The Foundation

“When the government fears the people there is liberty; when the people fear the government there is tyranny.” –Thomas Jefferson

Liberty

“We are faced today with two different roads, one of which follows the path of liberty set by our Founders in the Constitution, and one of which diverges from that path and leads us down the road to tyranny. There are two different warring camps within our society, and the ongoing battle between those camps has been graphically illustrated in recent primary elections and by the vicious fight over the nationalization of our healthcare system. On one side are those of us, including the members of the Tea Party movement, who work hard to support their families, who love their country, and who understand and revere a document that has stood firm for 223 years to guide us. These ordinary, everyday Americans rightly fear the unprecedented growth in the size and power of the federal government. They are angry over the unsustainable and uncontrollable growth of federal spending and the federal deficit that will inevitably lead to financial ruin. They are appalled over the contempt shown by so many in the other camp for our governing document, the Constitution. … That other camp is made up of politicians who recognize no limits on their power, their liberal activist allies in the judiciary, and members of the media, Hollywood, and academia, who have been stretching, bending, and chipping away at the Constitution for decades. They welcome a tyranny of elites who can govern however they see fit without being checked and limited by what they view as an ‘anachronistic’ document and the parochial views of the American people. After all, they know what is best for all of us. They should control our lives and our economy. … There is a growing movement throughout America to reinvigorate the tree of liberty, a tree whose trunk is the Constitution, whose limbs are the Bill of Rights, and whose leaves are the new sons and daughters of liberty who embody the same spirit that infused our Founders. On Constitution Day, let Americans rededicate themselves to securing ‘the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity’ by actively working to preserve the Constitution of the United States.” –former Attorney General Edwin Meese

The Gipper

“We cannot escape our destiny, nor should we try to do so. The leadership of the free world was thrust upon us two centuries ago in that little hall of Philadelphia. In the days following World War II, when the economic strength and power of America was all that stood between the world and the return to the dark ages, Pope Pius XII said, ‘The American people have a great genius for splendid and unselfish actions. Into the hands of America God has placed the destinies of an afflicted mankind.’ We are indeed, and we are today, the last best hope of man on earth.” –Ronald Reagan

Opinion in Brief

“[One of the] central reasons for the Tea Party’s rise … is the yardstick. … Imagine that over at the 36-inch end you’ve got pure liberal thinking – more and larger government programs, a bigger government that costs more in the many ways that cost can be calculated. Over at the other end you’ve got conservative thinking – a government that is growing smaller and less demanding and is less expensive. You assume that when the two major parties are negotiating bills in Washington, they sort of lay down the yardstick and begin negotiations at the 18-inch line. Each party pulls in the direction it wants, and the dominant party moves the government a few inches in their direction. But if you look at the past half century or so you have to think: How come even when Republicans are in charge, even when they’re dominant, government has always gotten larger and more expensive? It’s always grown! It’s as if something inexorable in our political reality – with those who think in liberal terms dominating the establishment, the media, the academy – has always tilted the starting point in negotiations away from 18 inches, and always toward liberalism, toward the 36-inch point. Democrats on the Hill or in the White House try to pull it up to 30, Republicans try to pull it back to 25. A deal is struck at 28. Washington Republicans call it victory: ‘Hey, it coulda been 29!’ But regular conservative-minded or Republican voters see yet another loss. They could live with 18. They’d like 8. Instead it’s 28. … What they want is representatives who’ll begin the negotiations at 18 inches and tug the final bill toward 5 inches. And they believe Tea Party candidates will do that.” –columnist Peggy Noonan

Political Futures

“Writing in 1962, [economist Milton Friedman] noted that ‘conditions have changed,’ as we ‘now have several decades of experience with governmental intervention.’ Indeed, it was clear then, way back in 1962, that free economies vastly outperform managed economies. And that was before the collapse of the Soviet/central-planning model, the economic explosion resulting from the Reagan-Thatcher tax cuts, the repudiation of Keynes even in Britain, the bankruptcy of the European welfare state, the rise of the Asian Tigers, and more. What was obvious in 1962 was beyond obvious in 2008 – or should have been. And yet, Friedman sensed a lingering threat, one that hadn’t sauntered off into the night. It was a ‘subtle’ threat, not from enemies outside but from do-gooders inside. He warned of an ‘internal threat’ from those professing ‘good intentions and good will who wish to reform us,’ who ‘are anxious to use the power of the state to achieve their ends and confident of their own ability to do so.’ It’s so subtle that Americans voted for such reform, or ‘change,’ decisively, on November 4, 2008, without even knowing it, giving the threat vigor. Thus, the managers and planners are in charge, with their hands on the ship of state, seizing the resources that feed the most dynamic, prosperous engine that capitalism and freedom ever produced. The Invisible Hand has been waved off by the visible hands of the reformers. And they are spending us into oblivion.” –author and professor Dr. Paul Kengor

Government

“From 1776, when the Declaration of Independence was signed, until 1940, when the first Social Security checks were paid out, Americans did not receive income from the federal government unless they were pensioned veterans or employees of the government itself. For 164 years, Americans took care of themselves and their own families. With the Social Security Act, they began to slide into government dependency. Today, thanks to Social Security, a majority of Americans over 65 rely on the federal government for a majority of their income. Thanks to Medicare, enacted in 1965, American seniors now rely on the federal government for their health care, too. If Congress does not repeal Obamacare, virtually all Americans will soon depend on government for their health care. We will no longer be a free and self-reliant people – we will be a government-dependent people.” –CNSNews editor Terrence Jeffrey

Re: The Left

“U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan recently claimed: ‘Districts around the country have literally been cutting for five, six, seven years in a row. And, many of them, you know, are through, you know, fat, through flesh and into bone….’ Really? They cut spending five to seven consecutive years? Give me a break! Andrew Coulson, director of the Cato Institute’s Center for Educational Freedom, writes that out of 14,000 school districts in the United States, just seven have cut their budgets seven years in a row. How about five years in a row? Just 87. That’s a fraction of 1 percent in each case. Duncan may be pandering to his constituency, or he may actually be fooled by how school districts (and other government agencies) talk about budget cuts. When normal people hear about a budget cut, we assume the amount of money to be spent is less than the previous year’s allocation. But that’s not what bureaucrats mean. ‘They are not comparing current year spending to the previous year’s spending,’ Coulson writes. ‘What they’re doing is comparing the approved current year budget to the budget that they initially dreamed about having.’ So if a district got more money than last year but less than it asked for, the administrators consider it a cut. ‘Back in the real world, a K-12 public education costs four times as much as it did in 1970, adjusting for inflation: $150,000 versus the $38,000 it cost four decades ago (in constant 2009 dollars),’ Coulson says. Taxpayers need to understand this sort thing just to protect themselves from greedy government officials and teachers unions.” –columnist John Stossel

Faith & Family

“Surrender on gay marriage is surrender on marriage – which is surrender on the family and, ultimately, surrender on civilization. … This unwillingness to fight for the family, on which civilization depends, is another sign of the failure of modern conservatism. The right can win a thousand battles against big government and lose the war for America’s future, if it surrenders on marriage and the family. America’s social traumas – illegitimacy, juvenile crime, drug abuse, female-headed-households – can all be traced back to the decline of the family: which started with the Great Society in the ‘60s, accelerated with no-fault divorce in the '70s, continued with the rise of cohabitation, and reached its culmination with strange-sex marriage. … Unfortunately, many conservative intellectuals have lost sight of a crucial fact: American exceptionalism rests on three pillars – faith, family and freedom. Remove any one, and the entire structure collapses. … Without the family, it doesn’t matter how many times we defeat socialism (nationalized health-care, government take-over of business, soaring deficits, redistributionism), in the end, we lose – which is why the left has made same-sex marriage its priority, and why it is less tolerant of dissent here than anywhere else. Conservatives who don’t understand this, understand nothing.” –columnist Don Feder

Reader Comments

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“Those acceleration numbers are fantastic, exceeded only by the Tea Party performance in the polls!” –David

“Thanks to the owner. This is an outstanding example of Tea Party folks openly stating it’s time to end big government and return to the principles upon which America was founded.” –Tom

“Thank you, Mr. Alexander, for the lighthouse and the shore-bell during these turbulent times. While many are content to steer to any mad wind, we have been blessed by God Our Heavenly Father with a voice in the wilderness. You are the watchman of Ezekiel – charged with sounding the alarum; we hear and we respond.” –Guy

“Mr. Alexander – As much as I hope we can undo Obama’s damage, I disagree with your assertion in The Enshrinement of Essential Liberty that BHO is the most dangerous President in our history. FDR was far more destructive to our country and our founding principles. He is the one that started us down this path. He had no use at all for the constitution. Even Wilson was probably more dangerous, because he set the philosophical principles that FDR relied upon. Ironicly, BHO may be the one that reverses this movement, since the people are finally waking up to the danger.” –Colin

“Regarding Friday’s Digest on taxes, neither the White House or most of Congress understand these fundamental facts: Tax rate cuts historically cause tax revenue to go up, not down because they encourage economic activity, create jobs, and therefore increase the amount of profits and wages that are subject to taxation. The Dem’s method of applying lower tax rates to a stable amount of income subject to taxation will show less revenue, of course. But that is moronic and defies historical evidence. What is disturbing is that the media and Republicans are letting them get away with making these nonsensical calculations. Also, nobody ever mentions that Democrats, including then-Sen. Obama, never uttered the words Bush Tax Cuts during 2003-2009 without adding the misleading suffix – for the very wealthiest Americans. Now, they want to extend the tax cuts for the middle class only. Why is nobody asking how they can extend something that they steadfastly claimed for almost a decade never existed in the first place?” –Jim

The Last Word

“Something else that annoys the heck out of me is having [Michelle] Obama, who apparently regards herself as America’s own Nanny McPhee, constantly lecturing us about what our kids should be eating. How about if she gets off our backs and starts nagging her own husband? Every time I see him – at least every time I see him off the golf links – he’s scarfing down waffles, ice cream and cheeseburgers. On the other hand, one of the few joys I have with the Obamas in the White House is imagining dinner time, with Michele pestering the kids to eat their greens, and little Malia pointing at the bozo-in-chief and saying, 'Why do we have to eat broccoli when he’s having a hot fudge sundae?!’” –columnist Burt Prelutsky