The Hill is crowing about the establishment beating out the Tea Party in its recent article “Alexander beats back Tea Party challenge.” The establishment has triumphed. Power continues to rest safely in the hands of the royalty. Who says we do not have royalty in America?
That is the surface story, but the surface story is not always how history works. When our Founding Fathers signed the Declaration of Independence, the American colonies were not immediately freed from the tyranny of King George III. It took years of hardship and conflict to throw off the shackles of a King that did not respect the rights of his American colonies. It took the people, standing on principle, to actually bring about the change the Founders declared. The same is the case today.
Today we have a tyrant in Washington, D.C. that has taken away our right to provide for our own healthcare. It wants to take away our Second Amendment rights and our Fourth Amendment rights. However, in the state of Missouri, we continue to oppose federally mandated healthcare. Constitutional amendments reinforcing the right to bear arms and the right of privacy passed overwhelmingly. At the state level, the campaign dialogue is full of talk of staying true to the Constitution. That was not the case a couple of decades ago. Our candidates are learning at the state level and they are winning.
So while both political parties use dirty tricks to hold power (think of the Mississippi primary and the GOP call for Democrats to cross over to reelect the incumbent), things are changing at ground level. We should all remember that ultimate power resides in the states. “We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States . . . .”
Men grow old and die. The older generation is replaced by a younger generation. Our federal officials are replaced from the ranks of state officials. We are seeing and must continue to see and work for new candidates committed to the Constitution and a faith in the Triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirt. It may take a generation for the states to replace the establishment hierarchy, but that is the way history works.