What does it really mean?

[Sandra]

What does it really mean?

by Michael Maharrey

The sound of thundering elephant feet first began to resonate right here in the Bluegrass State.



Republican Rand Paul easily beat Democrat Jack Conway by an 11 point
margin in the Kentucky U.S. Senate race. The early 7 p.m. call for Paul
was merely the beginning of a pachyderm stampede.

Republicans picked up 61 seats in the U.S. House, and they could end up
with as many as a 66 seats by the time its all said and done. Democrats
will still control the Senate, but the GOP made gains there too, snapping
up at least six seats. It was the biggest single election power shift in
70 years.

Here in Kentucky, Republicans rode the wave, gaining seats in both the
Kentucky State House and Senate. The GOP took control of seven new House
seats and strengthened its Senate majority with a two, perhaps three seat
pickup.

While Republicans trumpet their victory, they would do well to ground
themselves in an important reality. This election was not a ringing
endorsement of the GOP. It was instead a repudiation of progressive
ideology. It was a backlash against bailouts, deficits and federal health
care mandates. It was a protest against rapidly expanding government
power. The newest Kentucky Senator seems to understand the message sent
by American voters on Tuesday.

“It’s a message that I will carry with me on day one. It’s a message of
fiscal sanity. It’s a message of limited Constitutional government and
balanced budgets,” Paul said.

The hue in our nation’s capitol shifted from dark blue to purple on
Tuesday. This Republican tsunami, as some have called it, will certainly
change the political landscape in Washington D.C. But if Republicans
don’t bring about some fundamental changes, this new crop of
representatives will likely enjoy short careers. Senator elect Marco
Rubio from Florida articulated the reality for Republicans
perfectly.

“And we make a great mistake if we believe that tonight these results are
somehow an embrace of the Republican Party. What they are is a second
chance. A second chance for Republicans to be what they said they were
going to be not so long ago.”

The question remains. Will the GOP squander this second chance? Will GOP
leaders do any better adhering to constitutional principles than their
Democratic brethren? Are the American people suddenly safe from
government overreach now that Republicans will have some say in
Washington?

I fear not.

Many Republicans talk a good game when it comes to limiting government,
and protecting defending the Constitution. But their track record doesn’t
quite live up to their rhetoric. If history teaches us anything, it
reveals that federal power tends to expand unabated regardless of the
party in charge in D.C.

We the people simply can’t rely on Washington to solve our problems.
Asking the federal government to reign in its own power is akin to asking
a lion to quit hunting, or the fish to quit swimming. It goes against its
very nature.



The people must hold the feds accountable. The Constitution is a
compact between the people of the United States and their federal
government. The mechanism we have to protect our freedom and liberty is
through the States. James Madison wrote in the Virginia Resolution of
1798:

That this Assembly doth explicitly and peremptorily declare, that it
views the powers of the federal government, as resulting from the
compact, to which the states are parties; as limited by the plain sense
and intention of the instrument constituting the compact; as no further
valid that they are authorized by the grants enumerated in that compact;
and that in case of a deliberate, palpable, and dangerous exercise of
other powers, not granted by the said compact, the states who are parties
thereto, have the right, and are in duty bound, to interpose for
arresting the progress of the evil, and for maintaining within their
respective limits, the authorities, rights and liberties appertaining to
them.

Liberty loving Americans can certainly celebrate the outcome of these
midterm elections. But we will not ultimately win the war to restore the
proper balance of power between the State and federal governments in
Washington D.C. That battle must be waged in Frankfort and Tallahassee.
In Austin and Sacramento. In every state capitol across the fruited
plain.

Michael Maharrey
[send him
email] is the Communications Director for the Tenth Amendment Center.
He proudly resides in the original home of the Principles of '98 -
Kentucky. See his blog archive

here and his article archive

here.



http://www.tenthamendmentcenter.com/2010/11/05/what-does-it-really-...

[Sandra]

Well, they better stick to the agenda that got them elected... Or the wave will toss them next time. Just read zero has not been properly vetted by any state nor congress! I had said that about two years go. Another issue for the new governors etc?