This speech was delivered by Terry Dodd at the Colorado State Capital on 9-12-09 at the Tea Party Constitution Rally (Primary Contributors: Bob Schulz & Judith Whitmore, originally presented by Bob Schulz at Marble Falls, Texas, August 2009)

I’m proud to be with you in Denver tonight.

I want to talk about the state of our country, our Constitution, about The Rights of Free Men and about a plan to bring our government back under the control of our Constitution – a plan OF and BY and FOR The People – a plan called Continental Congress 2009.

Many of you have heard about the Continental Congress to be held in November of this year – This is Not a Constitutional Convention, but a Continental Congress.  These are two very different things.

A Constitutional Convention is called by the state and federal governments for the purpose of amending the Constitution.

On the other hand, the upcoming Continental Congress is being called by The People, not to amend our Constitution, but to defend and restore the one we now have.

The Free People of America acknowledge that Our Creator gave to The People, through our Founding Fathers, the greatest governing documents ever given to mankind – our Declaration of Independence, our Constitution and our Bill of Rights.

It’s no secret that America is the last bastion for Freedom on this earth.   We, The People of America have been entrusted to live by and protect these documents that show the pathway to freedom, not only for ourselves, but for all mankind.

Let’s make no mistake, The Cause of America is still The Cause of the world, for the Lamp of Liberty was lit here, and nowhere else.

However, The Constitution of The United States is being violated.  It has been violated over many years, by many administrations, by every branch of government, by each party.

Today, these violations are growing in number and severity.

Is it any wonder that we suffer?

For every violation of The Constitution, our nation is undermined, our people compromised, our way and quality of life diminished – our society depraved and pauperized.

Do you realize that all the suffering and distress in our nation would never have happened, had our elected officials obeyed our Constitution?

Let’s consider just the following ten violations:   Listen closely…

1. Meddling in the internal affairs of other countries without any constitutional authority whatsoever;

2.  Undeclared wars in violation of the war powers clauses of articles I and II;

3.  The gifting and lending of public money and credit to private corporations for decidedly private purposes – bailouts – without any constitutional authority whatsoever;

4. A debt-based, fiat currency controlled by the Federal Reserve System, a cartel of private banks, all in violation of the money clauses of article I of the Constitution;

5.  Direct, un-apportioned taxes on labor in violation of the tax clauses of article I of the Constitution;

6.  Invasion of our privacy and a developing police state in violation of the privacy clauses of the fourth amendment of the Constitution;

7.  Unenforced immigration laws in violation of that mandate, plainly worded in article II of the constitution, that requires the president to “faithfully execute the laws”;

8.  A President who refuses every request to provide evidence that he is a natural born citizen, as article II of the constitution requires.

9.  The counting of our votes in secret, as all machines do, in violation of our constitutional right not only to vote but to know that our votes are being accurately counted;

10.  The absence of well-regulated state militias and federal gun control laws that violate the second amendment of the Constitution;

And, on top of this, we have government officials who are hell bent on transitioning America from our Constitutional Republic to a democracy or worse, an oligarchy which is a dictatorship by a small group of people.

They encourage us to rely exclusively on the electoral process to get out of the mess we are in.   They say, in effect, if you don’t like what’s going on, vote for someone else.

Beware! To believe this is to fall right into the hands of those who would change our Constitutional Republic, to a pure democracy or worse.

A Constitutional Republic is where your Rights as an individual and those of any minority are guaranteed, and Government’s power is limited by a written Constitution.

A democracy does NOT guarantee Individual Rights.  A democracy is where some are taking us.   It would mean your Rights and my Rights are not guaranteed and Government’s powers are limited only by the will of the majority.  That’s Mob Rule!

Well of course, we need a government.

And of course, we want to elect those who would wield governmental power.

Yes, of course, we should all vote.

Yes, of course, we should all perform due diligence and vote for those who we believe will act to secure our individual, unalienable rights, as guaranteed by the Constitution.

However, to encourage people to rely exclusively on the electoral process – the promises and assurances of men, rather than the guarantees of the Constitution, is wrong and dangerous.

Our rights do not depend upon the will of any majority; not one more than half the number of people voting in our polling places, or in the halls of Congress or on the bench of the Supreme Court.

With respect, if someone leads you to believe that your only option is to rely on the electoral process, you are being misled.

Yes, we need to elect good people, and God Bless those Statesmen who are now seeking office with a view to constitutional obedience!

But, above all, we, the people need to begin to look beyond the ballot box. We need to hold our elected officials accountable to our Constitution– regardless of their political stripes, or whether we voted for them.

Every violation of the Constitution has a huge effect on our quality of life, our society, our economy.

All of its provisions are inextricably intertwined. The Constitution was meant to be construed in its entirety: it’s all part of a grand design.

When we look at the current violations of The Constitution together, is it any wonder we seem to be on the brink of collapse?

Millions of people know there is something happening now that is very wrong. More and more, people are raising their voices and demanding to be heard, but don’t know what to do to stop the wrongs that are taking place.

We see people hurting, getting mad and frustrated.

But there’s an energy building.  Where will it lead?

You know, a solution is only as good as the definition of the problem.

Is there a practical and appropriate plan for The People to restore constitutional governance carried out in decency and good order?

Yes there is! That plan is Continental Congress 2009. A plan that is authorized by the last ten words of the First Amendment, otherwise known as the Accountability Clause.

The Founders knew all about human frailties, the love of money and power, and the natural tendencies of elected officials to turn away from the Constitution and their oaths of office in favor of re-election, personal riches and recognition.

The Founders knew this day would come.

They knew that all the Constitution’s guarantees were for naught unless the Constitution included an Accountability Clause – an unalienable right – a natural power of The People to claim and exercise, whenever they had evidence that any elected official was violating the Constitution.

They knew that any right that is not enforceable is not a right.

So, they included a provision — a tool — that the people could utilize to hold their government officials accountable to the rest of the Constitution.

The last ten words of our First Amendment is the Accountability Clause. It guarantees The Right of The People to petition the government to redress violations of the Constitution.

It is referred to by constitutional scholars as the Capstone Right – The Right that caps all others.

Think about it. What good is the Constitution if, when the government violates it, the people can’t hold them accountable, except by relying on the will of the majority, as if this was a democracy.

Make no mistake. As the historical context and purpose of the words demonstrate, The Founders included this guarantee to hold the government accountable as an absolutely necessary and critical element in the overall balance of power between the people and their elected government officials.

We have the power.   We just need to learn how to use it!

Before you and I can truly say, “The God who has given us life has given us liberty,” before the evolution of liberty can be said to be complete, one elusive milestone needs to be achieved: a clear and resounding demonstration of the individual’s Right, under the last ten words of the First Amendment, to hold the government accountable to the rest of the Constitution.

If we do this, it will result in an enormous shift of power from the government back to the people where the ultimate power was meant to reside in the first place.

People ask us to explain the Petition for Redress process.

Claiming and exercising our power under the accountability or Petition clause of the First Amendment is a five step process.

First, there has to be some evidence that the government is violating the Constitution.

Then, someone has to put together a formal Petition for Redress of the violation. This is a legal document that cites a specific provision of the Constitution, a factual account of the acts of the government that violate that provision, and the remedy being sought.

Then, the petition must be formally served on the government officials, with proof of service.

Then, the government is obligated to respond. Silence is admission.

Finally, if the government does not respond, the people have the right of enforcement.

Fortunately for us,  the We The People Foundation for Constitutional Education, a nationwide organization with the support of tens of thousands of people, has completed the first four steps of this process.

For the last fourteen years, we have been formally, legally, professionally, and peacefully petitioning the government to remedy each of the ten violations just mentioned, all in an effort to stop the devastating effects each violation has on our people and our country.

The government’s answer has been silence.

The question then becomes, “What is the appropriate next step for a Free People?”

Our years of petitioning, with no response from the Government, has produced not only a clear record of tyranny and treason to the Constitution, but ALSO a plan for The People, one we believe will make the difference.

So, we are taking a page from the Founding Fathers’ play book. They convened a Continental Congress in Philadelphia in 1774, after eleven years of petitioning their government to remedy its violations of their rights and having their Petitions ignored or answered only with repeated injuries.

They did not go to Philadelphia in 1774 to separate and declare their independence from Great Britain.  They went merely to discuss their grievances and to decide on a course of action.

It is time for us to do the same. Mutual confidence and respect between our People and our Government has slipped away.

Continental Congress 2009 will be a national assembly convened Of The People, By The People, For The People from November 11-22 in St. Charles, Illinois.   It will be broadcast before the world.  We will look at the mess we are in and how we got there, as well as the magnificent blessings we’ve been given through our Constitution.  We will make a major historic record of the violations which have taken place and their effects on our people and nation. We will then decide together what peaceful and legal means can be followed to restore constitutional obedience in America.

This is not a political event.  Its delegates will be citizens, not elected officials.  By the way, I hope to be one of those delegates.

State legislators will be invited to attend as observers, not participants, for it would be the ultimate conflict of interest to have elected officials as delegates to CC 2009, a Congress whose purpose it is to defend the supreme rule book that is designed to govern the behavior of our elected officials.

This is not a partisan plan.  Focusing on the Constitution clears away parties, politics, personalities and puts the focus where it should be and should have been all along.

Again, Continental Congress 2009 is NOT a Constitutional Convention.  It does not rely on the electoral process or the approval of the government in any way.

Please get involved. There is much to be done and Time is of the essence.

We have a special web site, www.givemeliberty.org, through which you can click on the great state of Colorado and join us.

Volunteer groups have been organized to inform, to encourage and to coordinate citizen participation leading to this historic event. We are still in need of a few county coordinators.

Right now, we need for you to elect 3 delegates from Colorado! For more information, election packets are available at the We The People Congress booth.

Delegates will be elected from a national pool of American citizens required to have a proven passion for the Constitution.  It is our hope that the delegate seats will be filled by “America’s Best” as constitutional activists, scholars and authors, each a champion of popular sovereignty. There will be three delegates from every state in the union.

Preparation is underway for the national CC2009 Delegate Election Day to take place on Saturday, October 10th, 2009.  Your State coordinator and volunteer teams are now identifying appropriate voting centers and mail in ballots are available.  This election is constitutionally valid, using visible and transparent vote counting.   We want to set a modern day example of electoral procedures that are constitutional in nature and extent.

Continental Congress 2009 is really an opportunity for us to see how much we really care about our Constitution; to consider what America would be like if we followed it;  AND TO DECIDE IF THAT VISION IS IMPORTANT ENOUGH FOR THE PEOPLE TO DO WHAT IS NECESSARY TO EMBRACE IT.

This event can be the catalyst to bring everyone together with ONE voice that will be heard at this defining moment in our history.

Remember, the colonists of the American revolution did not want to separate from the mother country – they did not want to go to war and break the ties with the continent from which most of them had come.

They were forced into it by the lack of response from their government of the day to their Petitions for Redress of grievances.  With each petition sent to the ruling authority of the time, King George and Parliament, the situation worsened until the Sons of Liberty were branded as traitors, a price put on their heads, and martial law enforced.  They were forced to take action.  They demanded no more than their just due, and would be satisfied with nothing less than they demanded.

That is why the Founding Fathers were so literal when they included in the Bill of Rights, The Right to Petition for Redress of violations of the Constitution.

They had just fought a long, drawn-out war of independence that had left them determined that any government they might form in the future would never take them down the same pathway where their natural rights and civil liberties would be endangered.

Just like them, we are honor-bound to be ever watchful that the governing body of laws contained in the constitution are obeyed and followed.

May we never settle for anything less!

You and I are following in the footsteps of those brave men of 1776, who found the courage to make a written record of the will of the people to be free.

They signed their names to the Declaration of Independence.

Now We The People of this day of 2009, have the opportunity to reaffirm our allegiance and dedication to The Principles contained in the Sacred Documents of The United States.

Through these, our right actions and intents, inspired by love for God and country and  our fellow citizens, we invite you to join with us to carry on the Sacred Trust to honor and obey our Constitution.

Please be part of Continental Congress 2009.  Go tell your friends, neighbors and families where the free People will rally in defense of our Creator-endowed Rights, rather than the promises and assurances of men.

Thank you.

Tags: Accountability Clause, Constitutional Solution, Continental Congress 2009, Electoral Process, Petition Clause, U S Constitution, We The People Congress, We The People Foundation

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