Seventeenth Amendment Talking Points "Another not unimportant consideration is that the powers of the general government will

be, and indeed must be, principally employed upon external objects, such as war, peace, negotiations with foreign powers and foreign commerce. In its internal operations it can touch but few objects, except to introduce regulations beneficial to the commerce, intercourse and other relations, between the states, and to lay taxes for the common good. The powers of the states, on the other hand, extend to all objects, which, in the ordinary course of affairs, concern the lives, and liberties, and property of the people, and the internal order, improvement and prosperity of the state." Joseph Story, Associate Justice, U.S. Supreme Court, Commentaries on the Constitution, 1833 One of the issues first discussed by the First Continental Congress on May 29, 1787, was the balance of power for the newly created general government.1 The delegates determined the people would directly vote their representatives into office from lawfully created districts according to the population of each state. Similarly, state legislatures would appoint senators to represent the states in the newly created U.S. Senate. The framers of the Constitution wisely understood the absolute necessity of ensuring the people had the right to vote for, and remove - via the ballot box - miscreant and scoundrel representatives every two years. Similarly, they knew the states must have equal representation so they gave state legislatures the ability to recall U.S. Senators who acted against the interests of their state. James Madison, the Father of the Constitution wrote: "The Senate will be elected absolutely and exclusively by the State legislatures." John Jay, co-author of the federalist papers informed Governor Clinton That, unlike the Senate, where the two thirds rule was in force for treaties and impeachment, the lower house had nothing to do with treaties. It represented the people whereas the Senate represented the States for the federalist, always a significant distinction. BACKGROUND Listening to the news media blabber about the economy and government doing something about reminds me of why public education does not teach American history. With this country divided and 16 trillion dollars in debt the media blabber proves, ignorance is not bliss. If todays generation of Americans understood its heritage and history they would have the ability to compare what was to what is. They would also realize the political class is trying to take away their individual identity and liberty and supplant it with socialism/communism2 and economic fascism.3 Passage of the 16th4 and 17th 5amendments plus the Federal Reserve6 Act in 1913 marked the beginning of the administrative state Americans live under today. Both amendments were designed to alter the founders definition of
The Records of the Federal Convention of 1787 by Max Farrand. Government Health Care 3 Corporate welfare is fascism by another name. The political class (government) picks winners and losers using the power of government to control business and thus the economy. Corporate welfare gives incumbents the ability to pick the pockets of business, small and large, to generate the funds necessary to keep them in office. 4 The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several States, and without regard to any census or enumeration.
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federalism and neuter or render the 9th and 10th Amendments meaningless. Loss of state representation in the Senate by European admiring and Marxist leaning politicians and presidents preferring Karl Marx (1848) to St. Paul, Montesquieu (1789), William Blackstone (1756), John Locke (1704) allowed the creation of constitutionally illegal departments/agencies too numerous to list here, with Congress relinquishing oversight authority to unaccountable bureaucrats. Prior to 1913, the American system defined the economy. It espoused laissez-faire capitalism, which is the opposite of the British system and todays socialism/communism and economic fascism. Americans scoffed at the notion government was the solution to anything. Encroachment on American individuality, economic freedom, and states rights by the federal government was gradual. Before 1913, Federal departments and interference in American life were few consisting of the State Department (1781), Treasury Department (1789) Department of War (1789) Post Office Department (1792) Department of the Navy, Internal Revenue Service (1862)7 In 1887, Congress passed the Interstate Commerce Act regulating railroads.8 In 1890, it passed the Sherman Antitrust Act to prevent large firms from controlling a single industry. These laws were loosely enforced until Republican President Theodore Roosevelt (19011909), Democrat President Woodrow Wilson (19131921), and others sympathetic to Marxism/Liberal/Progressive views came to power and rigorously enforced them. The absolute right to equal representation of the states ended with ratification of the Seventeenth Amendment on April 8, 1913. RATIFICATION IRREGULARITIES/FRAUD Repealing the 17th or any amendment presupposes legal enactment. Time and research have proven that both the 16th and 17th Amendments were fraudulently enacted. History shows many state legislatures were not in session when the 17th Amendment was submitted and ratified. No action was taken by some states as a result which begs a legal question: Do the states lose their equal right because the actions of Congress are beyond their control?
Prior to enactment of the 16th Amendment, Article 1, Section 2, clause 3 read Representatives and direct taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective Numbers. Article 1, Section 8, Clause 1 read The Congress shall have Power to lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States. Article 1, Section 9, Clause 4 read No Capitation, or other direct, Tax shall be laid, unless in proportion to the Census or Enumeration herein before directed to be taken. This clause refers to a tax on property, such as a tax based on the value of land, as well as a capitation. 5 This amendment supersedes Article I, 3, Clauses 1 and 2 of the Constitution, under which senators were elected by state legislatures. It also alters the procedure for filling vacancies in the Senate, allowing state legislatures to permit their governors to make temporary appointments until a special election can be held. Under the original provisions of the Constitution, senators were elected by state legislatures; this was intended to ensure that the Federal government contained representatives of the states, and also to provide a body not dependent on popular support that could afford to "take a more detached view of issues coming before Congress. 6 December 23, 1913 -The Congress established three key objectives for monetary policy(1) maximum employment, (2)stable prices, and (3) moderate long-term interest ratesin the Federal Reserve Act. 7 Revenue Act of 1862 Passed by Congress, signed by Lincoln, to pay for the Civil War. He was the first president to enact a progressive income tax. Annual Income of Residents exceeding $600 paid 3%, $10,000 paid 5%. Replaced the Flat Rate Income Tax established in 1861 - taxes were withheld by the employer. Expired in 1872 when Congress failed to renew it. Supreme Court declared it unconstitutional in Pollock v. Farmer Loan & Trust Company (1894) Feds scrambled to find money until Wilson signed the 16th Amendment. 8 This is the first federal law to regulate private business in the United States.

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"The Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose, Amendments to this Constitution, or, on the Application of the Legislatures of two thirds of the several States, shall call a Convention for proposing Amendments, which, in either Case, shall be valid to all Intents and Purposes, as Part of this Constitution, when ratified by the Legislatures of three fourths of the several States, or by Conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other Mode of Ratification may be proposed by the Congress; Provided that no Amendment which may be made prior to the Year One thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any Manner affect the first and fourth Clauses in the Ninth Section of the first Article; and that no State, without its Consent, shall be deprived of its equal Suffrage in the Senate. The state of Georgia addressed this issue in a report titled Report of Committee and Resolutions Adopted by the General Assembly of Georgia Relative to the Proposed Amendment to the Constitution of the United States providing for the Election of United States Senators by the People, on August 19, 1912. It refused to vote for the Seventeenth Amendment because the Georgia legislature and governor believed Congress did not properly adopt the Amendment before sending it to the states for ratification. (pages 83-97) If true, no state had a legal obligation or right to vote for ratification, which means the 62nd Congress knowingly, violated Article V of the Constitution to obtain a progressive political end. If Georgia is correct and Congress failed to properly adopt the 17th Amendment the fact remains the required 36 states failed to ratify it. Rhode Island is missing; it does not appear anywhere on microfilm. Similarly, California allegedly voted for the Seventeenth Amendment on January 26, 1913 yet the California State Archives show the Constitutional Amendment to elect U.S. Senators entry on May 20, 1913 said, From Committee without recommendation. That leaves ratification one state short even if one dismisses the errors by states during the ratification process. Furthermore, the following states did not ratify the Seventeenth Amendment: Utah (explicitly rejected this amendment); Alabama; Florida; Kentucky; Maryland; Mississippi; Rhode Island; South Carolina; Virginia. Georgia (published its reasons for refusal see pages 83-97) Philander Knox was Secretary of State in 19139. He was the federal official the states had to send their notices of ratification to when the state legislatures finished with them. When Secretary Knox received enough of these documents, he reviewed and drafted a report dated February 15, 1913. Therein Secretary Knox noted: "Under the provisions of the Constitution a legislature is not authorized to alter in any way the amendment proposed by Congress, the function of the legislature consisting merely in the right to approve or disapprove the proposed amendment." Secretary Knox went on in the same report and noted the various changes that

Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming

made to the amendment. (Pages 17, 24 & 25)

Served as Secretary of State from March 6, 1909 March 5, 1913 He declared ratification of the 16th Amendment. William Jennings Bryant declared ratification of the 17th Amendment on May 31, 1913.
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The proposition that state legislatures cannot alter or change a proposed Constitutional Amendment is derived from an established legal principle requiring legislative bodies, when considering legislative acts, must agree to the exact same wording and punctuation of the proposed law. This legislative principle was discussed in a booklet titled How Our Laws Are Made, Document Number 97-120, 97th Congress, First Session, written by Edward F. Willett, Jr., Law Revision Counsel for the U.S. House of Representatives: Each amendment must be inserted in precisely the proper place in the bill, with the spelling and punctuation exactly the same as it was adopted by the House. It is extremely important that the Senate receive a copy of the bill in the precise form in which it passed the House. The preparation of such a copy is the function of the enrolling clerk. When the bill has been agreed to in identical form by both bodies either without amendment by the Senate, or by House concurrence in the Senate amendments, or by agreement in both houses to the conference report a copy of the bill is enrolled for presentation to the President. The preparation of the enrolled bill is a painstaking and important task since it must reflect precisely the effect of all amendments, either by way of deletion, substitution, or addition, agreed to by both bodies. The enrolling clerk must meticulously prepare the final form of the bill, as it was agreed to by both Houses, for presentation to the President.... each (amendment) must be set out in the enrollment exactly as agreed to, and all punctuation must be in accord with the action taken." The record shows President Wilson ruled errors or changes did not matter. The executive branch of the Government ruled that these errors were immaterial to the adoption of the amendment . . . that is to say that the secretary of state may disregard the errors contained in the certified copies of the Resolutions of the Legislatures acting affirmatively on the proposed amendment. (page 26) Consequently, the bill was enrolled and signed by President Wilson. THE EFFECTS OF NON-RATIFICAION TODAY Proponents of the 17th Amendment argue corruption in the appointment of Senators and deadlocked Legislatures was the reason for enacting the 17th Amendment. If corruption and deadlock in the selection of Senators was the problem look at what is going on today. Since 1913, neither the House nor the Senate pretends the restrictions placed upon them in Art. 1, Sections 7 & 8 of the U.S. Constitution are applicable. Both have trampled on the sovereignty of the states with impunity. The Senate ratifies treaties, confirms federal judges, U.S. Supreme Court Justices as well as concurring with bills originating in the U.S. House of Representatives that directly affects all of us regardless of political party. The egregious harm done by the U.S. Senate to American freedom since 1945 is tremendous. The damage caused to the states by NAFTA, CAFTA, and WTO/GATT has led to the loss of more than 8 million good paying American jobs by using its treaty power. Similarly, the decisions made by activist judges who sit on the federal bench and the U.S. Supreme Court are legendary, the most recent being the Supreme Courts decision on Obamacare. The disastrous aftermath of votes by U.S. Senators handing over our sovereignty to the corrupt and communist controlled United Nations ratifying hundreds of treaties cannot be overstated. Senator Olympia Snowe [R-ME] stated her constituents wanted Obamacare during the debate over Obamacare in 2011. Senator Snowe is a progressive socialist. Her vote has a direct impact on all states, Florida included, yet Floridians cannot vote her out of office. Furthermore, the Constitution delegates to Congress the power to punish treason, Page 4 of 7

counterfeiting securities and current coin of the United States, piracies felonies committed on the high seas offences against the law of nations

but no other crimes.10 Nevertheless, U.S. Senators have signed onto thousands of pieces of legislation creating unconstitutional cabinets and agencies running amok inside the states. Large numbers of those regulations involving jurisdiction carry prison terms with conviction. SOLUTION Ronald Reagan reminded Americans that, Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it 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 and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free. Since the passage of the 16th and 17th Amendments, Congress has neutered and attempted to render meaningless the 9th and 10th Amendments absent the required Constitutional Amendment eliminating them. Both houses of Congress have become criminal enterprises bought and paid for by special interests11 Corruption is concentrated in one place rather than diffused to 50 different places. I addressed repeal of the 17th Amendment with my state representative, Larry Cretul, former12 Speaker of the Florida House and the Florida Legislature at large in 2010. Representative Cretul never replied to my communication but I received telephone calls from Representative Sandy Adams (former member of the Florida House currently representing Floridas 24th Congressional District) and Jennifer Carroll (former member Florida House and currently Lieutenant Governor of Florida.) telling me of their interest but informing me that they received my communication too late. That e-mail communication between then Representative Carroll regarding this issue is here.) Representative Carroll indicated she had contacted the Heritage Foundation regarding repeal writing, The information I received was not encouraging. She asked me if I would share my knowledge of history with them to which I agreed. That communication never took place. I admire the Heritage Foundation. I have been a dues paying member for years. The Heritage Foundation is a conservative think tank that does wonderful work advocating and creating conservative solutions related to current isIt [is] true as a general principle, and one of the amendments to the Constitution [has] also declared, 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." Therefore,... [all] acts which assume to create, define, or punish crimes other than those so enumerated in the Constitution are altogether void and of no force... The power to create, define, and punish such other crimes is reserved, and of right appertains solely and exclusively to the respective States, each within its own territory." --Thomas Jefferson: Draft Kentucky Resolutions, 1798. ME 17:380 11 The sad state of this union is that money talks and public policy is sold to the highest bidder. Less than one-tenth of 1 percent of the U.S. population gave 83 percent of all campaign contributions in the 2002 elections. Those who give money in political contributions get back billions in tax breaks, subsidies, and the right to exploit public land at ridiculously low prices. This system costs ordinary Americans billions of dollars, not to mention the costs to health, safety and the environment, and the cost of not having enough money for good schools. For example, the top corporations paying zero taxes from 1996 to 1998 included AT&T, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Chase Manhattan, Enron, Exxon Mobil, General Electric, Microsoft, Pfizer and Phillip Morris. The record shows they gave $150.1 million to campaigns from 1991 to 2001 and public campaign reports they got $55 billion in tax breaks from 96 to 98 alone. Open Secrets reveals that during the 2010 elections, Senator Marco Rubio raised $27,741, 350 and spent $21, 638,315 to be elected. Similarly, Kendrick Meek raised $8,849,701 and spend $8,849,701 to lose. 12 He is no longer a Representative because of term limits.
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sues, but they seldom cite, include, or mention the Constitution. They are not the Hillsdale College of conservative constitutional thought.13 The status quo is destroying this constitutional republic. Repealing or neutering the 17th Amendment is a constitutional issue that will solve many problems. Like many other veterans including those who are currently serving in Afghanistan and other parts of the world, I did not fight for, witness comrades sustain grievous wounds and die for other peoples freedom to come back to this. That communism, socialism, and economic fascism is acceptable to todays politically correct society is reprehensible. As an oath keeper, I have and will always fight for the Constitution. In the two years since I first addressed repeal of the 17th Amendment, I have won a battle against Acute Myeloid Leukemia. That down time has given me the time to do additional research and reflect on what has happened to this country. This experience has reinforced my belief that the States must do something about the 17th Amendment to protect and render whole the 9th and 10th Amendments. U.S. Senators used to discuss federal affairs with their state legislators on a regular basis. Since passage of the 17th Amendment U.S. Senators do not discuss federal affairs with their state legislatures or constituents who elect them. Floridas Senator Bill Nelson is a poster child who disregards what the Florida Legislature or the people of Florida thought about Obamacare; he neither consulted with the legislature nor his constituents before he cast his vote for Obamacare. It is obvious he wants to keep Florida from being an equal partner with the Federal Government preferring to keep Floridas current status as a common lobbyist alive. He is an example and one of the reasons for the loss of State Sovereignty, State Rights that has brought a host of federal mandates to this state. States rights have become a major issue over the past few years. State legislatures across the country have stepped up to fight the tyranny legislated by the criminal syndicate known as Congress. When Congress enacted Obamacare, Florida and 26 other states enacted legislation and chose the courts to sue for relief. The American people saw where that got them. Conversely, had the legislatures of the several states used their sovereign powers to protect the people of their states from the federal behemoth much like Madison and Jefferson did with their Kentucky/Virginia resolutions the results might be different. Unfortunately, Americans will never know because State Legislators, all products of public education, did not know nor understand the power they have. If the Florida Legislature appointed U.S. Senators, The corruption and costly campaigns we see today would be easier to handle and less costly. It costs less to influence 120 Florida House and 40 Florida Senate members than it costs to influence the voters in a state of 18,801,310 people. The corruption we see today in Washington would be diffused by one and could be emulated by 49 more states. It will also restore States Rights and make the states co-equal partners in the federal constitution the founders designed. The Abigail Adams you filled out and returned to me indicated: 5. I believe in restoring full responsibility for unemployment, welfare, and social programs to the state and local governments. SS (Strongly Support) 13. I believe that only limited and carefully defined powers should be delegated to government, all others being retained to the people. SS (Strongly Support) 18. Please identify the top three issues that you feel are most important to your potential constituents.
Hillsdale College is the only college that refuses federal funding so it can teach the Constitution and Republican principles the way they are, not the way the government and politicians want them taught.
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1-States Rights 2-Federal Budget 3-Federal Judges 21. Why do you feel you deserve the confidence of the voters? I believe in the Constitution and protecting people's freedom. This is the basis for the founding of our country and our past success. 22. If elected, how will you defend the Constitution of the United States of America and your State Constitution from all enemies, foreign and domestic? With all of my energy Since you are a 10th Amendment supporter, you have an opportunity to rectify a fraud, and return Florida to a coequal partner in the federalist system the founders deigned. In 2012, New Hampshire Representatives Kingsbury, Belk 4; Rep. DeLemus, Straf 1; Rep. L. Vita, Straf 3; Rep. Davenport, Rock 12; Rep. D. McGuire, Merr 8 introduced House Bill 1126, an Act Relative to nomination of candidates for United States Senator which was withdrawn because of a procedural error. It serves as an example of something I want you emulate. If the State of Florida can exercise its 9th and 10th Amendment rights to challenge Obamacare, the EPA, voter records purge et al, it can also restore its 10th Amendment rights. Therefore, I am asking you provide leadership and author, submit, and enact legislation similar to the New Hampshire bill that will end the extra constitutional ventures we have seen from Senator Bill Nelson and others of his ilk. If California can lead the country with progressive legislation, I see no reason why Florida cannot lead the country with conservative constitutional legislation. Enacting legislation similar to the New Hampshire bill will restore the legislatures standing as a co-equal partner in the Federalist system thus preventing the need for you, me, and millions of other Floridians from having to tell our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.

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