American’s need to re-learn what the 10th amendment is and what it is about. The Constitution is the supreme law of the land and no entity is above it.  Laws contrary to the Constitution, the highest law in the lans, is no law at all. Yet this is the central question of the day- can an act or an executive order that violates the Constitution be legal?

The Declaration of Independence lays the foundation for the Constitution. It contains “inalienable” rights that men possess by virtue of their humanity and the primary purpose of government is protection of those rights. In our government, the people are the sovereigns. The 10th amendment is an explicit statement of those rights. What America faces is an accumulation of violations of the Constitution.

We must be able to face the fact that the federal government including the Supreme court is in violation of the law, the Constitution, constantly. We now must clearly state that fact, that the government is the lawbreaker, or we cannot pull out of the tail spin. The government is currently behaving as if we belong to it but in reality it belongs to us. The Constitutional Convention rejected the idea that there could be a broad, liberal interpretation  of the Constitution.

There are 2 views of the Constitution and Key quoted extensively from Dr. Thomas DiLorenzeo’s book Hamilton’s Curse regarding Alexander Hamilton’s belief in a ruling elite class and a broad and expansive interpretation. He also quotes John Taylor’s book New Views of the Constitution regarding a narrow and strict constructionist interpretation ala Jefferson. Jefferson’s view is, of course, the view that liberty advocates adhere to. Hamilton’s view allows the federal government to usurp any power that they can twist from deliberately mis-reading the clauses of the Constitution. When we violate the Constitution we kill it a little each time. The damage is cumulative.

With the death of the Constitution, society itself is in retreat as the federal government advances. The passage of the 16th amendment is one of the most intrusive burdens yet passed. But the 17th amendment is one of the most damaging to the federal structure of the government, thus keeping the pivotal 10th amendment at bay. The removal of state government representatives from the federal government allowed the federal to override the state government’s wishes.

In Oklahoma atleast 100 bills are expected in 2010 acting on state sovereignty issues. Key called for more candidates with knowledge of constitutional issues. He said we must call federal criminals just that, we need to challenge every elected official to be faithful to their oaths of office or they should be labeled what they are- enemies of the Constitution, we need states to demand repeal of the 17th amendment, citizens need to support legislators willing to stand up for the sovereignty of states. Key explained that the Oklahoma sovereignty resolution was not originally his idea and has been around since the 1970’s but that it bounced around for years. But it was only a first step; a notification that the states are serving notice that they know what’s going on. Key admonished constitutionalists to stay positive and stop think that all is already lost.