There will be a winner and a loser in the upcoming election, but my focus is not on the candidates but on something far more important. When the oath of office is taken at noon in Washington D.C. on January 20th, the incoming President will be required to solemnly swear (or affirm) that they will “faithfully execute the Office of the President of the United States, and will to the best of their ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.” The Constitution describes a federal system with distributed powers; it describes the formation of a government with three co-equal branches that provides a system of checks and balances. It was designed to counter the centralized power of then-existing monarchies and to guarantee individual freedoms and rights.
The preservation of the Constitution as it is written, and not as elite progressives would like it to be, is on the ballot this year. The Constitution will be the biggest winner, or the biggest loser, when the new administration takes the reins of power next January. That is the importance of our vote this year, so ask yourself which candidate represents a party that seeks to censor dissenting voices? Which party believes in the Bill of Rights and which party is seeking to replace its freedoms with increased government restrictions? Which party is seeking to cancel the Constitution’s Article V (the mechanism for amending the Constitution)? Which party is seeking to impose federal mandates on individual states, with total disregard for the terms of the 10th Amendment? Which party wants to disregard Article III (the Judicial branch) because the checks and balances it brings are seen as hindrances to their governing philosophy?
The Constitution has endured and served this country well since being ratified in 1788 and put into effect in 1789, with subsequent Amendments made using the mechanism of Article V. The Constitution is our safety net to ensure that individual freedoms are not usurped by a power-seeking federal government. As we vote in 2024 those freedoms are at risk. So, as I look at the upcoming election I will not vote for one candidate or the other – I will vote for the consequences that will inevitably result with the election of one candidate or the other. I will vote for the Constitution as it is written and not as some would subvert it to be.
