By Jeff Smith

Almost everyone agrees that the U. S. government is out of control. Even the least informed student of the Constitution knows this. However, only a few are willing to take any significant action. Many still believe the politicians’ campaign promises that they will get it right this time and hope one of the “good guys” will fix the mess they have created.

Hope is a dream of getting something for nothing. People who hope do not act; they wait for other people to do the heavy lifting. They hope our government system will automatically fix itself through the balanced powers defined in the Constitution. Those who hope for a government hero do not realize the balanced powers in the Constitution were trashed in 1803 and again in 1913.

In the Constitution, the states balanced the power of the national government. The states controlled half of the legislature (the Senate), and they decided if and how they would implement the edicts of the limited national government, which included deciding whether a law was constitutional or not.

This changed in 1803 with the Supreme Court’s Marbury v. Madison ruling. This ruling was a crime against the Constitution and the people. The Supreme Court decided that they understood the Constitution better than its author, James Madison.

The Court seized a power not granted to them in the Constitution, and – with absolutely no Basis – decided that they would determine what was constitutional or not. Even worse, the states and congress offered no resistance. After Marbury, there was no check on the national government.

Marbury v. Madison and the 17th Amendment of 1913 unleashed the Washington DC dictatorship. The 17th took the powers of the states and transferred them to Washington by mandating the popular election of senators, which made the dictatorship more powerful. With senators being elected directly by the public, the states were removed from the equation. This set the stage for the massive power acquired by political parties, and consolidated political power in Washington.

Today, Washington is an unchained beast that roams the country devouring our wealth and freedom, supported by their co-equal partners, congress and the states. The combination punch of Marbury v. Madison and the 17th Amendment placed America under a tyrannical government led by a small class of powerful members who wield total control over the general population. This is not the future we should pass to future generations.

Repeal of the 17th Amendment and reversal of Marbury v. Madison is essential if we want to save our republic. Hoping that a government hero will ride in and break the iron grip of the tyrants that plunder the wealth and freedom of America is merely a dream. Only hard work and sacrifice by the people who truly care about this country will be successful.

Politics is not a spectator sport. You can’t sit on the sidelines and cheer for someone else. If you want to change America’s direction charted by the DC crowd, you must get in the game and take the insults, bumps, bruises and an occasional “black eye.”  At this point, regaining our lost freedom requires risk and sacrifice.