My conversation with Senator Coburn

Yesterday evening I was able to meet Senator Coburn at a local Town Hall gathering. We had a short one-on-one conversation in a hallway shortly after the meeting was over. Below is an email I sent Senator Coburn today which should serve to explain the content of our short conversation.

Dear Senator,

Amending the constitution is supposed to be the Peoples' last resort method of solving serious constitutional issues before they become crises. A constitutional crisis exists whenever any part of the government simply ignores its provisions or refuses to obey them. Federal law does not necessarily trump State and local law regardless of whether the Congress “occupies a field,” and “intends a complete ouster.” And tacit acquiescence only matters while States are willing to simply “go along.” That is, if the constitution still means anything outside modern interpretation of the fourteenth amendment.

I personally find only one thing in the fourteenth amendment objectionable to myself. Namely the phrase “subject to the jurisdiction thereof.” By this phrase every other constitutional principle preceding it is effectively declared null and void, with the possible exception of the thirteenth amendment. We still have the original constitution but its principles only mean something in context of the fourteenth amendment citizenship provisions. What portions of it that we still observe in American politics and outside that context are only done as a matter of convenience to the central government. If or whenever it decides to usurp State and local authority in those matters, it will do so through the federal courts via the fourteenth amendment citizenship clauses. Count on it. This is the way things are and have been done for many decades in American politics. And it will not change until an explicit and authentic act of the whole People alters the way the game is played because liberalism dominates our politics whether we like it or not.

Therefore, my idea for amending the constitution to clarify the intent of the fourteenth amendment is far from being the “stupid idea” you said it was when I mentioned it to you this past Thursday in McAlester. Closing the borders is all well and good and I certainly agree that that needs to be done. But has the loudness of our declamations resulted in sealing the borders? Has it stopped this talk about granting amnesty to the tens of millions of illegal immigrants already here? Has it forced attrition on any of them as yet? Has it done anything to solve this “birthright citizenship” for children of illegal immigrants issue? Keep in mind also that I'm not proposing repeal of the fourteenth amendment, only clarification of its intent for our generations.

But there's a much bigger underlying principle you seem to be missing in all of this debate over State immigration laws, and etc. Ultimately it's not about whether the federal government has neglected in the past, or will continue to neglect in the future, its responsibility to protect our borders. No; what this is all about at bottom is that the constitution reserves to the States and to the local governments power to control or regulate a host of items within their own borders, without federal intervention and at their own discretion. Immigration is one of these reserved powers. Several States, including Oklahoma and Arizona, have made worthy attempts in recent years at exercising their discretion in this immigration matter, but to no avail. Simply stated, their most effective efforts have been railroaded by the federal courts who invariably cite the fourteenth amendment citizenship and equal protection clauses as their just cause for usurping the rest of the constitution. This method cannot be allowed to continue much longer or our fate as a nation is already sealed. And if you think you can get the federal courts out of the business of doing this short of amending the constitution to prevent it, well, I think you're very naïve about the power of the federal courts and the ability of anyone to pressure them into anything they don't want to do. As long as the fourteenth amendment exists as the courts have interpreted it, and without clarification from the People, the federal judiciary is going to continue following this pathway of establishing an absolute federal tyranny over these States.

The personality that I am will not allow me to simply complain about a thing without offering a viable alternative to it. Below is my attempt at solving this veritable constitutional crisis before it gets out of hand (it may well already be out of hand) and we're forced into a situation that none of us wants:

A proposal to amend the U.S. Constitution to transform the meaning of the fourteenth amendment back to its original intent; to end government by judiciary; to reinvigorate the principles of the constitution as written; to reintroduce the doctrine of reserved powers and to end the practice of admitting to the rights of citizenship at birth persons born in the United States to foreigners illegally residing therein. We introduce this amendment proposal as a means to form a more perfect union, establish justice, ensure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, and to secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity.:

Section 1: The fourteenth amendment to this constitution shall not be construed by the United States or by any State to admit to the rights of citizenship, or subject them to their jurisdiction, children born to immigrant parents illegally residing within the United States, or subject to a foreign state, at the time of their birth. Persons born in the United States to alien parents temporarily and legally residing therein shall be subject to all terms and conditions, privileges and immunities, expressly provided for in their parents' visas and the laws of the States wherein they reside. The United States retains the power to establish an uniform rule of naturalization, but no State shall be compelled by the United States to admit to the rights of citizenship, nor subject them to their jurisdiction, any person or persons involuntarily.

Section 2: No State shall be compelled to house, harbor, educate, provide food or medical services, grant safe passage to or otherwise assist immigrants illegally residing within its borders, nor to conform its laws affecting such residents to the laws of the United States except those made pursuant to the constitution and this article. The exercise of Powers reserved by the constitution to the States or to the People shall be left to their discretion. No reserved power shall transfer to the United States except by process of amendment, but the United States may exercise reserved powers upon application to and express consent of the legislature of the States wherein they propose to exercise them.

Section 3: The Congress is hereby suspended for the term of twenty years from further enacting laws affecting immigrants to the United States or to any State, and no form of amnesty for illegal immigrants shall be granted or recognized during the term of suspension. No State shall be compelled by existing U.S. law to receive immigrants of any race, color, nationality or kinship.

Section 4: Congress shall have power to enforce the terms of this article by appropriate legislation, but no construction of its provisions, or of the provisions of any other article of the constitution which shall be effective at the time of its adoption, shall ever be effective to establishing unconditional federal supremacy in law making, nor shall the provisions of this article affect the citizenship of persons born or naturalized within the United States prior to its adoption.

Section 5: The terms and conditions of this article are hereby exempted from judicial review.

While I certainly understand that issues will be raised with this proposal as written, it forms a good workable model for ending judicial and federal tyranny via the fourteenth amendment in our generation. We owe it to our children and grandchildren to leave them a free and balanced constitutional government to work with. What they do with it from there is, of course, up to them.

As I've barely skimmed the surface of how the federal government abuses the fourteenth amendment citizenship provisions to its own purposes, please engage me in further discussion on this matter at your convenience.

Respectfully,

Terry D. Morris Jr.
McAlester, OK

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Senator Coburn on Hussein's eligibility issue

April 24, 2009

Dear Mr. Morris,

Thank you for contacting me regarding the eligibility of Barack Obama to be President of the United States, specifically regarding whether he is a "natural born citizen". I appreciate hearing from you, and I apologize for the delayed response. [TM: I don't recall when exactly I wrote to Senator Coburn about this issue, but it's been a while back.]

You are right to be concerned anytime a possible violation of the Constitution appears to have occurred. You are not alone in your concern about this issue and I understand how important it is. As a U.S. senator, I consult the Constitution nearly every day and strive to make sure my decisions and positions are in line with that seminal document.

With that said, I believe President Obama meets the constitutional requirement to be President.

States play a critical role in the election of federal representatives. It is each state's responsibility to determine the eligibility of those running for federal office. In the 2008 election, all 50 states placed candidate Obama on their ballots leading to his election.

However, there are two pieces of legislation that will address this issue in the future. First, in the Oklahoma House of Representatives, Rep. Ritze has introduced HB 1329. The bill requires any candidate filing with the Oklahoma State Election Board to provide proof of citizenship by providing a "state government-issued birth certificate with a raised seal." I hope the Oklahoma State Legislature will give serious consideration to this bill and I hope more states will reform their ballot access laws to ensure federal candidates must affirmatively prove their eligibility.

Second, in the U.S. House of Representatives, Rep. Posey recently introduced HR 1503. The bill requires any federal candidate's campaign committee filing with the Federal Election Commission to produce a copy of the candidate's birth certificate. If the bill makes it to the Senate, I would likely support it.

Thank you again for contacting me. I am encouraged to hear from citizens like you who are committed to ensuring the Constitution is followed strictly. Your vigilance for American liberty is inspiring. Please do not hesitate to contact me again in the future if I may be of assistance to you.

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Driving a stake into the heart of Republican government

Alan Keyes joins the rank of Senator Coburn (arguably the most consistently conservative member of the U.S. Senate; the U.S. Senate's consummate Okie from Muskogee), both of whom have been declared by certain personalities on the left to be insane because they recognize the communistic radicalism of our leftist president and the leftist-socialist Congress, and they dare to wield their influence, publicly pronouncing their opposition to it.

Dr. Keyes writes:

Until a friend sent me an email about it on Friday, I hadn't read Senator Coburn's speech. But on Thursday evening in Hastings, Nebraska, when asked about Obama's policies, I said that he is a radical communist, and that if Americans who care about liberty (i.e., who don't want to put a stake in its heart?) do nothing to stop him he'll bring about the destruction of the United States.

I just have a couple of things to say about this: whenever the left declares a person to be insane, that person is probably on the right track. Saying that someone is insane because he strongly opposes the policies of a president and a Congress which will destroy all remaining vestiges of Republican liberty is itself a form of insanity, or at least of self-delusion. In any event, it's not insanity to oppose a policy initiative if you believe, and publicly pronounce your belief, that it presents your country with an existential threat. That's like saying someone who establishes and adheres to rules for the better ordering of his home and family, and who pronounces the reasons for which other forms of family government are incompatible with the safety and happiness and the perpetuation of his family, is somehow insane. Which is basically what leftists believe about family autonomy.

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Senator Coburn endorses John McCain

I first learned of this the other night while listening to the post debate CNN panel which included Bill Bennett who mentioned the Coburn endorsement in the same breath with other "major" endorsements Senator McCain had received of late, including Mayor Giuliani and Governor Schwartzenegger (Good company there, Senator.).

Bennett was going over a list of endorsements Senator McCain had received, and was about to receive, which would increase the likelihood, thus reducing the chances of Governor Romney to save the Republican party of the embarrassment and disaster, of a McCain nomination.

Below is entered the text of the official press release which I picked up at John McCain's presidential website:

Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn Endorses John McCain For President

ARLINGTON, VA -- U.S. Senator John McCain's presidential campaign today announced that Senator Tom Coburn, M.D. (R-OK) has endorsed John McCain for President of the United States. Senator Coburn issued the following statement on his endorsement:

"I am honored to be here in South Carolina today, and I am very proud to endorse my friend and colleague Senator John McCain for President of the United States. John McCain and I have stood side-by-side on many issues and I'd like to speak to two of them today -- fiscal responsibility and ensuring the sanctity of human life.

"Much has been made in this presidential campaign about the need for change in Washington. Candidates from both sides of the aisle have talked about bringing real reform to the federal government. But, only one candidate has a record of putting his money where his mouth is, and that's John McCain.

"Since I came to Congress in 1995, I have met one true reformer -- John McCain. He has the unique blend of character, guts, and experience needed to transform Washington from the inside out. He is beholden to no special interest. He is guided by strong conservative principles, and committed to doing what he believes is right without concern for political consequence.

"John McCain has never been afraid to take the road less traveled, and he has fought wasteful spending at every turn along the way. He's saved taxpayers untold billions, and he has rightfully earned the reputation as the Senate's number one fiscal hawk. I trust that as president, John McCain will veto any pork-barrel bill that crosses his desk, and will make the authors famous.

"When it comes to ensuring the sanctity of human life, you will find no one stronger on the issue than Senator McCain. For twenty-four years, John McCain has been an unwavering voice in Congress for the rights of the unborn.

"For those reasons and more, I urge voters here in South Carolina and across the country to join me in supporting John McCain for president."

Well, Senator, urge all you like, but this Okie will definately not be joining you in supporting the nomination of John McCain! And you can take that to the bank.

Sometimes I'm utterly amazed at the amount of disconnect which exists between conservatives in the United States and their elected representatives, though I suppose I shouldn't be.

Don't tell me, the next "major" endorsement Senator McCain is going to receive will be none other than Oklahoma's other United States Senator, Jim Inhofe, who was himself instrumental in helping kill the Senate Amnesty bill. Come to think of it, I better go check to see whether McCain hasn't already received this endorsement. ... Nope, not yet.

In any event, I feel a good thrashing of Senator Coburn coming on. And by the way, can you imagine a more representative photo of the current state of the Republican Party than this one? Like I said, nice company you're mingling with Senator Coburn. I seem to detect a slight hint of your ghost-like conservative apparition looming in the background.

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