The famous words from Thomas Paine’s The American Crisis are apt for the situation in which we find ourselves. “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.” Republican legislators in Michigan, Georgia, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin would do well to read Paine’s pamphlet. Some have shown courage in attempting to reveal the truth of what happened in their states on November 3. Many have still to find the courage to fight. The time to defend the rights and votes of their constituents is now.
The primary reason for separate departments of power in government is so that each branch can check the abuses of the others. Sworn affidavits presented by whistleblowers, eye-witnesses, and technical experts show that the executive branches of the states in question failed to ensure open, free, and fair elections on November 3. At the very least, there are so many questions of impropriety that they must be answered clearly before electors are sent to Congress. Otherwise, half of the country will be disenfranchised—and a house divided cannot stand.
In Federalist 59, Alexander Hamilton writes of the “plain proposition, that every government ought to contain in itself the means of its own preservation.” How are we to preserve our country if elections are not seen as legitimate? Hamilton and the other framers had enough foresight to provide a remedy. Article II, Section 1, of the Constitution reads, “Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress . . .” (emphasis added)
The method by which our legislatures have sent electors for many years has been through their state’s popular vote. But what if the election is fraudulent? What if state laws were broken to help a certain candidate win? What if the real popular vote is the opposite of what has been portrayed as final and irreversible by the media and the political establishment antagonists? If the executive branch of a state attempts to send electors that were improperly or fraudulently selected, it is the constitutional duty of the state legislatures to intervene, determine the truth, and to send electors that reflect the true will of the people.
The Constitution is clear: The power to send electors lies with the state legislatures—not with the executives or their subordinates and not with the judiciary. It is high time the non-delegation principle be restored in the minds of all citizens, starting in the states.
The lawsuit brought by Texas (God Bless Texas Attorney General Paxton and the other state attorneys general who have signed on to the suit) should be read by everyone. It lays out the evidence and arguments that, if accepted, will restore the foundational principles of equal protection and of one man, one vote. The question of the legitimacy of the election hangs in the balance, as does the fate of our country. The state legislatures have to muster similar courage in carrying out their constitutional duties. The time to stand is now.