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REPUBLICANS WIN: For Conservatives, Hard Work Continues

When OJ Simpson was found not guilty of the 1994 murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman, Chris Rock joked about black people yelling “We won! We won!” with the question:  “What the [expletive] did we win?” 

Tuesday night’s election victory was, to overuse an already overused word, historic. Republicans cleaned up, with only a few disappointments (death-row inmate loving governor John Hickenlooper for example). There are victories to celebrate but, really, what did we win?  

In the car-careening-toward-the-cliff analogy, the Republican wins can be seen as taking our foot off the gas pedal. But the car is still on course, and still moving toward our fundamental transformation. So I hope your election night hangover is cleared up, because in my view we have a greater fight on our hands. If you thought we can go back to our normal lives while our fearless leaders tackle America’s concerns, you’re wrong. It’s unfortunate that our adversaries aren’t just Obama and the Left, but the Republican Establishment. 

Oh, you thought the USS GOP would sail off to secure our southern border, put a stake through the heart of amnesty for illegal aliens, bury Obamacare under slabs of concrete, gut the IRS via a Flat Tax, and at least start to pay for our unfunded liabilities of Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security?  

Nope. 

Proof that we have more work to do can be seen within the Republican leadership. Kevin McCarthy of California, the House Majority Leader who took over for Eric Cantor, supports amnesty but hides behind the often soft-sold “path to legalization.” In addition, McCarthy only wants to repeal Obamacare if we have an immediate replacement. Not that what was before Obamacare didn’t need reform, but can you imagine the economic sigh of relief if every letter of Obamacare were repealed? 

Speaker of the House John Boehner, fresh off a law suit against Obama that has, so far, not happened, has once again vowed to repeal Obamacare. One of Boehner’s problems, however, is Mitch McConnell, who only wants to repeal the unpopular parts of the (un)Affordable Care Act. On that last point, ladies and gentlemen, a law’s popularity is irrelevant. If everyone wanted legislation that required Americans to wear stripes on Thursdays, a House, Senate, and President who made it happen would still be violating the Constitution. Popular doesn’t necessarily equal constitutional.  

Establishment Republicans are the bad news. The good news is they still have the American people behind them, at least in opposition to anything Obama and the Left have been attempting to shove down our throats. We have to keep pressuring them via direct contact and social media. And I believe we will. 

The other good news is two thirds of all state legislatures are now controlled by Republicans (Nebraska is unicameral. Note how I didn’t say these states are “controlled by the Republican Party.” State legislators are far less beholden to global GOP power than US legislators, as it should be. Since 2000, these states have passed more and better gun laws, abortion restrictions, and tax reforms than ever.  

If we can all agree that the Establishment Republicans have to be converted or defeated, one of the best and perhaps only ways to stop them and the Left — now that the numbers are in our favor — is a Convention of States. Not a Constitutional Convention or “Con Con” as many detractors claim, but a Convention of States.  

Put briefly, the United States Constitution allows itself to be changed in two ways. The method most well known is through the Amendment process where two-thirds of the House and Senate propose, and three-fourths of the states ratify (38 out of the 50). We currently have 27 Amendments that were achieved in this manner. The other way to change the Constitution, as detailed in Article V, is when two-thirds of the state legislatures call for a Convention of States and propose Amendments. This allows us to make direct changes without having to go through the Washington, D. C. bubble.  

We don’t just have to vote and cross our fingers in hopes our GOP representatives will do what’s right. We can act, starting at the local level, by influencing our state lawmakers. I plead with you to get informed and read Mark Levin’s The Liberty Amendmentswhich details the Framers’ prophetic intelligence by granting to the People a way to preserve our great nation.  

It’s worth a try, don’t you think? 

Image: http://1-12cpcanterburytales.wikispaces.com/The+Carpenter

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Michael Cummings

Michael A. Cummings has a Bachelors in Business Management from St. John's University in Collegeville, MN, and a Masters in Rhetoric & Composition from Northern Arizona University. He has worked as a department store Loss Prevention Officer, bank auditor, textbook store manager, Chinese food delivery man, and technology salesman. Cummings wrote position pieces for the 2010 Trevor Drown for US Senate (AR) and 2012 Joe Coors for Congress (CO) campaigns.