Elmer Whittaker 12/08/2011Because of the almost complete news blackout in our American mass media concerning the passing of S.B. 1867, the most destructive Senate Bill since the Patriot Acts, I wanted to get some opinions and statements from our Arizona/Mohave County constitutional candidates running for office in 2012.
With our last remaining freedoms almost gone it is and will continue to be of crucial important that we locally and regionally take a hard stand for liberty and justice. This is where our constitutional candidates stand.
Although Arizona State Senator Ron Gould did at the time of this writing not yet have a chance to completely review S.B. 1867 he had this to say as a preliminary statement:
“I am concerned with what I have heard about it and believe that if what I have heard is correct, it violates the U.S. Constitution. I do not vote for bills that violate the Arizona or United States Constitutions.” – Ron Gould (R) AZ State Senator and likely constitutional candidate for US Congress in 2012
Constitutional candidate for Mohave County Supervisor in District 4, James Clark had a rather detailed statement to add:
"Every American citizen is guaranteed the right to Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness by our Constitution. For any citizen to be deprived of their rights by our own government, without the due process of law, is a complete and total rejection by our government of the foundations on which our great country was built.
It is totally unconstitutional to hold an American citizen without charging them with a crime, allowing them to face their accuser(s) and allow them a trial by a jury of their peers. Any politician who would vote for such language in any bill before their house is abrogating their responsibility and their foresworn oath to protect, defend and uphold the constitution of our great country. That members of both major political parties can vote for Senate Bill 1867, that they can vote for this type of travesty, is another example of how the parties have lost touch with the people who are supposed to be their bosses. They have become a class of elites who have no care but for the continuation of their holds on power.
Some people might say that this type of government authority is needed to "protect the people" and they are only doing it for our own good. This is a lie on it's very face as the majority of people are quite capable of protecting themselves, the right to arm and defend oneself being the second enumeration in our Bill of Rights. The true objective of this type of authority, however it may be veiled, is the ability of the elite few, or one, to silence those who are a danger to their hold on the reins of power.
"They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety." - This quote by Benjamin Franklin is as true today as it was in 1775.
As a County Supervisor I will not have much influence on the national level. However, on the local level I will do everything in my power, if I am elected, to ensure that no American citizen is ever deprived of their rights as they are guaranteed in our constitution. I will do anything in my power to help keep our great country from going down the road toward totalitarianism." – James Clark (I) – Mohave County Supervisor Candidate District 4
It is totally unconstitutional to hold an American citizen without charging them with a crime, allowing them to face their accuser(s) and allow them a trial by a jury of their peers. Any politician who would vote for such language in any bill before their house is abrogating their responsibility and their foresworn oath to protect, defend and uphold the constitution of our great country. That members of both major political parties can vote for Senate Bill 1867, that they can vote for this type of travesty, is another example of how the parties have lost touch with the people who are supposed to be their bosses. They have become a class of elites who have no care but for the continuation of their holds on power.
Some people might say that this type of government authority is needed to "protect the people" and they are only doing it for our own good. This is a lie on it's very face as the majority of people are quite capable of protecting themselves, the right to arm and defend oneself being the second enumeration in our Bill of Rights. The true objective of this type of authority, however it may be veiled, is the ability of the elite few, or one, to silence those who are a danger to their hold on the reins of power.
"They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety." - This quote by Benjamin Franklin is as true today as it was in 1775.
As a County Supervisor I will not have much influence on the national level. However, on the local level I will do everything in my power, if I am elected, to ensure that no American citizen is ever deprived of their rights as they are guaranteed in our constitution. I will do anything in my power to help keep our great country from going down the road toward totalitarianism." – James Clark (I) – Mohave County Supervisor Candidate District 4
Steven Moss, constitutional candidate for Supervisor in District 5 stated as follows:
“I have no problem with federal surveillance of non-citizens as I believe the Constitution limits federal power in relation to U.S. citizens and not, for example, the citizens of a foreign government. If the federal government wants to monitor American citizens, however, it should be required to abide by the Constitution and obtain a warrant from a Court supported by probable cause.
No American should be detained indefinitely without advice of counsel, a trial of his or her peers and the other protections guaranteed by the Constitution, including both procedural and substantive due process. I believe any action in this direction would be a direct violation of the protections guaranteed by the Bill of Rights and should be opposed by our elected officials.
So simply stated, I am very much opposed to incarcerating American citizens abroad.” – Steven Moss (R) – Mohave County Supervisor Candidate District 5
Bob Boyd, constitutional Mohave County Supervisor Candidate for District 4 in 2012 got snowed in and did not have sufficient time and information for a details response and statement.
Doug McKee, constitutional AZ candidate for US Senate in 2012 also took a hard stance against S.B. 1867:
“The Constitution of the United States of America is a document that was drafted and adopted by the states to ensure that the federal government would never grow so powerful that the states would lose their sovereignty. In addition to maintaining state sovereignty, several "stop gaps" if you will, were drafted into place to make sure that the individual states would never lose their suffrage (representation). It frightens me to see how far we have fallen away from these important principles. Our rights, as individuals and as states, have been disappearing right before our eyes.
Our Representatives are no longer representatives of the people and our Senators are no longer true representatives of the state legislature; these elected officials have ultimately become representatives of the federal government and continue to foist upon us, the people/states, the wills and whims of Washington whose greatest desire is to expand the power of the federal government and minimize state and individual rights...one legislation at a time. S.B. 1867 is one such legislation.
I have seen the verbiage for this bill; nowhere could I find a list of requirements that the military/federal government would have to meet in order to detain, imprison or question an American citizen. What happened to posse comitatus? (this prevents the federal government from using the military against the citizens.) It seems to me that S.B. 1867 is just another legislation designed to circumvent several articles of the U.S. Constitution and several if not all of the first ten amendments which make up our Bill of Rights.
My disappointment in this particular legislation goes far beyond the simple unconstitutionality of it. It makes me question the direction in which our federal government is taking our country. Our elected officials are sent to Washington to protect our liberties not abscond them.
When our legislators cast votes in favor of bills that clearly circumvent, ignore or trample on our Constitution, they are sending "We the People" the message that we are not entitled to the protection that the Constitution guarantees us. Unless we stand together as Americans, our Constitution will become nothing more than a doormat that our federal representatives us to wipe their feet on as they enter and exit the halls of Congress.
I challenge all America to make sure that our legislators are supporting their proposed legislation with an Article and Section of the U.S. Constitution; if it cannot be supported with an Article and Section of the Constitution, then it has no business being brought to the floor of either house for a vote. If this simple process had been applied, S.B. 1867 would never had made it to the floor.” – Doug McKee – AZ Candidate for US Senate in 2012
Sam Scarmardo, constitutional candidate for AZ Senate in 2012, could not be reached in time for this publication.
The Conservative Party USA vigorously opposes the enactment of Senate Bill 1867:
It’s an egregious and obvious violation of the civil rights and protections afforded American citizens in the Bill of Rights.
Sections 1031 and 1032 of the Defense Authorization Bill create a state of martial law, give the government the right to conduct unlimited searches and violate the principle of Habeas Corpus. They also give the U.S. Military the right to indefinitely detain any American worldwide without access to legal counsel if they are simply “deemed” to be potential threats by the President.
Those are clear and unambiguous violations of the Fourth, Sixth and Seventh Amendments of the Constitution. The general purpose of the Constitution is to LIMIT the power of government. The trajectory of SB 1867, however, points to a grand power grab by the Federal government and the abject loss of civil liberties for American citizens.
The U.S. Military does not need nor does it want to employ such sweeping powers. The President can deploy a broad range of current laws and established federal agencies against suspected terrorists without asking the Marines to violate their sworn oaths. America should not use machine guns to kill flies.
The FBI, ICE and the Department of Homeland Security supplemented by local and state police are the proper tools to use against domestic threats. While not perfect, The Patriot Act is a powerful tool that has served America well considering the circumstances under which it was enacted.
The CIA, DIA, FBI and security forces of our allies can certainly manage to find, capture/kill and process suspected terrorists abroad. That’s what they’ve been doing with some success for the past 10 years. While U.S. Military assets (planes, drones, satellites, Seal Teams, etc.) can be used to support combat operations against terrorists – outside our borders - the military must not be used to detain terrorists indefinitely, especially suspects who are American citizens.
SB 1867 must be recast and stripped of the unconstitutional language outlined in Sections 1031 and 1032. Congress should just stick to its knitting and fund military operations. Period. Perhaps Congress can play its patriot games AFTER it learns to balance the budget and reduce the national debt.
Dean C. Trivandian, Chairman of the Conservative Party of Arizona added the following quote:
In the words of The Arizona Sentinel: "There is no question, this bill is the most egregious piece of legislation to come down since the Bush Patriot Act." This bill was co-authored by AZ Senator John McCain, who is vying for the coveted title of "the most dangerous man in American politics today"--according to the same source.
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