Was Franklin Right?

After the close of the Constitutional Convention in 1787, Benjamin Franklin was asked what form of government America would have. He replied bluntly, "A republic, if you can keep it."

And it looks like we're not keeping it.

I agree with Redstate - we have lost something very basic in this current Congress and Administration, and "what comes next is very discomforting to think about." By passing the health care bill - a piece of legislation that puts one sixth of our economy under direct government control; that has been purposely crafted out of sight of the American people; and that such a clear majority of us (for one reason or another) do not want - the battle between a free people and oligarchic government control will be, effectively, over. And a free people will have lost. We will have lost control of our lives and the right to decide them as we see fit, and ceded that right over to a ruling political elite that will now have the ability to control our most private decisions. We will have lost what Justice William Brandies saw as that most basic of American rights, the right to be left alone.

And we can not elect a new slate in 2010 that can easily undo this. Once it's in, it's in. Sympathetic courts will contort a way, Plessy v. Fergeson-like, to allow it's implementation. And while the Supreme Court may eventually find parts of this bill unconstitutional, don't bet your live (literally) on that. Because if you think this stops at health care, you are wrong. Once the precedent has been set - and more importantly, upheld in the courts - then there will be no limits to what powers Congress will grant themselves, and no limits on what Congress will compel us, the people, to do (exempting themselves and their cronies, of course). They will be our masters; not the other way round.

So, what's next? In the short run, if you have a Congressman or Senator who is backing this mess, don't stay silent! Make theirs a very miserable Christmas. Write, email, call, fax, stand in front of their offices with signs. Send them lumps of coal. If they have a town hall, show up and treat them like spoiled children; that is how they are treating you. The time for nice is over. And get organized. Join a Tea Party, or another fiscally responsible, freedom defending group working to defeat this agenda.

In the mid-term, we have elections in 2010. If you have a Congressman or Senator who voted for this disaster, don't just show up to vote against them, volunteer for the opposing candidate. Work phones, carry signs, put a sign in your yard, send money. Support candidates who will vote repeal this monster in the Congress, or at the very least vote to defund it. Champion candidates who vote to for an immediate balanced budget and will not vote to raise taxes or fees to balance the budget. If we have to live within our means, so does the Federal Government. On the state level, support candidates who will support your state opting-out of ObamaCare; vote for your state adopting a Sovereignty Resolution; and would, as a last resort, vote to have your state refuse ALL Federal funds in order to get out of unfunded mandates - even if that means shutting down programs. If the Congress wants programs that shell out our money to illegal aliens, let Congress run them.

In the long term, two things. Priority One: Vote Barack Obama out of office in 2012. He, more than anyone, has forgotten who he works for - or never knew it in the first place. And second, if you are forced to pay a fine because the government doesn't like your health care choice, refuse to pay it. Tell 'em to sod off. Make them take you to court; become a test case. Yes, that is the hard way. But they are counting all of us to be soft, and trade our principals for the easy way out. Don't. That is what got us into this mess in the first place. Stand up as free citizens. They can't prosecute millions of us at once.

Yes, there will be a time of reckoning for the way we, the American people, have been treated by those who are supposed to be our servants in this Republic. And there is no better time for that reckoning than now. Let us put our servants in their place. Let act as if we can keep this Republic.