Originally published in the Jacksonville Observer
I think that it is way past time that we overthrew the government that is currently in power, and put in some decent, honest folks that know what’s important and what’s not. While it is not the easiest thing in the world to overthrow the government, it is possible, and best of all there is a system already in place to help us do it. Here in Florida it is called the “precinct system.”
Some of you may know that old proverb that begins “For want of a nail, the shoe was lost,” and so on, until we discover that for want a nail the whole kingdom has been lost. The fact is that for want of a precinct, the whole country has been lost, but we can still take it back. So how are we to overthrow the government? At the federal level the action must come from the several states. I am not talking about secession, but rather the individual actions of the states to reassert their sovereignty, to tell the federal government to back off. The recent slew of tenth amendment memorials that have been passed are a good first step.
The states must begin to control the flow of its tax money to the federal government, and must refuse any and all money offered by it. The states must also regain control of their own state guards. These military units should never be activated without the express permission of the governor or an act of the state legislature. Our state legislature can reaffirm this provision of the Second Amendment and reconstitute the state guard. In order to accomplish these things, the citizens must regain control of our state legislature, our renegade congressmen, and our senators by controlling the process by which candidates are selected and elected. This takes place in the local precincts, and executive committees.
Our state is broken up into districts, congressional, house, senate, council and school districts. All of these districts are composed of precincts of several hundred households. If the voters in a precinct organize, they have tremendous political power. This is where town meetings should occur if they are to be of any use at all. A town meeting is not a just a place for getting information and giving feedback, it is a place for making decisions and giving orders! If a precinct can agree to vote in a bloc they can be a deciding factor in City Council, School Board, even mayoral elections, and will be able to demand a fair share of city resources for their neighborhood. They will be able to control who is elected to the local political executive committees, Republican and Democratic, and ensure that person actually represents their opinions for a change. It is essential to recognize that local executive committees do not merely ensure that their party’s candidate gets elected, but are also supposed to determine who the preferred party candidate will be. If the local precincts form district coalitions they can also influence the result of state and congressional elections. Then their congressmen and state legislators will begin to pay attention to them.
We have a representative form of government. Representatives who don’t represent their constituency should be afraid to walk the streets. Why don’t they care about you? Aside from taking other people’s money with both hands, they know that you are not organized, that you are at home watching the TV, drinking a beer and eating that fourth slice of pizza. Get up! They are stealing your country this time! They are loading it into a van and driving away. Organize your neighborhood, Do it for a political party if you must, but before that do it for yourself, your friends, neighbors, and family. Elect those who actually represent your interests and make sure that those who don’t regret it for the rest of their lives. Commit to overthrow the government today.
