live_tv
Livestream Starting Soon
00
Hours
:
00
Minutes
:
00
Seconds
Up next in 10
Further remarks. National Heritage Center for Constitutional Studies. Part 3 of 6.
Show More Show Less View Video Transcript
0:08
one of the statements we heard in the
0:10
skit here tonight was the fact that the
0:13
lament that we had not trained the Next
0:15
Generation or future Generations in the
0:17
principles of Liberty I've had the
0:19
privilege and the honor of running an
0:21
academy in our church now for 29 years
0:24
we have uh attempted and I have been I
0:27
have wrote a constitutional law course 5
0:30
years ago which we teach to freshmen in
0:32
high school line by line through the
0:34
Constitution from the intent of the
0:35
founders and we have a student here
0:37
tonight that's going to come and deliver
0:39
on a topic his oration the significance
0:41
of the Electoral College so Ben Turner
0:43
would you come up he's a ninth grader uh
0:46
in the New Testament Christian
0:58
School
1:02
good
1:05
evening in today's modern society the
1:08
Electoral College the standard for
1:11
electing the president of the United
1:13
States is considered by many to be a
1:16
thing of the past or at least
1:18
impractical for selecting a president in
1:21
this day and age on the contrary when we
1:25
review the last few elections it becomes
1:28
clear why the founding fathers
1:31
instituted such a
1:33
system the electoral college has served
1:36
the United States brilliantly for more
1:39
than the last two centuries and it still
1:42
shows its genius
1:45
today the Electoral College was
1:47
established with a ratification of the
1:50
Constitution in
1:52
1789 our Founders instituted the
1:55
Electoral
1:56
College because they wanted a balance
1:59
between elected the president by the
2:01
people or by congress with the electoral
2:06
system the American people decide on the
2:09
electors they want to vote for their
2:11
choice of candidates while avoiding the
2:13
reality of every person voting
2:17
himself if the legislature of the United
2:20
States voted on a president there would
2:22
be an oligarchy or in simpler terms a
2:25
rule of the few this would put too much
2:29
emphasis on on the federal government
2:31
and thus defeat the purposes of our for
2:33
founding
2:34
fathers if the people voted directly it
2:37
would be a pure democracy which the
2:39
founders feared these men also wanted to
2:43
ensure that a man of good
2:45
character possessed the all important
2:48
office of President of the United
2:51
States the purpose for the Electoral
2:54
College was to keep the balance between
2:56
the that the between the way that the
2:58
house of represent
3:00
representatives in the Senate were
3:03
elected the house was elected by the
3:06
popular vote of the people while the
3:08
state legislature elected the
3:11
Senate the people now elect both the
3:13
House and Senate by popular
3:16
vote this balance of power between the
3:19
house and the
3:20
Senate was originally instituted to
3:23
preserve the nation as
3:26
Republic electoral college is comprised
3:29
of 500 38 electors who meet once every
3:32
four years on a day appointed by the
3:35
electors to cast their votes for
3:38
president the electors for each state
3:41
are elected by the people of that state
3:44
and therefore vote in accordance with
3:46
the wishes of those who elect
3:48
them each state receives two electors
3:51
one for each of their two senators in in
3:54
Congress and the rest of the electors
3:57
excluding three given to the District of
3:59
Columbia
4:00
are divided according to the number of
4:02
Representatives each state has in
4:04
Congress some states such as California
4:07
Texas and Florida are highly populated
4:11
and combined for a total of 116
4:14
electoral votes while other states such
4:17
as Alaska Montana and Vermont combin for
4:20
a grand total of only nine electoral
4:23
votes a total majority of at least 270
4:28
electoral votes is needed to become the
4:30
next
4:31
president therefore the electoral system
4:34
does give Fair amounts of votes to
4:37
States according to total
4:39
population one reason people dislike the
4:42
electoral college system is because we
4:44
say that it does not reflect the
4:46
Democratic will of the people this may
4:48
appear to be true in a few elections
4:51
such as those of
4:53
1876 1888 and 2000 where the candidate
4:57
with the majority of the electoral vote
4:59
was was not the candidate with the
5:00
majority of the popular vote this
5:03
apparent flaw in the Electoral College
5:05
however is actually designed for a good
5:10
reason one must consider that while the
5:12
difference between the Electoral and
5:14
popular votes is real the institution of
5:17
democracy would ensure privileges for
5:19
the largely populated states and
5:21
devastate the smaller States due to the
5:24
fact that a candidate could essentially
5:25
run his whole campaign from a group of
5:28
larger cities
5:30
thus ensuring him the vote needed to win
5:32
without ever appealing to the smaller
5:34
States for one
5:36
vote this candidate would never publicly
5:39
address nor even consider the voting
5:41
concerns of these smaller
5:43
States the candidate for example might
5:46
address the problem of urban crime and
5:48
big business needs while issues relating
5:51
to farming would be ignored under the
5:54
present system however the votes of the
5:56
smaller states are important since a
5:58
candidate must car carry at least a few
6:00
small states in order to win the general
6:04
election some critics of the current
6:06
electoral college system also complained
6:09
that the winner take all method is not
6:11
consistent with the will of the people
6:13
in situations where a candidate might
6:15
win the electoral vote majority by a
6:19
small margin but still receive all of
6:22
the electoral votes for that
6:25
state the present system however
6:29
protects the election process so that
6:32
candidates do not specialize in just one
6:34
area in other words if a candidate
6:37
received the electoral votes equaling
6:39
the percentage that he won in a state he
6:42
could run up the votes in states where
6:44
he was popular and just squeeze by with
6:46
the minimum number of votes required in
6:48
states where he was less popular again
6:52
this would cause a neglect of voter's
6:53
concerns in certain areas and an
6:55
overemphasis on voters concerns in other
6:58
areas for example a if a candidate
7:01
focused on the northeast he might focus
7:04
on medical research and
7:06
industrialization but the problems of
7:08
Western wildfires and Southeastern
7:10
hurricanes may be
7:13
neglected the electoral college system
7:15
forces candidates to address all issues
7:18
more
7:19
equally the power of the states though
7:22
not evident in the way that the federal
7:23
government is run today is much greater
7:26
than the power of the federal sphere
7:28
according to the Constitution
7:30
as stated in Article 2 Section 1
7:33
paragraph 2 quote each state shall
7:36
appoint in such manner as the
7:38
legislature thereof may direct a number
7:41
of electors equal to the whole number of
7:44
Senators and representatives to which
7:46
the state may be entitled in the
7:49
Congress but no Senator or
7:51
representative or person holding an
7:53
office of trust or profit under the
7:56
United States shall be appointed an
7:58
elector
8:00
in other words the states have the right
8:03
to decide how the electors are
8:06
elected the only thing that the federal
8:08
government has the right to decide on is
8:10
the date on which the electors meet
8:13
legally the states could at any time
8:15
abolish the win or take all system due
8:18
to the misunderstanding that this system
8:20
is unchangeable others state that the
8:23
system does not allow for third- party
8:25
candidates receiving any electoral votes
8:28
they point out that the call
8:30
system also does not allow for the
8:32
Nationwide publicizing of ideas that
8:34
these third party candidates might wish
8:36
to
8:37
convey the main issue that third party
8:40
candidates have however should not be
8:42
with the Electoral College in its
8:43
original design the problem is that the
8:46
two main parties the Republican and
8:48
Democratic parties are official
8:50
monopolies that prohibit fair play and a
8:52
Level Playing Field the federal
8:55
government controls both the parties and
8:57
gives each an excessive amount of tax
8:59
spare dollars to fund their campaigns
9:02
and pay for the Democratic and
9:05
Republican party
9:07
conventions the Electoral College proved
9:10
itself recently in the 2000 election in
9:13
this election Governor George W bush of
9:15
Texas and vice president Al Gore were
9:18
contending for the
9:19
presidency neither Bush nor Gore had a
9:22
decisive majority of the popular vote
9:25
though Gore had a slight lead Bush still
9:28
managed to squeeze out a win in the
9:30
Electoral College by winning the
9:32
majority of States 29 to
9:34
21 Gore on the other hand ran up the
9:38
votes in a smaller area with a more
9:39
concentrated
9:41
population the electoral college system
9:43
worked in this election by ensuring a
9:46
win for the candidate who won over the
9:48
largest
9:49
area the electoral college has basically
9:52
performed the way it was designed to for
9:55
219 years as seen in past elections
9:59
though not everyone agrees with the
10:00
system it is still the best and most
10:03
effective way to elect the president and
10:05
preserve the nation as a republic
10:08
avoiding the extremes of a democracy on
10:10
one hand and an oligarchy on the other
10:13
in the upcoming election it will most
10:15
likely prove that it is not a thing of
10:18
the past or impractical for electing a
10:21
president in this present day and
10:28
age
10:44
thank you
10:46
Ben Article 2 Section 1 paragraph 7 of
10:49
The Constitution
10:51
states before we enter on the exe
10:54
execution of his office he shall take
10:55
the following oath or affirmation I do
10:58
solemnly swear affirm that I will
10:59
Faithfully execute the office of
11:01
President of the United States and will
11:03
to the best of my ability preserve
11:06
protect and defend the Constitution of
11:09
the United States in addressing my
11:11
remarks tonight around the theme of The
11:13
Ninth Amendment and ensuring The
11:16
Sovereign power of the people and not
11:19
attempting to tread upon the ground of
11:22
our keynote speaker I chose to Simply
11:25
pose this Sovereign expressed power
11:28
limitation
11:29
on the oath of office for president in
11:32
such an election year this is the only
11:34
oath given in the Constitution for a
11:36
particular position and that's the oath
11:38
of the president the president is only
11:40
given six Powers by the Constitution
11:43
although most presidents exercise more
11:45
than 20 once in office if a president
11:48
does not take their oath
11:51
seriously this means that they will not
11:53
govern or even tend to govern in the
11:56
jurisdictional limits of their office
11:59
why would the president's oath be
12:01
articulated and no other in the
12:03
Constitution it was because the oath of
12:06
the president and his faithful obedience
12:09
to it was to be the example of
12:11
leadership set for every other office
12:14
pledging allegiance to the Constitution
12:17
what is an oath Exodus 27 in the Bible
12:20
states don't take the name of the Lord
12:23
thy God in vain for the God will not
12:25
hold you Guiltless who takes his name in
12:28
vain to take an oath then was to invoke
12:31
the name of God as a party and a witness
12:35
to it Matthew Henry in his commentary on
12:38
numbers 30 and Matthew 5 which the
12:41
founders read since he was contemporary
12:43
with them gave this definition and this
12:46
commentary quote perjury is a sin
12:50
condemned by the light of nature as a
12:53
complication of impiety toward God and
12:55
Injustice toward man and as rendering a
12:57
man highly obnoxious to the Divine wrath
13:01
which was always judged to follow so
13:03
infallibly upon that sin that the forms
13:06
of swearing were commonly turned into
13:09
execrations or imprecations as that God
13:12
so to me and more also and with us so
13:16
help me God wishing I may never have any
13:18
help from God if I would swear falsely
13:22
thus by the consent of Nations have men
13:25
cursed themselves not doubting but that
13:28
God would curse them if they lied
13:30
against the truth when they solemnly
13:32
were calling God to witness it end quote
13:37
Noah Webster when he wrote his 1828
13:39
dictionary the definitions contemporary
13:42
with the founding of America he defined
13:45
Oath a solemn affirmation or Declaration
13:48
made with an appeal to God for the truth
13:50
of what is affirmed the appeal to God in
13:52
an oath implies that the person
13:57
imprecatory if the de decaration is
13:59
false or if the Declaration is a promise
14:02
the person invokes the Vengeance of God
14:05
if he would fail to fulfill it end quote
14:08
these are powerful words this is amazing
14:12
could it possibly have been that the
14:14
Bible Matthew Henry and Noah Webster
14:17
were contemporaries with the founders
14:19
could it possibly be they understood the
14:22
implications of not taking an oath
14:24
seriously when they put it in the
14:27
constitution in the first first place
14:30
thus The Taking of an oath was not only
14:31
serious it invoked the fear of God if it
14:34
was ever taken lightly and in any way
14:37
ignored or treated with a lack of
14:40
seriousness they knew the founders
14:43
did that one if one was to swear by an
14:46
oath when duly called to it and never
14:49
doing it for your own advantage or doing
14:51
it for your own advantage or
14:53
irreverently or by any other name than
14:55
the god of the Bible because he alone
14:57
was the author of Liberty we would
15:00
invoke serious wrath from heaven above
15:04
most importantly as the Bible enjoins if
15:06
you ever do take an oath the Bible says
15:09
and Jesus repeated make sure your Yes
15:12
means yes and your no means no or in
15:16
other words if you don't intend to
15:18
fulfill the oath have the character not
15:22
to take it in the first
15:24
place I would ask this in my own
15:27
pondering how important if if I was I
15:32
was I was thinking myself if I got a
15:34
chance to ask the questions of
15:37
presidential candidates I would accept
15:41
the
15:41
opportunity in fact I would say that one
15:45
of the most powerful things in the
15:48
Constitution that articulates the
15:50
jurisdictional limits is the oath of
15:53
office because candidates do not run to
15:56
swear allegiance to political parties
15:58
they don't run to swear allegiance to
16:00
polls they don't run to swear allegiance
16:02
to issues and they don't swear
16:04
allegiance to popularity they swear
16:06
allegiance to the Constitution of the
16:08
United States and I would ask some of
16:11
these to a candidate how important do
16:14
you hold the oath that you will solemnly
16:16
swear with your hand upon the Bible does
16:19
it matter to you what book you put your
16:22
hand on does it matter which God is the
16:26
source of this nation's love
16:29
law is it possible that George
16:31
Washington on April 30 1789 in New York
16:33
City as he took the oath of office that
16:35
he understood the meaning as quoted from
16:38
the Bible and the meaning that Matthew
16:40
hentry one of his own uh contemporaries
16:43
had written from Europe and had been
16:44
published here in America is it possible
16:47
that George Washington knew the actual
16:49
meaning when he added the words so help
16:52
me God it is every president has added
16:56
it since though it is not required
16:59
George Washington placed his hand upon
17:01
an Open Bible at Psalm
17:03
1271 specifically designed by him to
17:06
read with the words except the Lord
17:08
build the house they labor in vain that
17:10
build it other presidents have chosen
17:13
other Bible verses presumably
17:15
understanding that they will be held
17:17
accountable for the faithful execution
17:19
of their oath since God was invoked as a
17:22
party to it I would love to also ask an
17:26
candidate although uh after mentioning
17:28
the Bible I probably wouldn't get the
17:30
second question across I would still try
17:32
to ask this other question what does it
17:35
mean to you that you will fulfill the
17:37
responsibilities of the Office of the
17:39
President of the United States is that
17:42
the only office you intend to fill or
17:45
will you stretch and bend it expecting
17:48
uh your executive orders to be obeyed by
17:51
the members of other
17:53
branches will you insist on line item
17:56
veto Powers giving you legisl a ative
17:58
responsibilities instead of fulfilling
18:01
executive ones alone how faithful will
18:04
you be in taking an oath to fulfill the
18:07
executive office and only the executive
18:10
office than the responsibilities of
18:12
President of the United States and No
18:15
Other
18:16
Nation I would love to go on as you can
18:19
tell and ask some more questions that I
18:22
would like to see answered by
18:24
individuals who would say they are ready
18:27
and prepared to be president of the
18:30
United States I'd love to ask what do
18:32
you understand is the meaning of
18:34
preserving the Constitution of the
18:36
United States to which you've just been
18:38
willing to say you would take an oath is
18:40
it simply making sure the original
18:42
document is safe in the National
18:45
Archives or does it have a deeper
18:48
meaning I believe it does or does the
18:50
word preserve actually mean what Webster
18:52
articulated to keep or save from injury
18:54
or destruction to defend from Evil this
18:58
means that you as president will set the
19:00
example of preserving to the American
19:02
people and the other officers Bound by
19:04
the Constitution the original intent of
19:07
every line and every word in the
19:09
document you swear to
19:12
preserve you will use or will you use
19:15
the bully p Pulpit of the presidency to
19:17
declare when Congress or the Supreme
19:19
Court interpret the Constitution falsely
19:22
or deceptively or God forbid by the
19:25
meaning of foreign law or International
19:27
intang lements will you as the president
19:31
expose
19:33
it I would want to know whether the
19:36
president running for office is willing
19:38
to truly protect the Constitution of the
19:41
United States not just repel an invasion
19:44
but protect the more subtle gutting of
19:46
our entire system of constitutional law
19:48
through the equivocating of words and
19:50
their meanings in such a way as to
19:51
render null and void the jurisdictional
19:53
responsibilities of each Lance of the
19:55
legislature will you as president Ascent
19:57
either directly or through the default
19:59
of Silence to the common practice of
20:01
promising far more than your oath
20:05
actually promises in the
20:08
Constitution will you speak up when
20:10
accused of financing something that you
20:12
had no power to finance in the first
20:15
place or as an example will you admit to
20:18
your jurisdictional limits and refuse to
20:20
put the military anywhere in the world
20:22
where there's not a specific
20:23
authorization or either a declaration of
20:27
war
20:30
will you speak up as a president of the
20:32
United States when Congress finances all
20:35
kinds of expenditures without ever
20:37
delivering the bill to your desk for a
20:39
signature or will you like so many
20:41
presidents that have preceded you look
20:44
away and ignore an unconstitutional bill
20:47
but give it Authority as if it was
20:50
signed properly I would simply remind
20:54
you tonight that there's more to this
20:56
oath than simply
20:58
words really the foundation of the kind
21:01
of questions we ought to hear during an
21:03
election season should focus on what a
21:05
president will raise their right hand to
21:08
put a hand on the Bible and swear
21:11
invoking the Judgment of God on their
21:13
personal life and every part of it to
21:15
the whole world that ought to be our
21:18
focus in fact the last phrase is to
21:21
defend the Constitution the power given
21:24
to the president to defend the
21:26
Constitution is is called The
21:30
veto will you as a presidential
21:32
candidate let the American people know
21:34
why you veto every bill that breaks the
21:37
Covenant of compatibility required for
21:39
any law to be
21:41
constitutional many say how can I veto
21:43
the whole bill when part of it is good
21:46
you veto the whole bill by vetoing the
21:48
whole
21:55
bill will you do your duty and fulfill
21:57
your Oath by requiring the highest
21:59
percentage of two-thirds of the Congress
22:01
to pass every unconstitutional law over
22:03
your presidential veto I guarantee that
22:05
if a president had the courage to be
22:07
like a veto President Andrew Jackson or
22:10
to be like a president that would veto
22:12
every single bill that was
22:13
unconstitutional publicly putting it on
22:15
the newspapers in the newspapers and on
22:18
television it would be a way to educate
22:20
the American
22:22
people I would remind you that tonight
22:26
as constitutional law lovers
22:28
constitutional Scholars lovers of
22:30
Liberty lovers of patriotism that we
22:33
have actually had presidents of the
22:34
United States in our past that kept
22:36
their oath of office at least to a much
22:39
higher degree than the ones we're used
22:41
to seeing today they're often forgotten
22:44
though and now so infrequent that the
22:45
fog must be cleared before we can see
22:48
the greatest presidents in our history
22:50
yes there were some recent ones who paid
22:52
much more attention to their oath such
22:55
as Ronald Reagan or Calvin kulage or
22:56
Grover Cleveland just to name a few but
22:59
I want to remind you that by and large
23:02
the first seven presidents of the United
23:04
States took their oath seriously and
23:06
were neither intimidated nor even cared
23:08
whether they were popular or not this is
23:11
because they understood the Constitution
23:12
defines every Power they have it's a
23:15
neglect in these duties that has made
23:16
our present government more than 100
23:19
times larger than the governments they
23:21
governed in the first seven presidential
23:24
terms may we once again see by by the
23:28
grace of God the courage of a George
23:29
Washington who declared neutrality in
23:32
relation to a foreign war rather rather
23:34
than making every single world problem
23:36
America's
23:38
problem and actually leaving the
23:40
policies of foreign policy to the
23:42
Congress rather than making them up
23:45
himself may we have once again the
23:47
courage of a John Adams who led us to
23:49
adopt the Treaty of Tripoli that
23:51
declared clearly the religious
23:52
motivation of the terrorists who were
23:54
attacking America in that day and
23:57
exposed the religion that inspired it
24:00
may we have once again the
24:01
Constitutional Mind of a Thomas
24:03
Jefferson who helped lead Congress to
24:05
adopt foreign policy meth measures that
24:07
could be labeled fair trade avoiding the
24:10
pitfalls of quote free trade by a
24:13
leveling the playing field in such a way
24:15
that we harm American workers and
24:17
avoiding the pitfalls of trading blocks
24:21
where we end up making everything very
24:23
easy for other blocks and help helping
24:26
America or forcing America America to
24:28
finance poorer Nations it's about time
24:31
we had someone in the presidential
24:34
office understand the economy and
24:37
understand constitutional money may we
24:39
have the Constitutional fortitude of a
24:41
James Madison who vetoed a bill on
24:43
February 21 1811 that would have given
24:46
taxpayer money to subsidize a certain
24:48
Church its denomination and its Ministry
24:51
when Madison vetoed the bill he said
24:53
this violates the First Amendment the
24:55
church was confused what are you talking
24:57
about about we just want the government
25:00
to finance the religion they say is the
25:02
origin of civil liberty but Madison
25:05
remind them if you take one dime of the
25:07
federal treasury you have violated the
25:09
first amendments because the United
25:12
States is to protect the right of
25:14
preaching the gospel but not provide the
25:16
funds to do
25:19
so may we have the wisdom of a James
25:22
Monroe who vetoed a bill he actually
25:25
favored but had no Constitution
25:28
authority to approve because it
25:30
allocated funds from the national
25:31
treasury to only benefit five states in
25:34
building a canal and thus it was
25:36
considered special welfare rather than
25:38
general welfare and James Monroe said I
25:41
am for the canal but I've stayed up all
25:44
night and haven't found one
25:46
constitutional authority to give it any
25:49
weight
25:52
whatsoever or what about John quinsey
25:54
Adams whose message on December 2 1828
25:57
did not simply protect the sovereignty
25:59
of Indian Affairs but specifically
26:01
commented on the need for private
26:03
Christian missionaries to bring the
26:05
gospel and help them improve their
26:07
internal character for he who receives
26:09
the gospel said John quinsey Adams is
26:11
more fit to embrace Republican
26:13
government than any other imagine that
26:16
encouraging the private sector to do
26:19
what they do best rather than another
26:21
excuse to pay for something out of the
26:24
national treasury finally would we ever
26:27
have the courage of an Andrew Jackson oh
26:29
it's I I like the man for several
26:31
reasons he has a lot of problems in some
26:33
parts of his character but I like the
26:35
some part of B imagine as president he
26:38
wore a
26:41
sidearm as
26:43
president in fact he's one of the few
26:46
presidents who knocked out a man ready
26:48
to kill him before he could fire his
26:54
gun but that's not the only reason I
26:56
like the guy
26:58
he was asked for foreign aid from
27:01
freeding Freedom Fighters in Texas who
27:03
wanted to defeat a true
27:05
Tyrant but instead he said I lament
27:09
because Andrew Jackson was always
27:11
looking for a
27:12
fight he said I I admit when he called
27:15
his best friend in Davey Crockett he
27:17
said you know I can't give any
27:20
constitutional approval to intervene in
27:23
another nation's battle because any
27:26
nation that wishes to be free has to
27:29
fight its own Revolution win it and
27:32
maintain a government before the United
27:34
States will interpose in any
27:41
way and so he sent Davy Crockett and the
27:44
private Sharpshooters to the
27:47
Alamo what do we say about these things
27:50
then and the true sovereigns of the
27:52
American people we must restore an
27:55
understanding of the oath of office
27:57
don't ever let it be diminished any
27:59
chance you have to ask a candidate what
28:02
are they going to do when they take that
28:03
oath because what most candidates
28:06
promise especially at the presidential
28:08
level where we see all the televised
28:10
non-
28:11
debates when you see that the issues
28:14
that are raised are very clearly focused
28:17
away from the
28:18
seword the
28:20
Constitution may we say let's put the
28:23
pressure on for any candidate whether we
28:26
like them or not to take their oath
28:29
seriously and if they take their oath
28:32
seriously we will restore the true
28:34
sovereignty in the United States of
28:45
America it is important on days like
28:48
this to remind ourselves we don't just
28:51
give rhetoric on the Constitution
28:54
repeating what many of us could repeat
28:56
over and and over again but what we do
29:00
is honor all those who would stand up
29:02
with conviction so I simply remind you a
29:06
politician is someone who studied the
29:08
art of how to remain
29:10
elected a Statesman is someone who's
29:12
committed to principal and willing to
29:15
lose an election but will never
29:17
compromise principal that's what we need
29:21
once
29:25
again
#Education
#Government