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Responsibility #24
(written prior to July 1992)
To the People of the United States of America:
In Responsibility #23, we began the response to the question: How can the Supreme Court be made to harken to the Constitution? The seaworthiness of the American ship of state is predicated on the timbers supporting and countering each other. We the People can not have good government unless the bow, midships, and stern sections of the hull (the President, the Congress, and the Judiciary) work together and keep each other in place for the general welfare of the occupants (We the People).
Do the bulkheads (the States) serve merely as subdivisions for the living quarters of the passengers? No! Their strength and vigilance are required for the watertight integrity of the vessel. The States (for We the People) must keep the sections of the hull (the federal government) from flexing and bending, or separating or overlapping. Otherwise the ship will take on water, lose its direction and drive, and drift toward or onto the rocks and shoals. At this point in our journey the nation is down by the stern, is wallowing in troubled waters, and making little or no progress away from dangerous shores. Hopefully We the People will muster the damage control parties before it is too late!
The Conn in the bow of the ship (the Presidency) has the duty to look continuously ahead to set the course and assure that the ship is making headway. Equally important is the responsibility of his officers and seamen, to conscientiously be aware of the condition of the entire ship fore and aft, port to starboard, keel to top mast. In particular (for the subject matter of this essay), the Administration must monitor the stern section (the Judiciary), to insure that actions occurring there do not foul the rudder or screws, nor compromise the togetherness of the ship.
The furnaces, the boilers, and the principal machinery are located amidships. The ability of the nation, to move forward in safety and good health, is dependent primarily on the performance of the officers and crew, who are principally governed by directions (federal laws) that are formulated in the spaces amidships (the Congress). Among the unremitting duties of the Congress is to monitor and insure that the seams, connecting the three sections of the hull, remain inviolate, and that the roles of the bulkheads (the States) are not impaired by commands from the Conn, nor through decisions at the fantail (by the Supreme Court).
The bulkheads (the States) need not remain inert. Sensors within the bulkheads can alert the President and the Congress, that the States (individually or in concert) take the position that the Supreme Court has overstepped the rights reserved to the States (or to We the People), or has otherwise made a decision that will compromise the integrity of the ship of state.
Analogous to the federal State Department and our foreign ambassadors, the State legislatures can recall their U.S. Senators and Representatives, to instruct them on the desires of the people of the State(s), to have the Congress to initiate the appropriate action, to correct the perceived federal Judiciary mistake.
The excuse has been given that the President, the Congress, and the State governments do not have the time to keep tabs on the Judiciary. That is like a woman not having time for regular mammograms, nor pap tests.
If We the People invoke the reforms called for in these Responsibility papers, the President can timely be aware of, and recommend actions by the Congress to thwart, abuses of the Supreme Court. The President can perform this essential duty if he spends less time ashore, flashing his gold braid to impress foreign dignitaries and the electorate. The President will not be forever calling for his gig (Air Force 1), to hit the beach, so he can roam the never ending campaign and party power trails.
While aboard ship, the Skipper will spend greater time on the bridge, in lieu of continuous stays in the salon, making speeches and trying to make points with the passengers (the voters). If the Captain doesn't spend full time commanding the officers and crew, we get what we've got--a ship down at the stern, in danger of sinking, and rudderless.
If We the People invoke the reforms called for in these Responsibility papers, the Congress will have plenty of time to properly perform its reasons for being, including the watching and correcting of Supreme Court decisions, which are or may become contrary to the welfare of the nation. The reforms will stop the members of Congress, from spending most of their time throwing craps and playing acey-deucy (seeking campaign contributions and otherwise shooting to keep their seats in the chow hall).
The reforms will require that the Senators and Representatives concentrate on the routine maintenance of, and improvements to, the ship of state, rather than slipping off to cater to the passengers in return for their tips (votes). Proper direction to the Congress will insure that each member is working constructively, rather than doing unnecessary and damaging tasks (such as ever tampering with the tax codes). Liberties and leaves will be limited, to those necessary to maintain full and current communications with their constituencies. The ship will be made seaworthy again and, with diligence by We the People, it will remain so.
Ship construction has changed over the decades since 1787. By intent or by default, by hook or by crook, the marine architects (the federal government) have put greater reliance on the money and power of the hull vis-a-vis the strengths of the bulkheads. Hopefully We the People will reverse those design changes.
The miserable performance of the Presidents, the Congresses, and the Supreme Courts (as discussed in these Responsibility essays), demonstrate that agents who are closer to We the People must be counted on, to see that the structural integrity of the ship is maintained, as the original architects (founding fathers) intended. The reforms, associated with recognizing that the members of Congress are employees of the States, will reinstitute the power of the States (for We the People), to effectively influence the conduct of the Supreme Court and the other branches. A later essay will be devoted to the ramifications, of the proposed reforms, on the States.
Publius IV
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