We have been playing defense for too long. The Left has been implementing multiple changes to our system of government and to our culture, while we have simply complained and waited until the next election where we might regain control. This is like in a war where after an attack we ask the enemy to wait until we can go and gather our troops to fight back. It is time to take the fight to them and put them into defense.
Clear and present danger
There is a need to move quickly. We have a clear and present danger to our Republic and that danger increases with every day that passes. The actions of our enemies become more and more bold, with the raid on President Trump as only the most recent example. Imposing unsustainable levels of debt on our country while promoting the creation of an armed administrative army are further examples. The situation goes beyond the Office of the President – extending throughout an administration that relies on the outcome of a manipulated election to provide a cover of legitimacy.
A lack of integrity
We are now less than ninety days from another election. Few effective actions have been taken to rectify the previous conditions that facilitated manipulation. We still have widespread vote by mail, still use electronic election management systems that are easily compromised, still have dirty voter rolls that invite creation of fraudulent votes, and numerous other conditions that make mockery of election integrity. Yet we still expect to be able to trust the results?
Even given the uncorrected flaws in the system, there are things that can be done to mitigate the challenges to election integrity, but it will require substantial effort on the part of those who value honest elections. The actions range from recruiting honest poll watchers, to careful scrutiny of all aspects of the election process, to proper audits of results, to legal challenge of improper results.
We must expect that the Left, also known as the Deep State, as well as malign actors outside our borders will fight our efforts with every tool available to them. We are in a war for our country and for the freedoms we hold dear. Our enemy is ruthless and feels close to victory. They will not relinquish power gracefully or easily.
The question is, how do we fix things?
Fortunately, there is an answer. We still live in a Constitutional Republic. While our enemies would wish otherwise, they have not yet reached the point where they can openly declare the Constitution dead, even though they might act otherwise much of the time. The Constitution contains a provision that was included to allow unforeseen circumstances to be addressed without the need for amendments or congressional actions, or any other actions that might be too slow or difficult or otherwise compromised to be effective. That provision is the 10th Amendment in the Bill of Rights, which states:
” The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”
Twenty-eight simple words give us the legal power to address a nearly unlimited range of problems, including an illegitimate administration. Article 1 Section 8 of the Constitution lists the specific powers granted to the Federal government, none of which include the power to regulate or control elections or their outcomes.
What about elections?
The power to conduct elections is reserved to the states specifically. Article II Section 1 describes the election of the President and Vice President through the use of Electors. The 12th Amendment further clarifies the election process for President and Vice President, while the 25th Amendment clarifies the process of succession upon removal of the President.
Nowhere is there any prohibition against removal of an entire administration. That power of removal is implied in the power acknowledged under the 10th Amendment.
The Constitution is for all citizens
Now some may argue that I am not a lawyer, nor am I a scholar of the Constitution, so why should anything I write here be trusted? I would counter that our Founders wrote the Constitution in clear and simple language so that it could be understood by anyone, and used by all to guide their actions. That means that you, I, and any citizen able to understand our common language should be able to know and apply the supreme law of the land embodied in our Constitution.
You can’t do that!
There are many objections that will be raised to any effort to apply the 10th Amendment to correct the current situation. I list some here, but our opponents are creative and will certainly come up with others. We must be at least as creative in our responses, and more effective than their attempts to counter us.
No Precedent
One of the first objections I expect is that they will point out there is no precedent. The 10th has never been tested in court, and has only been referenced in a handful of cases. I would counter that there is always a first time for everything, and if the 10th has not been applied before, there was not a time before when its power was needed so much as it is today.
Up to Congress or the Courts
In writing of courts, I expect that another objection would be that any actions would have to be approved by Congress or the Supreme Court. However, as an amendment specifically addressed to the States and to the People, it precludes any involvement of Congress or courts.
Think of the children!
There would be concern that such action would create a precedent that could be used indiscriminately in the future to support direct action by the States or the People – action that could result in future removals, contravention of Congressional actions, or reversal of Court rulings. Yes, it would set a precedent, but a good one that would add to the checks and balances that were built into the Constitution. It would serve to remind those who seek power that if they go too far, there is a greater power to thwart their ambitions and protect our nation and way of life.
Hands off elections!
More seriously, objection might be raised that the Amendment does not apply to elections. But the rest of the Constitution only specifies how elections for President and Vice President shall be conducted, and only specifies the process of impeachment. Declaring an election void is outside of the scope of the Constitution except as a power reserved for the States or the People. We come back to the objection that it hasn’t been done before.
Related to that is the objection that the 10th doesn’t apply to elections. The Constitution devotes much of its text to elections and election processes, so if an election could be voided, provision for that would have been included. Since it wasn’t, that suggests that elections, once complete, could not be voided or overturned – only a new election at the specified time could change matters by electing different people to the affected offices.
This objection is more difficult to counter, but it could be argued that the Founders provided for the removal of an illegal or incompetent individual through impeachment, but that a more extensive problem, such as corruption of a significant portion of government that might preclude impeachment, would require action tailored to the particular circumstances. The 10th Amendment was provided to address the need for just such tailored action.
That’s insurrection!
As a form of objection, certain (il)legal actions might be initiated against those who would advocate or work to implement a 10th Amendment action. They would likely claim that an attempt to void an election and remove an administration was a form of sedition against the country, and that the instigators must be prosecuted. Considering the actions of our current administration against those who disagree with them, this is a real threat. While it would be difficult to argue that taking an action to use a right guaranteed by the Constitution could be considered illegal under that same Constitution, this is a real concern that would have to considered and addressed.
That’s how we do it people!
Realizing that the Left would fight back against ever giving up power, and that they would fight hard and dirty, we can still proceed to reclaim our nation by using the tools our Constitution provides. The current situation has become dire enough that a sufficient majority recognizes something must be done. This is one path.
Below is an outline for one approach to use of the 10th Amendment. Others are also possible. Right now, it is less important how it is implemented than that it be implemented swiftly.
Raising awareness
A lot of people feel that nothing can be done to correct the current situation. Many believe that the only pathway to change is through our system of elections, even though mistrust of this system is high and growing. A first step is to promote awareness of an alternative approach – an approach provided by the wisdom of our Founders that gives us, the People, a powerful mechanism for change.
Open the idea
Social media provides a good avenue to start discussion, through Twitter, Facebook, Truth Social, and other venues While the Big Tech handmaidens of the Deep State would likely act to quash many of our messages and discussions, the seed would still be planted. At the culmination of this phase, Rasmussen or a similar polling organization would conduct a nationwide poll on the question:
“Would the nation be better off to cancel the current administration and all its orders, legislations, and other actions, and have Congress select a new President and Vice President as provided in the 25th Amendment?”
Such a question would provoke strong reactions from the Deep State and its supporters, but it would also prompt serious thought and discussion that would lead to the next phase.
It will be important to emphasize that voiding the election is not about overturning the results and installing Donald Trump. Rather, since the 2020 election was so rife with demonstrated fraud, and since the results were strongly affected by unconstitutional changes to voting rules in several states, the true election results were actually indeterminate – we don’t know who really won. Voiding the election is the proper action to take in light of those considerations.
The States must act first
It only takes one state to start. At the time of the 2020 election a single state, Texas, initiated a suit alleging that the actions of Pennsylvania in modifying their election rules without legislative approval acted to affect the election results which adversely affected Texas. Several states subsequently joined Texas in claiming that the election was adversely affected by unconstitutional actions of Pennsylvania. While the Supreme Court declined the case, in spite of the desires of some of the Justices, it set a precedent for coordinated action by multiple states to address election irregularities.
Ideally, a majority of states would join to demand a referendum on the question. Even if enough states to form a majority did not sign on, any number should be sufficient to show the Deep State that their takeover attempts are not welcome, and any attempts to retaliate or take action against 10th Amendment proponents would only increase support for more states to join at the demand of their populations.
The states would decide among themselves what response would justify removal or the effective voiding of the 2020 election. It might be a simple majority, 60% of the voters in the states, something reflecting the number of electors for each state, or some other formula. While it could be considered our first foray into direct democracy, it would also be limited as it would be an action of elimination, rather than of selection – a form of a vote of no confidence.
A referendum of the people
Up to this point, the states would have simply been supporting the possibility of a 10th Amendment referendum. The actual implementation of such action has been left open. Generally, a national referendum is a slow and expensive process. Planning and preparation activities can take months and cost millions of dollars for publicity, information preparation and distribution, preparing ballots and arranging for collection and counting. That is old school.
Many people roll their eyes when I speak of a secure internet referendum, as though secure and internet don’t belong in the same sentence. Among other things, I have worked over ten years in secure communications technologies, and know that we can have a secure referendum but that security must be built in from the start, using all the knowledge we have accumulated on how internet systems can be compromised.
Yes, secure internet voting is possible
I can also state with confidence that a secure system can be easy to use while ensuring all eligible voters have access. In fact, most of the current forms of election fraud such as duplicate votes, ghost votes, vote switching, and others can be prevented, resulting in accurate results, while still preserving process transparency.
Without getting into details, an open and secure internet based referendum can be implemented using currently available tools in a matter of weeks at comparatively miniscule cost. As an example, many tools already exist to verify the identity of people who apply for mortgages or other financial instruments. It is a simple extension to use these tools to verify a voter’s identity.
A good system can also detect intrusion, hacking attempts, and attempts to modify results and report the source of the attacks, unlike current election management systems. In addition to a referendum, we could have visibility into who might be trying to subvert results – something of great interest to all citizens.
The point here is that unlike conventional elections that take months to prepare and are expensive to conduct, we can have a 10th Amendment referendum within one to two months from start if we have appropriate commitment and resources. This is like SEALs or Rangers for elections and preservation of our Republic.
The 10th Amendment holds government accountable
Our Founders were wise enough to know that they could not foresee all contingencies of good governance. They included provision for amendment of the Constitution as one way for future generations to adapt to change. The second, and perhaps most important way, though, that they provided for the future was through the 10th Amendment.
Having progressed through a necessary rebellion against a tyrannical government, they knew that even the best governments can go astray and become servants of their own interests at the expense of the good of the citizenry. We have now reached the point where it has become necessary to invoke that power they with such foresight provided.
The problem has been growing for a long time
Through application of our 10th Amendment powers, we can quickly and efficiently rectify problems that have been growing over decades. Our government has grown increasingly distant from the needs of the people and more focused on their own power and privilege. Our country was in just such a situation when we separated from a distant and authoritarian government. At that time, our founders produced a list of grievances that they presented as justification for separation. In the same vein, we have our own list of reasons for a 10th Amendment reset of a government that has gone off the tracks.
As preface to a list, consider these words from our own Declaration of Independence:
“Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, –That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government …
Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.”
We submit these facts regarding actions of the current administration to a candid world:
- the destruction of our energy independence, making us dependent on foreign sources with corresponding damage to national security,
- the promotion of multiple dependencies on foreign sources of essential goods such as medications, electronic components and many others,
- encouragement of systems and methods that support and promote massive subversion of our elections,
- the weaponization of the administration against the citizens,
- promotion of uncontrolled inflation,
- destruction of our military as an effective warfighting force,
- promotion of a two-tier system of justice,
- attempted provocation of open war with both Russia and China,
- providing arms and supplies to our enemies in Afghanistan and elsewhere,
- refusing to investigate and prosecute multiple instances of top leadership having financial ties to hostile countries and governments,
- numerous violations of Constitutional rights of search, seizure, speedy trial, cruel and unusual punishment,
- promoting massive levels of illegal immigration by intentional non-enforcement of border security,
- promotion of the influx of crime, drugs, terrorists, and other dangerous agents into our country,
- repeated attempts to circumvent Constitutional protections on free speech, freedom of religion, freedom of association, bearing of arms, among others,
- initiating spending programs that raise government spending and consequent debt to unsustainable levels,
- use of Executive Orders to circumvent Congress by regulatory action,
- mandating the use of unproven and experimental biological agents in flagrant violation of laws regarding use of experimental biologicals,
- Supporting the development of biowarfare agents in other countries thus avoiding oversight, and in violation of both US laws and international treaties,
- promoting the creation and expansion of an armed administrative force independent of military controls and restraints,
- maintaining an administration that has labeled as “domestic terrorists” parents who merely express concern for what their children are being taught,
- maintaining an administration that has supported defunding police departments and has failed to prosecute Antifa and BLM violence.
For these reasons and more, we need to use our 10th Amendment powers to restore faith in, and accountability to our country and its government.
“These are the times that try men’s souls; the summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of his country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as FREEDOM should not be highly rated”
Thomas Paine 12/23/1776 “The Crisis”
This is our time, our chance, and our country.
By David Robb
David Robb is a regular contributor to The Blue State Conservative and a practicing scientist who has been working in industry for over 50 years. One of his specialties is asking awkward questions. A large part of his work over the years has involved making complex scientific issues clear and understandable to non-specialists. Sometimes he even succeeds.
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