Michael Boldin is the founder of the Tenth Amendment Center, found

HERE. Mike and his team have produced documents that are known as the “Ten-Four Pledge.”

This document consists of ten affirmations on government and ten pledges to be solemnly kept by officeholders while they hold public office. So, candidates for office, whether at State or Federal levels, are encouraged to sign one of these 10-4 Pledges and post it at the Tenth Amendment Center website.

The ten affirmations speak to the foundational truths of the Constitution of the United States. They are as follows:

As a public office holder, or a candidate for public office, I affirm that:

1. All just political authority is derived from the People, and government may only be established and maintained with their consent.

2. The People of each State have the sole and exclusive right and power to govern themselves in all areas not delegated to their government.

3. A government without limits is a tyranny.

4. The Tenth Amendment defines the total scope of federal power as being that which has been delegated by the people to the federal government in the Constitution, and also that which is necessary and proper to advancing those powers specifically enumerated in the Constitution of the United States. The rest is to be handled by the state governments, or by the people themselves, as they determine.

5. In order for a federally-exercised power to be “necessary and proper” it must be a) something that, without which, would make the enumerated power impossible to exercise, and b) a lesser power than that which has been enumerated

6. The “Interstate Commerce Clause” in Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution, does not permit Congress to regulate matters that merely affect commerce among the States. It only permits Congress to regulate trade among the States.

7. The phrase, “general Welfare,” in Article I, Section 8 does not authorize Congress to enact any laws it claims are in the “general Welfare” of the United States. The phrase sets forth the requirement that all laws passed by Congress in Pursuance of the enumerated powers of the Constitution shall also be in the general Welfare of the United States. This was affirmed by James Madison when he wrote: “With respect to the words “general welfare,” I have always regarded them as qualified by the detail of powers connected with them. To take them in a literal and unlimited sense would be a metamorphosis of the Constitution into a character which there is a host of proofs was not contemplated by its creators.”

8. The federal government is not authorized to tax the People to raise monies for unconstitutional purposes. Likewise, the federal government is not authorized to condition funding to State or local governments on compliance with mandates which require them to do what the federal government is not authorized to do directly.

9. When Congress enacts laws and regulations that are not made in Pursuance of the powers enumerated in the Constitution, the People are not bound to obey them.

10. When the federal government exceeds its Constitutional authority, a nullification of the act is the rightful remedy. Without that remedy, the People would be living in a tyranny, under the unlawful and excessive control of one or more branches of the federal government.

Then, the document calls the candidate to take an oath that:

As a public office holder, or a candidate for public office, I promise that, as long as I hold office:

1. My votes will always be in favor of the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of this State. Every issue. Every time. No exceptions. No excuses.

2. I do, and will continue to, oppose any and all efforts by the federal government to act beyond its Constitutional authority.

3. I will proactively introduce and support measures designed to adhere to the Tenth Amendment and preserve, to their fullest extent, the powers of the People in my district, and of the legislators and administrations of my State.

4. I will introduce, sponsor and support resolutions affirming the sovereignty of the People of this State under the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.

5. I will introduce, sponsor, and support legislation that nullifies, within my state, actions of the federal government which exceed its Constitutional authority.

6. I will introduce, sponsor and support legislation that provides such relief as is necessary and proper to provide fair redress to the citizens of my State in response to actions by the federal government which exceeds its Constitutional authority.

7. I will introduce, sponsor and support legislation which refuses federal funding made on condition that my State comply with federal mandates not authorized by the Constitution.

8. I will only vote in favor of a bill that I have thoroughly read, considered and understood.

9. I will be accountable to voters. Upon request, I will make public every vote I cast while in office.

10. I will keep this pledge public, and will provide a link on my website which directs constituents to the text of this pledge.

Mind-boggling, isn’t it?

If you go to the The 10-4 Pledge page at the website, you can see all of the pledges that have been posted by candidates from all over the USA. You can also download a copy of the pledge HERE. These 10-4 Pledges are not just for newbie candidates alone. These should be signed by incumbents who wish to keep their jobs, also.

I live in the state of Georgia. Sadly, there are only two candidates who have signed and posted the Pledge. Even the state legislators that drafted the Tenth Amendment resolution that passed in the Georgia Senate last term have not signed this Pledge.

There is a wave of anti-government sentiment slowly building in America. The Tea Party movements show that some citizens are seethingly infuriated with government, and are looking for that one solution that will return to them their freedoms.

For example, on Tuesday night, Scott Brown of Massachusetts clubbed the Democratic candidate to win Teddy Kennedy’s old Senate seat…a seat that had been Democratic for over 40 years. The race was not even close….in the Democratic fortress that is Massachusetts.

Please don’t misunderstand. Scott Brown is not the solution. Scott Brown wanted to become a member of the Washington criminal class, and he got his wish. And in my opinion, Republicans and Democrats are like identical twins that come from the same mother’s womb. Brown SAID a lot of things that sounded like principle. We’ll see if his principles will fight Leviathan or succumb to the DC blandishments of power and privilege.

Americans are beginning to understand that there are only two ways to control Washington…nullification and finally, secession. My greatest concern is that the American populace will be blind-sided by the looming economic meltdown before they can fully understand nullification and secession. But, I also believe that no force less severe than an economic collapse will focus the minds of Americans toward secession.

Secession is the Hope For Mankind. Who will be first?

DumpDC. Six Letters That Can Change History.

© Copyright 2010, Russell D. Longcore. Permission to reprint in whole or in part is gladly granted, provided full credit is given.

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