed to be the guardians of those interests, to withstand the temporary delusion, in
order to give them time and opportunity for more cool and sedate reflection. Instances might
be cited in which a conduct of this kind has saved the people from very fatal consequences of
their own mistakes, and has procured lasting monuments of their gratitude to the men who had
courage and magnanimity enough to serve them at the peril of their displeasure. (The
Federalist Papers, No. 71)
Intangibles
will decide whether the American Republic survives. And those who embody our ideals will make
them a reality.
(c)2021 Marvin D. Jones. All rights reserved.
