What Can We Learn from Ted Cruz's Homecoming Reception

Senator Ted Cruz's recently received a hero's welcome when he returned home to Texas following his efforts to defund Obamacare. For weeks he has been roundly criticized by Democrats, the mainstream media, and many establishment Republicans. Despite the mounting pressure and criticism, he has repeatedly stated that one of the reasons the people in Texas elected him was to defund Obamacare. That is exactly what he is going to try to accomplish.

Put Cruz's position in perspective: Under Article I, Section 3 of the United States Constitution, two senators from each state were elected by the legislature of each state. Under this scenario, senators represented the states essentially as ambassadors to the federal government while members of the House represented the local voters in their district. In 1913, Progressives called for the election of senators by voters in each state; thus the Seventeenth Amendment was born!

Why was this a watershed moment in our country's history? Because what Article 1, Section 3 of the Constitution accomplished was to provide state governments with a means to influence congressional lawmaking without taking away the federal government's enumerated powers. The states appointment of senators was another check and balance against the centralized federal government. Instead of our senators conferring with their respective legislatures for guidance and advice on potential votes, they are beholden to Washington lobbyists, consultants, donors and advocacy groups. Simply put, United States Senators are not concerned with the sovereignty of states from which they come because "the states" have very little influence over them. Consider the Obamacare vote: how many Democrat Senators would have voted for this monstrosity if their state legislature could recall them at any time?

Fast-forward to today and ask yourself what means of influence the states currently have over the federal government? The answer is "very little if any" as Washington controls the purse-strings - gasoline tax for highway improvements runs through D.C., Washington distributes money to the states for education spending and welfare programs. Most states are beholden to the federal government for their economic existence.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/ted-cruz-returns-to-texas-as-a-hero-who-is-reshaping-the-state-republican-party/2013/10/23/449c5a76-3b6a-11e3-a94f-b58017bfee6c_story.html

Slippery Slope

The history of gun control in Britain:

1689: King William of Orange guarantees his subjects (except Catholics) the right to bear arms for self-defense in a new Bill of Rights.

1819: A temporary Seizure of Arms Act is passed allowing constables to search for, and confiscate, arms for people who are “dangerous to the public peace.” Set to expire in two years.

1870: A license is required to carry a firearm outside of your home.

1903: The Pistol Act is introduced. No guns for drunks or the mentally insane, and licenses required for handgun purchases.

1920: The Firearms Act ushers in the first registration system. Gives police power to deny a license to anyone “unfitted to be trusted with a firearm.” Gun ownership became a privilege, not a right.

1937: Update to the Firearms Act raising minimum age to buy a gun, gives police more power to regulate licenses, and bans most fully automatic weapons. The home secretary alson rules that self-defense is no longer a valid reason to be granted a gun certificate. (See 1689).

1967: The Criminal Justice Act expands licensing to shotguns.

1968: Applicants for a license must show good reason for carrying a gun and ammunition.

1988: After the Hungerford Massacre, an amendment to the Firearms Act is passed banning several types of guns altogether.

1997: After the Dunblane Massacre, another Firearms Act amendment is passed essentially banning all handguns.

2006: The Violent Crime Reduction Act is passed making it a crime to make or sell imitation guns and further restricting “air weapons.”

From Control by Glenn Beck