A Response to Stephen Broden

The Blaze (http://www.theblaze.com/) has reported that Texas Republican congressional candidate Stephen Broden renewed an observation that he has made in the past that a violent overthrow of the government is a viable option if America continues down its current path. According to the Blaze,

In 2009, Broden said that there is a solution to tyranny: “We have a constitutional remedy. And the Framers say if that don’t work, revolution.”

It was in response to a question regarding that statement that he said revolution is a viable option: “Our nation was founded on violence; the option is on the table. I don’t think that we should ever remove anything from the table as it relates to our liberties and our freedoms. However, it is not the first option.”

“If the government is not producing the results or has become destructive to the ends of our liberties, we have a right to get rid of that government and to get rid of it by any means necessary,” Broden added.

While violence is always a possibility, it is not true that our nation was founded on violence. The Framers did not say, “If that don’t work, revolution.” That was the course of the French revolution. What the American Framers did say was, pursue a legal dissolution of the ties that bind the states to Great Britain. What the Framers did say is if violence comes from the tyrant, so be it.

The Declaration of Independence is a wonderfully crafted legal document, initiating a covenantal law suit against the crown in Great Britain. It begins by declaring the rights of the states to their sovereignty under God. It then sets forth a lengthy list of the rights of Englishmen which King George had violated. It concludes with the following declaration:

That these united Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States, that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. — And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.

Violence did come, but the violence was initiated by the English tyrant, not the states. Yes, the states did defend themselves as was their right, but their defense was a response to an invasion by the English tyrant.

We are facing unprecedented times in these United States, times in which the tyranny of the federal government approaches, and may have even surpassed that of King George. Broden has rightly assessed the times, but he has not rightly assessed the proper response. The states retain their authority to this day to dissolve the legal ties that bind them to the federal government. That is the proper next step in responding to the federal tyrant.

Many argue that the states gave up their authority with the adoption of the U.S. Constitution. This is a fact that the Civil War confirmed. Nothing could be more patently absurd. If my friends and I resolve to start a business and create a corporation to conduct our business, there is nothing in the creation of that corporation that denies us the right to liquidate that business. Further, if anything, the Civil War confirmed that the states retain the authority to dissolve the relationship with the federal government. War by its very nature is recognition of competing sovereign authorities. One power being unable to achieve its goals with another power by legal means in this world may resort to violence to achieve its goals. We call it a war because it is a violent conflict between two sovereign powers.

If the November midterm elections change the course of our federal government, that is all well and good. If the November midterm elections do not change the tyrannical course of our federal government, the proper next steps belong to the states. The states must remain faithful to the U.S. Constitution if the federal tyrant will not. The states should consistently and faithfully declare in law where the federal tyrant exceeds it authority. They must nullify unconstitutional edicts.

The right of nullification is a muscle the states must exercise. The muscles of the states have atrophied after many years of lack of use. Federal mandates and incentives have induced the states to grow weak in their responsibilities to guard the freedoms of their people. Exercising their muscles will be hard at first. Bribes from the federal government will not be easy to withstand, but they must be.

To some extent, the states have already taken the first steps in their response to the federal tyrant. Various states have declared certain federal edicts null. Missouri exercised its God given authority to nullify the federal healthcare slavery with the adoption of the Missouri Healthcare Freedom Act. Other states are doing likewise. But they must do more. Only by regular and consistent exercise of the right to nullify federal tyranny will the states become strong again.

This is the proper next step. Consistent and faithful state action denying the federal tyrant its usurpation of power will bring the states in conflict with the federal tyrant. Such conflict may eventually lead to secession. Violence may come at the hands of the federal tyrant, but the violence should not be initiated by the states.