Written by:
7/15/2012 11:21 AM 

I have seen Congressman Paul Gosar  (R-AZ) speak in person a few times. He seemed a likable enough fellow and he said the right things that made me think he's one of us. He gets it. I heard him speak about the affordable care act and the need to repeal it. I have heard him say we need to fix what's wrong with the healthcare system, but I didn't hear him say replace Obamacare. I heard him say that he disagreed with the Supreme Court ruling, but we could still repeal it, there's still time.

I have heard him talk about illegal immigration, border security, over taxation, corruption, programs and federal employees that waste of taxpayers’ hard-earned money and the importance of family in the American landscape. I admit that he had me pretty well convinced that he was on the side of the constitutional conservative. Heck I would've loved to sit down and had a beer with the guy. He seemed like a pleasant fellow. (On a side note, I make it a point never to sit down and have a beer with a progressive because they fill me with the urge to waste good beer by pouring it over their head to see if anything can penetrate. Logic sure doesn't).

When I heard that he was going to appear at Michele Bachmann's town hall that was to be broadcast on live stream June 28th, 2012, the day Supreme Court handed down its ruling on Obamacare I was pretty excited. Unite In Action president and National 912 project co-chair Stephani Scruggs, and Unite In Action director of legal affairs KrisAnne Hall were set to participate in this event so there was no way I was going to miss it. I was hoping Allen West would stop by because I love hearing that man speak.

Several other Congress members appeared prior to representative Gosar, but when he finally got his turn thing started off pretty well. Imagine my surprise when I heard the words come from his lips, " be careful what you tread  here folks, because if all you do is stand just for the Constitution and  nothing less, you will lose."

When I heard this I thought to myself, hold on a second it's not supposed to be about whether or not I think I can win, but whether or not I think this is right or wrong and if what I'm about to vote on in any way impinges on the Constitution, there is no way as a conservative I could vote for it. Frame your argument correctly, and be very clear in debate, how and why you feel it impinges on the Constitution. Stand your ground on principles win or lose.

One must wonder if he was aware of what group of people he was speaking to.

I was further stunned when Rusty Humphries asked representative Gosar "why would they lose if they stood for the Constitution, is it too far to go?" he replied "not everybody believes in the Constitution. You have 50% of the people..." Rusty Humphries interrupts "you think 50% of the people don't believe in the Constitution?" Gosar replies " they don't."

This one just made my jaw drop I couldn't believe it. I know more than 50% of the population doesn't understand the Constitution and most of that 50% of never even bothered to read it. In my travels I have run into plenty of people who couldn't quote a single line from the Constitution or the first 10 amendments. Many of them couldn't even tell me how many amendments there were at the time of the drafting of the Constitution. Not even the incorrect answer 10. (Only 10 were ratified. The rest went bye-bye).

At this point I was thinking to myself, that's not what he meant to say. It must've been something else. I've heard this guy speak before. I was certain he was playing for the same team. He could not possibly have meant because 50% of the people don't believe in the Constitution, its okay for Congress to pass laws that violate the Constitution just a little bit. Maybe just 50% of the way. No, he couldn't have meant that, I must've heard that wrong.

At that point KrisAnne Hall began explain how you have to put the Constitution first, you can’t compromise on the Constitution and that part of the problem in Congress is that too many of them thought that it was okay pass rules and laws that violate the Constitution. There's more to it than that. Watch the video yourself.

Stephani Scruggs enumerated several issues including the violations of the 1st Amendment, 9th  amendment and 10th amendment, going so far as to say we are slaves because those things have been taken from us and that we no longer had our own personal sovereignty and control our own lives.

So I thought to myself well, maybe that is what he meant, that it is okay to pass laws that chip away at the Constitution, after all 50% of the people don't believe in it anyway. No, this can't be. I watched the rest of the town Hall thinking to myself, I wish representative Gosar had been clearer.

And then a few days later I re-watched the video. Over and over again. And when I saw him roll his eyes and shake his head as KrisAnne Hall was saying you cannot compromise the Constitution, I wondered if my first impressions of him had been incorrect and that my reaction to the video was more spot on. That maybe the congressman felt since we can't get things through unless we compromise the constitution a little bit, it's okay, we can compromise a little. After all we've got to get that oh so precious bipartisan support. Say it isn’t so Joe!

Maybe he misspoke. Maybe that's not what he intended. But it sure sounded to me that he was more concerned about winning and losing than he was about standing on constitutional principles and being unwilling to surrender when it comes to the Constitution. Each and every time a bill is written, sent to committee, debated, amended or voted on, every member of Congress, be it the House or the Senate, should ask themselves does this in any way compromise the United States Constitution, its amendments, or the liberties and freedom of the American people? If it does, then no matter what's in it, no matter what benefits or security it may provide, those who have sworn to uphold the Constitution cannot pass/vote for it. You certainly can't vote for it and call yourself a conservative.

I know there is going to be a lot of people who will say, " he a good guy you just misunderstood what he meant." But here's one thing I've learned about people who are under pressure, and trust me politicians always feel under pressure when they're publicly speaking in front of voters, they tend to speak with really in their hearts and minds. Do I know for certain what is in his heart or his mind? No, no one does but him. But what I do know is, principles matter, everything else is just Jell-O.

As a politician or candidate, I can love everything about you, we can agree 99% of the time, but when it comes to accepting anything that it impinges on the rights and liberties of the citizens of the United States, we part ways and there is no reconciliation.

There's something that happens to even some of the best of our elected officials once they get the Washington DC. It's slow, but it's insidious. Few are able to resist it, especially when there for long periods of time or if not strong enough of will and courage to ward off this disease. Some call it "Potomac Fever" that need to go along to get along and be accepted and gain support so you're not sabotaged in your next election or left out of the plum committees. This becomes the priority. If you don't play the game, you can count on your colleagues to help the press eviscerate you and your career as a public servant will be over. Too many of the trappings that come with the position are like a drug that they cannot live without.

Where have all the true statesman gone?

Jay Devereaux is an Information Technology Consultant and small business owner that like so many of us, did not really pay a lot of attention to what was going on in Washington DC until ideas like Cap & Trade and T.A.R.P. The idea of the Federal Government bailing out bankers and Wall Street firms with taxpayer dollars was the last straw. Followed closely by the first stimulus package, Jay like so many was yelling at his television similar to Rick Santelli’s now famous rant, when his family cried “ENOUGH! Do something about it or shut up!” In late 2009 Jay was invited to join the Board of Directors for UIA and manages to organizations various websites and social networking presence.

Copyright ©2012 Jay Devereaux

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