Restore Our Republic 2012: The Most Dangerous Political Strategy Ever

Restore Our Republic 2012

What is Restore Our Republic 2012?  It is designed to be a comprehensive political strategy, deeply rooted in the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. Political tactics are based on Sun Tzu’s Art Of War. Activists involved agree to adhere to a strict moral code and the rule of law.

By Phil Pepin

In my previous article  “Why Elections ,The Tea Party and Activism will fail to save the Republic,  the root cause identified for the failure of  reform efforts is a corrupt political system. That corruption is caused by people who lust for power and are willing to use immoral tactics to obtain and keep  power.  Immoral people have a unifying plan motivated by their lust for power. Moral people must have a unifying plan as well but based on moral principals with the  goal of seeking wisdom not power.  The plan is a political strategy entitled Restore Our Republic 2012 .

This strategy is a narrowly focused concept targeting corruption of the political system. It includes party rule changes that will hold candidates accountable with the force of  Law.  I will go into more detail about the power of political  parties and the supremacy of party rules over state law later in this article.  The political activist who developed this strategy is an expert parliamentarian who through experience and observation has identified the key factors necessary for the successful reformation of the system.  It is important to understand that this is a political war for the very existence of our Republic. Measures called for in the this strategy are not superficial but deep structural changes with the goal of opening up the process to be fair thereby making efforts for reforming our government attainable.

Key Factors Summary:

• Unity
• The Controllable & Uncontrollable
• Philosophy Is Everything
• Discipline

1.Unity

Without unity no plan for reform will ever succeed. Tyrants who lust for power have long ago learned  tactics for dividing their opposition. There are key factors that lead to division among moral people trying to change the system. It’s important to recognize what divides and take steps to avoid it.

Issues: People have strong  feelings about issues they believe in. That passion is both necessary and destructive.  It’s a necessary motivator to get things done but is also manipulated by tyrants to divide and conquer. Project 2012 as stated above is narrowly focused on eliminating the corrupted process. Issues other then the goals stated in the plan are irrelevant to eliminating corruption and must be set aside so that diverse groups can come together under a unifying plan.  This is not going to be easy it will require a change in behavior.

Heroes & Cult of Personality:  You don’t have to look far before you see plenty of people seeking a hero to come rescue America. Recently to some, Sarah Palin has emerged as an energetic leader of modern Conservatism. To her opponents, she is shallow and lacks understanding of complicated issues. To a growing number of people, Congressman Ron Paul is a hero for his fidelity to the Constitution. To others he’s an eccentric obstructionist. President Obama has taken political hero worship to new heights. Not surprisingly,  America is becoming even more polarized  because of the deep divides on issues between his followers and his opponents.

Leaders of a movement are a natural part of the political process. It becomes a problem when people looking for a hero use it as an excuse to not take action, or their focus is only on the success of their hero. We have to recognize that the political system even corrupted is still republican in it’s structure. Simply sending a handful of honest politicians will not accomplish any meaningful reform without a clear majority. Even with a majority, if they are not unified and prepared to remove the unconstitutional concentrations of power their efforts will likely fail. The republican form of governance can be used to protect freedom but it also can be used to bring about tyranny. The most recent example was Nazi Germany.

Time is the enemy of unity because political activism is a thankless hard job that does not pay a dime. Asking people to devote the effort necessary can only feasibly be maintained for a limited amount of time. Project 2012 major reforms are designed to only take one to two election cycles for a total of 4 years max, to bring about major reform. The creator of the concept recognized after years of observation that political movements like Ross Perot’s followers in the late 80′s and the modern Tea Party are living on borrowed time. The Tea Party is already showing signs of disunity with a internal battle over the philosophical direction of the movement.

2. The Controllable & Uncontrollable

The concept behind Project 2012 will work equally well in both major political parties. For simplicity and because of my experience and that of the creator of the concept, the focus of the rest of the article will be about the Republican Party. It’s critical to understand that reforms can only take place from inside the system. Attempts to reform from outside the political system exclusively have had only extremely limited success; in reality nothing fundamental has been accomplished.

The next enemy of reform efforts is people trying to change things they have no control over and ignore the things they can control. The cold hard reality is those who lust for power have perverted the process creating a two political party monopoly. The combination of skewed election laws supported by the judicial system, and mainstream media bias has created an impossible hurdle for third parties to overcome. Even now with both major political parties having historically low membership and polling numbers, there is no evidence that a massive enough realignment has occurred towards any third party to achieve electability. We are at least a decade away from that happening and time is our enemy. Independents for the most part swing back and forth between the two major parties.

We must remind ourselves that a republican form of governance is all about numbers, getting a majority and just as important, a united majority. It’s also critical to realize that a political party is a system, it’s neither good nor evil. It’s the people who determine moral direction; change the people and you change the party and eventually you change the country. In a moral republican form of governance you have a right to try to win but you don’t have a right to win. When you believe you have a right to win you have crossed over to the dark side and you will use immoral means to accomplish your goals. Clearly immoral people have rigged the system to create the two party monopoly but they are human and all humans are fallible. It’s the monopoly itself that is ultimately it’s weakness. In any battle be it political or physical, a weakness must be exploited to achieve victory. Meaningful reform has failed repeatedly because people have not recognized they have put all their focus on things they have no control over. Tea Parties, marches and rallies in Washington DC, confrontations at town hall meetings – all are important and worthy efforts but without the inside political approach, they will ultimately fail to reform the system.

Corrupt politicians have the very powerful shield of government and mainstream media on the their side protecting the status quo. Elections have minimal effect because the core of the system is corrupt. Career politicians are the enemy of reform. With only extraordinarily rare exceptions, incumbency breeds corruption. Project 2012 has as a high priority term limits to be imposed on all politicians both state and federal who run as Republicans. Term limits must be imposed from within the political party. The courts have struck down attempts by State Governments to impose term limits. Unless all 50 states do it simultaneously it’s hard to imagine the courts will allow term limits because it is not applied equally. It’s out of our control to make that happen through State Government, however, not through the political party system. It’s not only possible the numbers needed are amazingly small.

The critical difference that makes this possible is when a political party applies term limits it has a right to protect it’s political philosophy and essentially it’s a private entity not government. A state party rule could be passed that demands politicians that run as Republicans, must adhere to term limits or they will not be allowed to run as a Republican. Party crossovers are rare and success is marginal at best. Thanks to the two party monopoly running successfully as an independent is even less likely. Abraham Lincoln was forced to abide by the “rotation rule” imposed on all members of the Whig Party and only served one term in congress.

3. Philosophy Is Everything

The Republican Party has a platform that states it’s overall political philosophy. It’s the disconnect between the way politicians govern once elected and the philosophy of the Republican Party that has been a source of great frustration and is one of the most serious forms of corruption. Basically its using deception to get elected. Once elected, incumbents are hard to remove. One recent example is the nomination of John McCain in his bid for reelection. as Senator. Even though he had a very serious challenger in the 2010 Primary he still won. Philosophy is everything; it’s what guides every decision and without knowing what a candidate’s true philosophy is, it’s impossible to make an informed decision. A party rule could be passed that requires all Republican Candidates to express their position on the planks of the State Republican Platform in writing and signed as an official document. If they don’t comply they cannot run as a Republican. It’s not ethical to demand that a candidate must support every plank – I don’t agree with some of the planks. It is however ethical and I believe critically important to determine their stands on the planks. If they lied and govern differently then what they claimed, the signed document can be used as evidence to strip the offending politician of their party affiliation. Once again the two party monopoly is turned on the immoral politicians.

4. Discipline

Immoral people impose strict discipline upon their ranks to insure unity. Moral people will not respond to that type of approach; the discipline must primarily be internal. However there are tools that can help maintain discipline. Signing an agreement to adhere to the principals of Project 2012 can be very helpful. The agreement is not legally binding but is a moral pledge. It would be similar to a pledge a person gives when entering the military or that of an elected official.

The McClellan Syndrome: A term to describe someone who is always preparing, but never acts upon that preparation. This can happen to all of us. There are those who advocate we must spend years educating the public on issues . I agree that is an essential part of reform, however there is a danger that all that happens is we have increasing numbers of well informed slaves. One only needs to take a casual look at the break neck speed at which government control is expanding.

The Supremacy Of Party Rules Over State Law

The rights of political parties flow primarily from two constitutional sources: the right of association protected by the First and Fourteenth Amendments, and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The right to associate is a penumbral right not expressly granted by the Constitution, but implied through the First Amendment rights to speech, petition and assembly.

Here is a small sample of court cases that have constantly held that political party rules dealing with the internal workings of the party have supremacy over state law and state agencies. It’s very important to stress that these samples are not an endorsement of those rules but a look at how the court supports the rights of a political party to protect it’s philosophy. That philosophy is expressed every two years though the platform and party rules. If you don’t like the platform you can work together to change it.

California: Democratic Party v. Jones

Case in which the United States Supreme Court held that California’s blanket primary violates a political party’s First Amendment freedom of association.

In 1996, Proposition 198 changed the State’s partisan primary from a closed primary, in which only a political party’s members can vote on its nominees, to a blanket primary, in which each voter’s ballot lists every candidate regardless of party affiliation and allows the voter to choose freely among them. The candidate of each party who wins the most votes is that party’s nominee for the general election. Source: lp.findlaw.com

Texas: The Republican Party of Texas v. Dietz

In April 1996, The Log Cabin Republicans of Texas applied for an exhibitor’s booth at the 1996 Republican Party of Texas Convention which began on June 20. As part of the booth application, LCR agreed to abide by the rules and regulations issued by the Republican Party of Texas for the convention. One of these rules allowed the Republican Party “the right to restrict exhibits which, because of undue noise, method of operation, material, content, or any other reason, become objectionable”. Because the Republican Party’s conduct in denying LCR a booth and advertisement at the convention is an internal party affair rather than an integral part of the election process, the Republican Party is not a state actor under the undisputed facts of this case. Therefore, LCR cannot maintain its state constitutional claims against the Party, and the district court abused its discretion in issuing an injunction based on these claims. Source: lp.findlaw.com

TExas: Kucinich 2008 v. Texas Democratic Party

On December 28, 2007, Dennis Kucinich, a candidate for President, submitted an application to TDP to be placed on the March 4, 2008, primary ballot. Under Texas law, subject to minimal restraints, political parties are exclusively permitted to adopt rules that govern the placement of their candidates on the presidential primary ballot. The Rules of the Texas Democratic Party, which are adopted at the state convention every two years, require each presidential candidate to execute a party loyalty oath. On his signed ballot application, however, Kucinich crossed out the portion of the oath that required him to “swear that I will fully support the Democratic nominee for President whoever that shall be.” On January 2, 2008, TDP informed Kucinich that his candidacy would not be certified to the Texas Secretary of State for the presidential primary ballot unless he re-signed the application with the full oath. Kucinich responded that he would only support a nominee who would not employ war as an instrument of foreign policy. Conclusion: This court need not judge the wisdom or utility of the TDP oath requirement. We do affirm, for the foregoing reasons, that it does not violate the Constitution. Source: lp.findlaw.com

Ultimate Goals Of Restore Our Republic 2012

We will work to break up power concentrations, from the precinct all the way to Washington DC, establish self-determination rules, term limits, and parliamentary principles. We will target influence advantages, expose graft and corruption mechanisms. The combination of the Seniority System, Gerrymandering , 17th Amendment, and the 1911 law limiting Representation, has created the conditions for a chronic cycle of corruption.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government…excerpt from the Declaration of Independence

Seniority System In Congress

The effect of the seniority system on the Federal Government can be explained by three facts: 1) most of the real work in Congress is done in and by committees; 2) the chairmen of these committees have vast, often dictatorial influence over the legislation that falls within their realms; 3) with almost no exceptions, these chairmen have gained their exalted positions for the simple reason that they have been on their committees longer than anyone else in the majority party, which, of course, always controls the committees. The seniority rule thus gives the U.S. the peculiar distinction of having the only legislative gerontocracy on the globe.” Gerald Clarke Time Magazine Dec 4 1970

Gerrymandering

Tactic to divide territory into election districts giving one political party an electoral majority in a large number of districts while concentrating the voting strength of the opposition in as few districts as possible.

1911 Law Limiting House Of Representative Size

In 1911 the number of Representatives was limited to 435. Because of that law congressional districts have exploded in population to over 700,000 . It’s far easier to have special interest control a fewer amount of Representatives. With the combination of gerrymandering, a Congressional District encompasses large areas that have no geographical ties to each other. For example District 23 in Texas, starts in San Antonio and meanders all the way up to El Paso. The candidates spend most of their time in the densely populated areas and little in the towns of West Texas. Increased representation means “We The People” will be able to hold a politician accountable far easier then is possible now. People in smaller communities will have the representation they are entitled to.

17th Amendment

“In the original design by the Framers of the U.S. Constitution, there was an effective check on Congress through the state legislatures’ power to appoint (and remove) United States Senators.

As such, the core of the problem with state’s rights issues lies in the passage of the 17th Amendment in 1913, which abrogated the state legislatures’ right to appoint United States Senators in favor of popular election of those officials. This amendment created a fundamental structural problem which, irrespective of the political party in office, or the laws in effect at any one time, will result, over time, in expanding federal control in every area.The 17th Amendment caused a failure in the federalist structure, federal deficit spending, inappropriate federal mandates, and federal control over a number of state institutions.”

Source: October 23, 2000 by John MacMullin, Ludwig von Mises Institute

Political Tactics

The most powerful political position in the country is the Precinct Chair.

“It does not take a majority to prevail.. but rather an irate, tireless minority, keen on setting brushfires of freedom in the minds of men.” Samuel Adams

Project 2012 is the ultimate grassroots concept because it must start at the precinct level.  Those committed to the Project should seek to fill any vacant Precinct Chairman seats.  The County Executive has the authority to fill any vacant seats. If the position is occupied build a relationship with the current Chairman and let them know your desire to be a state delegate. It’s important to find out who is like minded in your neighborhood and show up together at your Precinct Convention at the close of the polls during the 2012 primary. Networking with other people that comprise the members of your Senatorial District is important.  That’s the next step in the process towards the state convention.

Learn The Rules Commit to Training

A big part of Project 2012 is to conduct training to get people prepared to assert their rights in the Republican Party.  It will include training on how to guide important resolutions through the process.  Critical to the success is to have both offensive and defensive tactics and being prepared for enacting the critical rule changes at the state convention.

Project 2012 Patriots

The project is being planned two years in advance of the next state convention because the most important element is “We The People”.  It’s going to take time to promote  the plan and recruit people. In Texas we have determined that the number of delegates needed to be able to achieve victory at the state convention is 3000 committed patriots. They must be willing to stand up to the attacks and will pledge to fulfill the goals of Restore Our Republic 2012.  I’m not going to sugarcoat how hard it will be, stiff opposition is a certainty.  Those who lust for power will do anything to keep it.  Expect to be lied about, and lied to, back-stabbed and a whole host of dirty tricks.  The people who have perverted the political process count on people to give up.  The Republican Party does not belong to them – it is open to anyone who will abide by it’s just rules and are willing to participate.

Project 2012 Candidates

Electing candidates committed to the ultimate goals of Project 2012 is the other half of the concept. Like the 2012 Patriots, it is important to recruit candidates who will commit to breaking up the concentrations of power. They must pledge to make every effort to achieve the reforms discussed in this article.

Project 2012 Leaders

In order for political tactics to have maximum effectiveness a coordinated effort must be planned . This will require experienced activists to assume leadership roles in promotion, training and  executing the political tactics.  The role of “Commanding General” who behind the scenes develops strategies is ideally filled by an experienced parliamentarian. Leaders of political organizations ,  pastors or other people experienced with public relations are good candidates for the “Battlefield General” who promotes and executes the plan.

There will be a database of support information made available for those interested in being Project 2012 Leaders. For more information and to get involved with this effort contact Phil Pepin via email: bexarrfc[at]yahoo[dot]com

Much of the background for this project comes from the work of Robert X. Johnson through the years.  He is a registered parliamentarian and resides in Texas.  You can hear him talk about Tactics for the Good Guys (video format) regarding parliamentary procedure and power properly used and properly applied for the protection of all people.

Phil Pepin  is a constitutionalist,  who has been a political activist for over 18 years.  His experience includes coordinating major fundraisers for candidates and producing political radio ads.  On April 15 2009,  Phil was a guest speaker at the  nationally televised San Antonio Tea Party  held in front of the Alamo. “War On Economic Freedom”

Originally published Sep 13, 2010 @ 3:00

Self Organization Slime Molds and the Liberty Movement

I have been studying slime molds, the structure of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) ,  Chaos Theory, open source software and the structure of the world wide web itself trying to grasp the nature of the phenomenon demonstrated by the Ron Paul inspired movement.  I found that the common elements of it exist universally and the principles create many of the most durable organizations.    The concept is new to me but this “emergent intelligence” is as old as it gets.  From single celled independent organisms to great networks of people worldwide, a common theme appears.  I may have stumbled upon the term to describe the quality that makes the aesthetically unappealing example of the slime mold uniquely successful.   Chaordic

 

What is Chaordic organization?

Here it is in a nutshell; it is a system of organization that exhibits characteristics of both chaos and order but is dominated by neither.

The term was coined by Dee Hock, founder and CEO of VISA USA and VISA international.  He paired two seemingly polar terms, chaos and order, to describe a system that encompasses both but is dominated by neither.  In his book Birth of the Chaotic Age, chaordic is defined in this manner:

1. The behavior of any self-governing organism, organization, or system which harmoniously blends characteristics of order and chaos.

2. Patterned in a way dominated by neither chaos nor order.

3. Characteristic of the fundamental organizing principles of evolution and nature

http://www.amazon.com/Birth-Chaordic-Age-Dee-Hock/dp/1576750744

The structure as well as the nature of this movement is as fascinating as its unifying principle.  The individuals that comprise the liberty movement are, by far, among the most honorable of people I have ever had the pleasure of mingling with.  They have earned my faith in them.  Every obstacle they have encountered has been surmounted in as reasonable and ethical manner possible, proving to me that the tenants of individual freedom are truly born of the natural order of existence.

What I hope to gain by studying slime molds and the emergent organizational structure of self-help groups like AA is a solid understanding of this “unstructure” so that I can help to better maximize the movement’s strengths and avoid the pitfalls that inevitably lead to the destruction of artificially imposed hierarchies such as the two party political system in the U.S.

Natural law is simply benign justice and nothing will survive for long that tries to operate apart from that principle.

I don’t want to give the impression that successful emergent, chaordic movements are utterly without rules.  They aren’t.  Rather, this sort or organization has a few basic but hard and fast rules that are central to its success.   But it’s really nothing difficult, the requirements are to do what they are naturally hardwired to do plus communicate and respond.

Slime molds are content, peaceful creatures that in a suitable environment do nothing more than absorb, excrete, repeat.  (The human equivalent might be a “couch potato”) but when a problem arises that threatens its simplistic existence-they spring into action!  (ok-maybe “spring” is a bit much) in truth, they simply respond by emitting an enzyme.  This enzyme is the slime mold equivalent of the human exclamation along the lines of “OMG”!  One hard and fast rule for slime molds is that when the “OMG!” signal is sensed from a fellow slime mold they must respond in kind (“OMG”!-“OMG”!) and immediately proceed towards the source of the exclamation.

All slime molds react this way.  The ‘OMG!–gather-OMG! gather’ soon reaches critical mass and this leaderless colony is now, in all practicality, an entirely new organism owed to their spectacular singularity of purpose which is to survive the hostile shift that is taking place in their common environment.  Now what do these creatures have so in common that it breeds such indispensable unity?  Well, first of all they have similarity of physical structure and have the same certain requirements to sustain their existence.

Here is where the lowly slime mold takes on an inexplicable but verifiable trait that I find so fascinating.   Certain groupings of critters can exhibit abilities that actually exceed the sum total of its parts.  What this means is that when these guys get together something almost magical happens; as a group these creatures are capable of feats that is beyond the capacity of any single member alone.  This phenomenon is not due to the additive effect of their numbers.

For example; one person cannot move an object that 2 or 3 or 5 can because of the additive effect of their strength.  That is not what I am talking about. Its more like a group gaining the ability to levitate the object as opposed to simply moving it. This sort of cooperative group can do what is individually, impossible.  Even more fascinating, they do it without any one in charge.

When you see these clusters emerge for the first time, there’s something undeniably magical in the sight. The brain somehow wants to find a leader in the collective, despite the fact that it knows intellectually that the pattern is forming via the laws of self-organization. –Steven Johnson

If you are curious and want to know more about the slime molds and the quality of emergence, here is a link that gives a brief explanation of Steve Johnson’s concepts based on his book Emergence: The Connected Lives of Ants, Brains, Cities, and Software.

http://contemporarylit.about.com/od/socialsciences/fr/emergence.htm

Slime molds are expert at clustering.  That is, they know how to come together when the going gets tough.  It is what makes them a successful species.  What they are not so great at is coping.

 

Coping refers to the ability of a group to respond intelligently to the changing environment.  And the faster they can respond, the better.

Ants demonstrate this coping ability. They have no central commander that orders them, instead they seem to recognize when there is an imbalance and they naturally make adjustments accordingly.  Task allocation, for example, when there are too many ants working on one specific task, the others take note of this and automatically switch tasks until the right balance is gained.

They don’t worry, fret or fuss over it, they just do it.  All of this cooperation is cemented by the fact that the ants share a one overriding purpose in common; they want to live and to survive any hostile intrusions.

For human socio-political groupings, they have their particular common aims which brought them together in the first place.  The common denominator for these groups must be a strong bond for them to cluster together at all because we do it on a strictly voluntary basis.

As our political environment becomes increasingly hostile to those who cannot tolerate the degree of lost self determination or personal liberty, we will see just how many truly hold human liberty to be a core value.  If it is a core value for as many Americans as I believe it to be, then we best prepare ourselves for a true coalition of strange bedfellows and loosen our dependence on hierarchical structures.

We are, of course, much more complex than the critters I previously mentioned and to organize in a fashion that allows for the necessary flexibility we will need to survive and thrive will take some thought.

There are a few existing structures that we can look to and learn from.

Hat tip to a good friend that shared with me the method behind the success of AA meetings.  Not that I would be ashamed to have firsthand knowledge of how this organization is structured but fortunately, what I am addicted to and what many others obviously are as well, has no cure and that is simply being let alone.

The Twelve Traditions of Alcoholics Anonymous are a large part of that organizations longevity. There is no centralized leadership and anyone can start a group by following the principles of the organization.  I don’t know if all of them are applicable to grassroots political movements but at least some of their operational tenets are extremely valuable.  One thing really stands out about AA, no attention is diverted from their mission by bad publicity about the organization itself.  In fact, the organization receives very little attention at all.  This, I think is remarkable.

http://silkworth.net/aa/12traditions.html

We could learn a thing or two from ants, slime molds and recovering alcoholics.

The most successful movements are ones that freely share knowledge and have a clearly defined purpose that many can claim as a value. .  The more resonant the message the greater chances of success otherwise your movement will be downgraded to a “fringe group”.  The ability to keep our eyes on the prize and to tolerate inconsequential differences will have to increase proportionately if the group is to benefit from widespread support of their cause. If the cause is true and the threat to it real, the movement will be unstoppable.

Networks that communicate freely can respond rapidly to shifting dynamics and a wide distribution of easily accessible knowledge lessens the chance that the movement can be decapitated by removal or co opting of a key leader.  Individuals should be both self reliant and cooperative, comfortable with leading an initiative as well as following as the situation requires.

The lack of formalized hierarchy permits great innovation and grassroots movements make up for what they lack against a powerful establishment in this arena.  We should take great care not to constrain participants by rendering them dependent on designated leadership.

There is no need for organizing to be so difficult.  We cannot generate the energy that gives rise to a movement anymore than we can generate the waves in the ocean but we can certainly learn to surf the Big Kahuna when it comes our way.

After that, communication, responsiveness and feedback are the absolutely essential elements of a successful movement.

AxXiom
[Editor's note:  AxXiom originally published this work elsewhere and the piece has been specially updated and graphics added for R3publicans everywhere.  Thanks Ax and we love you bunches!  You can see more of her work and research efforts on her website.  You can frequently find her at the Oklahoma State Capitol when they are in session 'lobbying' for the grassroots and advocating for liberty in our land!]