Liberty dies unless we reject party politics and return to the Constitution
I’m a Christian. I’m a conservative. I believe in the Constitution. And I also believe that unless we reject party politics and return to the Constitution, we will never be free to enjoy our God-given right to liberty.
These declarations mean that when I vote, I only vote for those who will reject party politics and adhere to the Constitution; for those who believe in the foundation laid out by the Founding Fathers in areas such as: limited federal power, states’ rights, respect for the three separate but equal branches of government, and an unwavering commitment to our unalienable right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness endowed to us by our Creator.
While I don’t expect our representatives in government to quote the Constitution verbatim, I do expect them to know and understand the basics, and to make laws based on this sacred document instead of looking for ways to work around it and/or ignore it.
I’ve written a lot over the years about how Trump and the Republican Party pretend to be defenders of the Constitution even as they join Democrats to systematically dismantle it. And, not surprisingly, I frequently hear from Trumpists and GOP loyalists who stridently disagree with me as they put party politics ahead of liberty.
As a candidate in 2016, Donald Trump openly displayed his ignorance of the Constitution. For example, when he was asked by one of the people in attendance at a so-called “unity meeting” with Republicans about how he would protect and abide by Article I of the Constitution (which outlines the powers of the legislative branch), he said he would “protect Article I, Article II,” and even “Article XII.” Sounds good, except for the inconvenient truth that the Constitution only has seven articles.
As we consider the years that have passed since then and the potential future facing America if he wins in 2024, Donald Trump’s ignorance and/or complete disregard of the Constitution confirms what we’ve always known about the New York liberal — he is a threat to liberty and the Constitution.
Meanwhile, Trump’s bought-and-paid-for Republican Party have replaced conservatism with Nationalism, which is warmed-over Democratic Socialism with an “R” attached to it, to advance a plethora of pro-socialist/anti-Constitution ideals.
Despite this reality, there are still far too many who continue to believe the lie that party politics can save America; that we can remain free if we simply vote Republican in November. But a 2020 study by the Cato Institute shows us that a majority of Americans across party lines are feeling that they are no longer able to exercise their First Amendment right to free speech when expressing an unpopular or politically incorrect opinion. According to the study, nearly two out of every three Americans (62 percent) say the political climate in America today days prevents them from expressing the things they believe because they’re worried that others might find their opinions offensive.
Cato’s data indicates that this fear crosses party lines: 52 percent of Democrats had opinions they were afraid to share, 59 percent of independents felt that way, and so did a staggering 77 percent of Republicans. And what might happen if they express these opinions? Respondents indicated that saying the “wrong” thing might get them fired and cost them to their livelihoods; Cato also found that one in three Americans (32 percent) who work a job said they were worried about missing out on career opportunities or being terminated if their political opinions were to become known by their employers.
Self-censorship of this nature is troubling enough on its own, but when we take a deeper look at the Cato study, we see that there are other consequences to free speech that would literally dismantle the First Amendment to the Constitution. For example, 50 percent of those who identified as “strong liberals” said that it’s okay to fire executives who personally donate money to Donald Trump’s reelection campaign.
Yeah, I can hear the Trumpists and Republican Party loyalists now: “Of course those evil Democrats would believe such things.” Well, as Jedi Master Yoda once said to Count Dooku in Attack of the Clones: “Much to learn, you still have.”
The study showed that 36 percent of Americans who identify as “strong conservatives” thought that it was okay to fire an executive for donating his or her own money to Biden’s presidential campaign. And self-described “strong conservatives” — the same people routinely railing against cancel culture — thought it was okay to fire an executive simply for exercising his or her First Amendment rights.
This is the America we in live today after years of bipartisan assaults on the Constitution; a condition that has only grown worse in the Age of Trump and Republican Trumpism.
Trumpists and Republican Party loyalists will continue trying to convince us and themselves into believing that America can be free just as soon as we get rid of Democrats, but the bottom line is this: Liberty will die a painful and certain death unless we reject party politics and return to the Constitution.
And of that you can be certain.
David Leach is the owner of the Strident Conservative. He holds people of every political stripe accountable for their failure to uphold conservative values, and he promotes those values instead of political parties.
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