Mission Statement
A Proposal for the Return to Limited Government, Individual Liberty, and the Free Enterprise System.

Declaration of Liberty:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shown 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. Such has been the patient sufferance of these states and these people; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former systems of government*. The history of the National Government in Washington DC of the past 80 years is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute tyranny over these states and these people. To prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid nation.

This National Government has violated the separation of powers by allowing law to be imposed on the states and the people by judicial fiat rather than through the constitutionally outlined process of the legislative and executive branches of government.

This National Government has, through the judicial fiat of the implied powers and in direct violation of the10th amendment to the constitution, given unto itself numerous powers that have heretofore been guaranteed to the states and the people.

This National Government has become destructive to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness of this generation and future generations by incurring unfunded liabilities at such a rate and to such a level as to bankrupt the nation and force onto the people the necessity of taxation levels that will destroy the foundations of liberty and the free enterprise system.

This National Government has seized the private property and taken over the management of private businesses for public use and in the name of the public good without due process of law or just compensation of those private citizens in direct violation of the 5th amendment.

This National Government has been grossly negligent and entirely arbitrary in its enforcement of immigration law and in its responsibility to protect the people and their rights as citizens along with the integrity of our national borders from the usurpation of foreign citizens and governments.

This National Government has erected a multitude of new offices, new agencies and new departments and sent hither swarms of officers to harass these states and these people all without the consent of the people or the enumerated authority of the Constitution.

We the people of the Tea Party movement believe this nation has reached a constitutional crisis. This is not a simple policy debate. This is not Democrat vs. Republican, liberal vs. conservative, or black vs. white. This is about liberty vs. tyranny. This is about the founding principles of limited government, individual liberty, and the free enterprise system. Thomas Jefferson wrote, “All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent”. By ratifying this Declaration of Liberty and the following Mission Statement we pledge, as people of good conscience, to no longer remain silent and we commit ourselves to the defense of life, liberty, and property.

Mission Statement:

1.Term Limits for all Members of Congress: The Founding Fathers never envisioned a government made up of career politicians. It is all too obvious that the elected officials of today too often put their own interests ahead of the needs of the Country. We contend that the Founding Fathers envisioned a system where independent farmers and business people who would give up private life for several years, serve their country, and then return to private life. We call for an amendment to the constitution that limits members of the House of Representatives and the Senate to 12 years of service in Washington (6 terms in the House and 2 terms in the Senate). Any Representative or Senator who completes their maximum terms will not be allowed to run again for 12 years from the end of their last term.

2.Repeal of the 16th Amendment: The national income tax should be abolished and replaced with either a flat tax or a national sales tax. The current progressive income tax serves the purpose of redistributing wealth rather than funding the constitutionally mandated functions of the federal government.

3.Repeal of the 17th Amendment: The constitution originally called for U.S Senators to be elected by the state legislatures thus giving the states a check on the power of the Federal Government. The 17th amendment abolished this practice and allowed Senators to be elected directly by the people. This significantly upset the checks and balances of our federal system and allowed the Federal Government to usurp the 10th amendment to the constitution and begin the huge growth in the size and power of the Federal Government over the last 80 years.

4.Reigning In of an Out-of-Control Judiciary: The Founding Fathers never intended for the Federal Judiciary to become the most powerful branch of government. They never intended the court system to be the final arbitrator of all things political. The Federal Court System has been misused in the last 80 years to create law rather than to simply interpret law. The courts have repeatedly been used by activist groups who have a political agenda. These agendas often times could never be implemented at the ballot box. We call for an amendment to the constitution that calls for an end to the lifetime appointment of federal justices. All federal justices including those on the Supreme Court will be elected to a 10 year term with no chance for re-election. Terms will be staggered so that no more than 20% of justices will be up for re-election at any one time. The Supreme Court elections will be staggered 2-2-2-2-1 with the one being the Chief Justice. The Supreme Court Justices will be elected by a national election and all lower justices will be elected by those citizens living in the geography they will preside over. This amendment will also establish a legislative and executive veto over Court decisions. Overriding a ruling will require a two-thirds super majority of both houses of Congress and the signature of the President.

5.Enforcement of the 10th Amendment to the Constitution: The 10th amendment to the constitution states that 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. We call for passage of laws that further strengthen the 10th amendment by abolishing all agencies and departments of the Federal Government that are not directly related to the enumerated powers of the Federal Government. These agencies and departments are exercising power that is reserved for the States and/or the people. They are therefore deemed unconstitutional by their very existence. Examples of such agencies are: The Department of Education, The Department of Housing and Urban Development, The Department of Energy, The Department of Health and Human Services, The Department of Labor, etc. Dozens of other agencies and departments exist that are exercising power reserved for the states and/or the people but they are too numerous to list here.

6.Immediate divestment of the Federal Government’s equity stake in all private enterprise. The free enterprise system is based upon the government serving as the impartial referee of the free market and not serving in the role of private participants in that market. If the federal government has an equity position in private industry it, by definition, is no longer impartial. The police power of the government gives it the ability to create monopolies and upset the balance achieved by fair competition. This participation is in direct violation of it own anti-trust legislation and thus makes the Federal Government’s equity in private companies illegal. Therefore, we call for the immediate divestment of the Federal Government’s equity in private business.

7. The return of a strict adherence to the constitution by all branches of the government. Our contistution established our government but with very limited and specific authority. The constituion was never to be construed as authorization to legislate at will. All legislation had to in its entirety be within the powers the government was granted.

This proposal is not an end, but is instead, a beginning, to a process. The process of returning the Federal Government to some semblance of what the Founding Fathers envisioned. It provides a plan of action which will begin to lead us in the direction the country must go if it is to survive and prosper in future generations. President Reagan said, “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it on to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children what it was once like in the United States when men were free”.