Authored by Ned Ryun via American Greatness,
Have you ever considered the possibility that the President of the United States does not truly govern our nation? Or that a majority of individuals in Washington, D.C., do not genuinely support representative democracy? Or that the concept of a government by and for the people is merely a facade? These notions are closer to the truth than the belief that we still operate as a republic where power emanates from the people to their elected representatives to establish a government that prioritizes the interests of the American populace above all else.
It is imperative for the American public to recognize that the last century has witnessed a gradual regime change, a subtle coup d’état, which has undermined our Constitution and Constitutional Republic. This internal revolt has eroded the original intent of the Constitution, diminished our liberties, undermined our civil rights, and raised doubts about who is truly in charge of governing this nation.
The coup I am alluding to is the focal point of my latest book, American Leviathan, which delves into the Progressive Statist movement that emerged in the early 20th century and gave rise to the unconstitutional Administrative State that now wields control over Washington, D.C., and consequently, our country.
The Progressive movement, spearheaded by figures like Woodrow Wilson, Herbert Croly, Robert La Follette, and Theodore Roosevelt, represented a complete rejection of the original intent of the Constitution. In the words of John Marini in Unmasking the Administrative State, the Progressive movement “fundamentally seeks to dismantle the political and moral authority of the U.S. Constitution.”
The objective of the Progressives was to establish a vast bureaucracy comprised of unelected officials devoid of political accountability, who would effectively govern the nation. Embracing the omnipotent state as the savior of society and humanity, the Progressives were unabashed about their ambitions: “We are not obligated to adhere to the beliefs held by the signatories of the Declaration of Independence,” proclaimed Wilson. “We possess the same freedom as they do to create and dismantle governments.” And so, they set out to dismantle the American Republic.
Progressive Statists harbored a deep disdain for the system of checks and balances, the cornerstone of our Constitution and the primary safeguard of our inherent natural rights. Consequently, they systematically dismantled the mechanisms of the Republic. In their view, the dispersion of power was the most significant impediment to progress, prompting them to consolidate the legislative, executive, and judicial powers within the Administrative State under the guise of “progress.”
Rejecting the concept of a government based on rights, Progressives refuted the principles of the Declaration that “All men are created equal and endowed by their Creator with unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, that to secure these rights governments are instituted among men.” A rights-oriented government was deemed too limited in scale and breadth to achieve their grandiose vision of “progress.”
Just as the separation of powers designed to protect those rights hindered progress, a rights-based government was similarly perceived as an obstacle: efficiency in pursuing progress could not be attained if every individual demanded the securement and safeguarding of their rights. To them, the State reigned supreme, a living entity that subsumed all else—businesses, individuals, individual rights—and the State, in the name of progress, would restore those rights if deemed advantageous to the State.
In the end, the Progressives emerged victorious. They constructed their Administrative State, amalgamating the executive, legislative, and judicial powers in various ways. Throughout the 20th century up to the present day, this State, primarily entrenched in the Executive Branch, evolved into a sprawling bureaucracy, the American Leviathan, replete with influential, unelected bureaucrats who owe no allegiance to the American populace and in many ways, consider themselves rulers of the people.
This unconstitutional state and its ruling elite now pose the most significant threat to our freedom and inherent rights.
The pertinent question now arises: What steps will be taken in response? Every facet of the Administrative State starkly contradicts our founding principles and the concept of representative democracy. When faced with Donald Trump’s assertion that he, as the duly elected representative of the American people, held the authority to determine both foreign and domestic policy—with Congress fulfilling its role of providing advice and consent—the State retaliated, waging a political war against Trump and his supporters.
The American populace achieved a notable victory against the State earlier this year when the Supreme Court, in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondi, overturned the “Chevron doctrine,” which for the past four decades had permitted the Administrative State to “reasonably interpret” a regulatory statute irrespective of congressional intent. Essentially, bureaucrats could act as they deemed fit regardless of directives from the other two branches of government. As a result of Loper Bright, numerous instances of regulatory and bureaucratic overreach can now be rectified to the benefit of our nation.
A more aggressive dismantling should be undertaken by Trump following his victory in November: on his first day in office, he should declare his intent to deconstruct the Administrative State, decentralize it, cede legislative powers to the Article I branch, dismantle the State to drain the Swamp, and subsequently initiate the grand restoration of our Republic.
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