The 2020 Election seems to have taken on a personality of its own. Democrats fear the end of the world should Trump win and Republicans fear the end of the world should Biden win. The news is daily filled with analysis and reports filled with fluff about the polls for the next President, campaign moves and short snippets of Presidential candidate speeches, usually taken out of context. There’s no real substance being covered, no journalistic effort to provide for the American people the information that actually matters. And the American people eat it all up.
You’d think we were talking about an election of a King, or an autocratic tyrant. It’s as if the election of one president could change everything. The sad reality is, in some ways, it can—-but it never should.
Friends, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. The role of the president is highly limited. He’s given the relatively limited duty of enforcing the laws that Congress writes. And the laws that Congress writes are limited to a very few enumerated powers as listed in Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution.
So, why would such a small role matter so much? Unfortunately, American citizens began expecting more of the president back in the 1930s and his power and reach has merely grown from there. Again, we the people don’t realize the weight of our own responsibility in the matter. The more powerful we treat the president the more powerful he becomes. Why? Because, the other branches of government, dependent upon us for votes, will begin to also treat him the same way we treat him.
But, even today, the reality is, that the president’s power is still severely limited. It’s about time we get a hold of this truth so that we can turn our attention to the parts of this upcoming 2020 election that really matter.
In this article, I step through the four most important election battles that we should be paying attention to. Starting with the least important and moving to the most important.
4. The House and the Senate
Ok, let’s get something straight. When it comes to federal laws—aka federal policy—no one is more important than your local district Congressman or your state’s Senators. That’s right. Not the president. He’s not able to make law. But your local Congressman and Senator will be make all the federal laws that you’ll be subject to in the future.
Unfortunately, so few of us really pay attention to or understand this reality and therefore neglect to do our own research about our Congressional representatives. Such apathy is how and why members of Congress are re-elected at astounding rates, prompting all the complaints and calls for term limits.
No, friends, if we did our job, we would be the term limit. We need to stop exerting so much time and energy focusing on the president, the individual who has no way to make law, and instead focus our time on making sure Congress comes out right.
Also, just a little extra point. The Senate gives consent for court nominations, ambassadors and the like. These are things that could directly affect us, especially after this 2020 election.
3. State Legislature and State Executive
Frankly, I believe that of all political races happening in the 2020 elections, few are more important than the political races for the state legislature and state executives. And much of the campaign spending would support this belief. Democrats and Republicans have spent boat loads of money targeting state legislative seats.
Why? Because unlike the citizenry, those in power know just how critical these races are. You see, the federal government’s power is limited. This means that it must rely heavily on the state governments to fund and enforce federal policies. Meaning of course, that for Democrats, they want a Democrat controlled state legislature and Democrat controlled executive because a friendly state government will enable them to carry out all of the policies they intend to begin establishing should they take the federal government. Their greatest enemy and stumbling block to power will be local governments who do not align with their politics and who refuse to acquiesce to their demands. The same goes for the Republican Party.
America was built upon local government and individual self-governance. This means that power is distributed in a variety of directions—with good intention.
Unfortunately for us, the American people, we tend to only pay attention to the presidential election and ignore our state elections…essentially handing our own opposition a win.
Friends, and lovers of liberty, we can’t afford to lose our states. And the reality is, the laws, rules, and regulations that we encounter on a daily basis…most of them come from our local governments, not from the federal. And yet we ignore the local and focus only on the federal. Basic logic should motivate us to do otherwise.
Do your research. Who is your local representative? Do they uphold your state Constitution? Do they respect the federal Constitution? What is their agenda for being in government? This is where we must take the fight.
I know, in my state of North Carolina, the fight for the local government couldn’t be greater. The president has visited our state five times already in a just matter of weeks. A bevy of money has been dumped on local elections and campaigns by Democrats and Republicans alike.
The weight of responsibility in my state is real, but so is yours.
2. State Courts
Unfortunately, the state courts have become increasingly critical to local governance. Republican legislatures will pass legislation, only to have it immediately struck down by liberal courts and vice versa.
Courts should never be this powerful. Never. But, as we work to re-educate Americans on this reality, we should be sure to vote in candidates who are solidly focused on upholding the state Constitution and merely applying—not re-interpreting and writing—-law.
These races are critical. And they will be incredibly critical should the federal government fully embrace their power and reject the Constitution. Should they do this, and the state legislatures fight the unconstitutional behavior of the federal government, the courts can make or break such state legislative action.
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Mayors and School Boards
Finally, liberty really does lay squarely on the shoulders of the local mayors and local city government. For if all else is lost, it’s mayors who will ultimately decide if their cities and towns will be ruled by arbitrary power or by the Constitution. We are daily and directly affectedly by the choices our mayors make, for good or for bad.
Just look at how different cities and towns are handling COVID, protests and riots. Every mayor’s decision has affected their constituents in very real and distinct ways.
And don’t forget our school boards. With the increase in all kinds of indoctrination, the role of the school boards has never been more critical. They truly are determining the future of our nation by deciding the education of our children.
And yet, all we care about is the president.
Conclusion
Hopefully, in today’s post, I’ve helped to expand your political focus during this 2020 election. Yes, the election of our next president is important, very important.
But, frankly, we could elect a Marxist to the office of the president and see nothing in America change—our daily personal lives stay the same—if everyone in Congress, in the state governments and local city governments were all Constitutionalists. However, the same could not be said if we did the opposite. We could elect a great Constitutionalist to the presidency and still be doomed to Marxism or worse, if our Congress, state and local governments were Marxists.
Every election matters, but your local elections matter the most.
I urge you, my readers, to fight to elect the most Constitutional and upright representatives to your local legislatures, city governments and courts. If you haven’t paid attention to those races yet, start paying attention now.
For, truly, the nation’s liberty depends on it.
The Liberty Belle