Dale E Brown for Congress 2012
I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
This is an email that I recently recieved followed by "THE NEW CONTRACT WITH AMERICA". I publicly reject this document as coercive. I thought that this might be a vehicle to give people a better idea of my positions so I have provided an answer to all of the points. Although I have agreed that some points are valid, I will not be dictated to by anyone under any circumstances concerning my positions and what I will do under any given situation (that is one of the reasons that I am running as an Independent instead of a committed party member). I freely and openly present my positions on any issue and present anyone the opportunity to question me on any issue.
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Subject: A New Contract for America
My roots are Boston and I have lots of family there. However I now live in Maine. It doesn't matter what State, America needs good Patriots to bring our Country back to where we should be. Please sign this document if you believe it to be sound and Constitutional. And the masses will rally for you. If I don't receive a reply, I'll assume that you do not agree and will report to the starter of this Bill. Thank you very much.
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THE NEW CONTRACT WITH AMERICA
Bill Turner, The Patriotic Resistance Published 11/12/2009 - 9:35 a.m. CST Rate This Article: 3
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Bill Turner
Website: http://www.resistnet.co...
Email: hdwideglide_06@yahoo.com...
It is time for our current congressional leaders to become responsible to the people of the United States of America. It is apparent that when left to their own devices, they often make poor decisions, based upon lobbyist influence, not constituent demands. Whether you are in office, or running for election/re-election, this applies to you and it is not party specific. I am asking, nay, demanding that you agree to and sign this contract with the American people. Failure to sign onto this, is reason enough to recall or vote you out of office.
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1. Immediately sponsor or co-sponsor and ensure passage of a bill limiting the terms of Congressional members.
No Constitutional bearing
Senators shall serve no more than two terms.
Although the Constitution does not provide any term limits, I do support term limits but not exactly these. See my support page. I would listen to arguments.
Representatives shall serve no more than three terms.
Although the Constitution does not provide any term limits, I do support term limits but not exactly these. See my support page. I would listen to arguments.
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2. All laws that apply to the rest of the country also apply equally to the Congress.
No Constitutional bearing
I am not aware of any laws that apply to all but Congress. Please enlighten me of any such laws.
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3. Committee Chairs shall serve no more than two sessions as chair of the same committee.
No Constitutional bearing
The Constitution makes no reference to this and I do not necessarily agree with this point I would listen to arguments for these points.
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4. Congress shall pass a balanced budget amendment and will operate under the constraints of a balanced budget.
Incomplete knowledge of Constitution
Congress cannot pass any amendment to the Constitution. Constitutional amendment is described in Article V. I do not even agree that Congress should be constrained by a balanced budget amendment as this could totally cripple the nation in time of extenuating circumstances. I do agree that Congress is in fact getting out of control with spending and should be replaced with more fiscally responsible representatives
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5. Ban the casting of proxy votes in committee.
No Constitutional bearing
I would support such a rule.
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6. All committee meetings, except in cases of national security, will be open to the public.
No Constitutional bearing
I would support such a rule.
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7, Any tax increase shall require a 75% majority vote in both the House and Senate.
This sounds like you do not support the Constitution. This is covered in Article I and again Constitutional Amendment is covered in Article V.
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8. The Federal Reserve System shall be audited, and the results made public, no later than November 1, 2011.
No Constitutional bearing
I would tentatively agree with Representative Ron Paul in “ending the Fed”. This is one of the areas that I am currently trying to research and would like to hear more arguments for and against.
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9. Congress shall be audited by the Government Accounting Office and said audit shall be completed by October 1, 2010.
No Constitutional bearing
If you are referring to personal finances of individual congresspersons, I believe that there is a process in place for disclosure of personal finances and assets when they take office and periodically during time in office. If you are getting at a point that they should be made public, I disagree.
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10. There shall be no earmarks attached to any bill.
No Constitutional bearing
I would tentatively agree with this point although it would be almost ridiculous to go through the legislative process to provide Federal funds (say $100,000) for a local museum or even $5,000,000 for the Smithsonian. I would agree possibly that all such spending should be tied together in one spending bill for local support items.
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11. Each new bill introduced into Congress shall be a stand alone bill, and will clearly contain language written by its sponsor(s) that identifies which section of the Constitution allows for the bill.
No Constitutional bearing
Again it would border on ridiculous to go through the legislative process for 50 closely related items that would logically be tied together. This would cause so much bipartisan bickering as to what the stand alone bill should contain and what should be separated out into another bill that nothing would get passed. If you had to pass multiple bills to accomplish a goal, one defeated piece could render the entire process ineffectual. Is this the point of this statement, to gridlock Congress to the point that nothing get done. This could be a good thing depending on your point of view. If you want to keep Congress impotent, this would do it. A better method would be to hold Congress to the Constitution and not let them go beyond the bounds that it sets for them. If you would like a simple explanation of what these limits are read my blogs if you find the Constitution itself beyond your comprehension (you really should read it). I will agree that bills should not be long, involved and so complex that you need a 10 person legal staff to comprehend. All of the major legislation passed or in process so far (Stimulus, House Health Care, Cap and Trade) was not in fact written by Congress, but by “Special Interest Groups and lobbyists (Acorn, SEIU, Apollo Group), and was intentionally written to be long and confusing to make them incomprehensible. After they were passed, it would be up to the Administration to interpret and implement. If I had been involved, I would have followed the Republican lead on these and voted against them. If you would like to see examples of my idea of bills, I invite you to peruse my section on “My Solutions”. Note that Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid,….to mention a few programs were not Constitutionally conceived.
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12. Islam shall not have the protections of the Constitution or the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, as Islam is a governing theocracy, guided by laws that would supersede the Constitution. Sharia Law sets Islam apart from other religions, due to its secular court system that demands separate justice from that defined in the Constitution, the Bill of Rights and statutory law. In order to ensure that the Sharia Law that is creeping into America is halted, legislation shall be introduced and passed within six months designating Sharia Law as non-applicable in America and although Muslims can freely worship, in accordance with their religion, they shall not be governed by Sharia, but by American law.
I tentatively agree and am at present researching these issues. I totally agree the no laws within the United States shall supersede the Constitution.
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13. The President of the United States shall not appoint an adviser that is not vetted by the Senate, or holds a position that is already in place or could be done by a department head that is already in place.
No Constitutional bearing
The president should have any reasonable advisors that he deems necessary as long as they are not in a position to make policy. Only vetted advisors that are answerable to Congress such as the Cabinet should be in a policy making position. Any such advisors not answerable to Congress that are making policy decisions such as some presently seem to be doing should be defunded by Congress. In the present case where Congress is controlled by the party supporting the president where no such action can be accomplished, the voters should take such action to correct the power imbalance in order to accomplish the desired results.
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14. The First Lady shall have no more than one staff member, a personal assistant, unless said First Lady is in need of help due to physical limitation.
No Constitutional bearing
I don’t necessarily see that limiting her staff to one individual is such a critical issue but I do not think that she would require a large number. Any agreement or disagreement has no bearing whatsoever on the Constitution.
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15. All members of Congress who are charged with an ethics violation or criminal charges shall be removed from participating in Congressional activities until the Congressional investigation or criminal trial is complete and a finding of not guilty is rendered.
No Constitutional bearing
Here again you run the risk of rendering Congress impotent as frivolous partisan charges would be flying in order to cut down opposition to controversial legislation. If one is found guilty of some serious charge, they should immediately be removed and the state should supply a replacement.
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16. All Committee Chairs being investigated by the Ethics Committee shall lose their Chair, regardless of the outcome of said investigation.
No Constitutional bearing
Here again you run the risk of rendering Congress impotent as frivolous partisan charges would be flying in order to cut down opposition to controversial legislation. If one is found guilty of some serious charge, they should immediately be removed and a replacement determined.
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17. Congress shall be the sole place where resolution of Constitutional issues takes place. Congress recognizes the activist bias in the court system and will no longer yield their Constitutional authority to the courts, a direct violation of the “equal protection” portion of the Constitution.
What you suggest is in fact un-Constitutional!!
Such a process is not granted by the Constitution to either the Judicial or Legislative branches, so it is in fact retained by the states. It would be ridiculous to grant this process to Congress as they are the ones that would most likely be in involved with a law if that is what is in question. If it involves disputes between states or individuals or groups from different states, then the Judicial would rule.
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18. Congress shall approve no laws or treaties that would diminish the Sovereignty of America, its states and its people, and shall not allow the President or anyone else the authority to enter into said treaties.
I would tend to agree but one can “never” say “never”. There might come a time that one of the territories (Guam, Puerto Rico,…..) be granted independence. When the time came that might be the right thing to do.
I will oppose any law, treaty, or any attempt to place any foreign authority or power above our Constitution.
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As an elected official, or a person wishing to be elected to Congress, your signature on this contract is verification that you believe in all acts and actions set forth within this document and you will ensure that they are adhered to and enforced. Failing to sign off on this form, whether an elected official or running of office, shall be made public, so that your constituents or potential voters can clearly identify you as someone who does not believe in the Constitution, the sovereignty of America and its separate but equal states, and the ability of the people to be governed in a Constitutional manner. Politicians and potential politicians be warned, the American people are tired of your ignoring us, the Constitution and your oath of office. It will no longer be tolerated by the citizens who elected you to represent us.
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I totally reject this document as coercive. I have answered all points with my thoughts and position, Although I have agreed that some points are valid, I will not be dictated to by any person or group of persons under any circumstances concerning my positions and what I will do under any given situation. I freely and openly present my positions on any issue and present anyone the opportunity to question me on any issue or present a legitimate argument in order to try to sway my position.
Although I totally agree with and have adopted the 9 principles and 12 values of the 9-12 project, I have not yet returned the signed document that they request. I do not consider such documents as necessary to prove my beliefs. Anyone can sign such a document and do whatever.
I offer myself on the alter of liberty.
I charge you to examine my positions along with all other candidates. If you decide to support a liberal Democrat because I rejected the “contract”, that is your prerogative. It is, as always, your responsibility to choose wisely.
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Dale, Thank you. I respect you for taking the time to even read this and then to locate the original writer, and to even make comments. I'm not sure where on that ruler I sit. I'm very new to all this, and truthfully, I'm darn right scared at what is going on. I wish to be at the balanced center. I admit I never paid much attention while I ... Read Morewas being taught the Constitution in school many, many years ago, so I'm now trying to learn everything I can to be better informed. I meant no disrespect in sending this to you. I have sent it to everyone that I find who is running for any kind of office. Maybe it's a stupid thing to do. But I'm grasping for our Country to be made right again. I just want truth. I guess I don't know what a radical would be. I'm just a regular person, that is praying my freedoms and liberties do not get taken away. I thank you anyways.
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I apologize if I came off unnecessarily harsh but I was not sure of where you were coming from. I hope that I explained where I was coming from. I also am afraid for our nation. At least you are aware that something is going terribly awry and are trying to do something that you think might help. Many people are not even aware of their next door neighbors much less what is going on with the government (local, state or national). Many don’t vote, or even know who there representatives are. They are only aware that there taxes might be going up or they have just lost their job. I will guarantee that “everyone” will be having a wake up call during the next year and most will be wondering what happened.
My advice to you is to get educated about what is actually going on. The web is a magnificent research tool and communication device. Read about the founders and their writings. Study the Declaration of Independence and Constitution. Many references can be found on the web, I have provided these documents on my web site. Find out who your representatives are and what they stand for. Find out who there opponents are and what they stand for. Decide what you believe in. No candidate is perfect. The founding fathers were flawed but I believe with the aid of their faith in God, they were able to establish the “most perfect” system of government ever known to mankind. In the beginning it was just an experiment. As mankind is flawed and diverse we have we have allowed so called “elite” persons guide us away from the original philosophies that gave us our beginnings. If we are to continue this glorious experiment we must revive these original philosophies and spirits of liberty.
George Washington was exactly the right person at exactly the right time to initiate the process. If any one of these radicals (yes at the time they were) were not in place at the time it would surely have turned out differently. All of our predecessors fell into place to get us where we now stand. It is now our choice on the direction we wish to proceed. The voters (us) just one year ago chose fundamental change. Did we know what we were doing or were we misled. President Obama did not lie to us. I think that most of us did not realize or even think about what he was saying. I never agreed with what he was saying or what he has done since. I didn’t agree with many of the things that President Bush said or did. One does have to take a stand and make his/her beliefs known and examine closely the views of others. Free debate and discussion is the core of liberty.
"Rightful liberty is unobstructed action according to our will within limits drawn around us by the equal rights of others. I do not add 'within the limits of the law' because law is often but the tyrant's will, and always so when it violates the rights of the individual. " Thomas Jefferson
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I welcome comments.