“Necessity, the tyrant's plea” - John Milton

America was born as a refuge from tyranny: Pilgrims traveled here to escape religious tyranny; protesters challenged the tyranny of the British Parliament at the Boston Tea Party; the Declaration of Independence was a poetic derision of the tyranny of King George of Great Britain over the states. It declared that God had endowed every person with the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Our National Anthem proclaims we are the land of the free and the home of the brave, and our Constitution was crafted to "secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity" Abraham Lincoln stated in the Gettysburg address: "..that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom; and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."

Freedom from tyranny is not just a serendipitous consequence of our form of government, but it is the very foundation on which our nation stands. Understanding Freedom and  tyranny is paramount to understanding who we are as Americans. It is this reason I am writing this ..It is this reason I am sounding the alarm.

Our liberties are under siege in America: not from some foreign dictator, nor from terrorists, but from within the halls of power in Washington, D.C. The very persons we have selected to represent and lead us have ushered in a brand new form of tyranny which is not limited to one political party or group; it is permeates every level of government in both major parties. 

The Republican Party, over the last several decades, has often challenged the over-reach of the Democratic Party in producing excessive regulation and taxes on citizens under the pretext of helping them. Democrats often support laws that regulate what we eat, where we live, what cars we drive, how we obtain credit, how we educate our children, and what sources of energy we use. Democrats have created laws that diminish personal responsibility and have replaced them with government welfare programs that trap citizens in poverty and balloon the national debt. Many in the Democratic Party believe that average Americans are too inept to care for themselves, their families, their environment, their finances or their communities without the assistance of the government.

  

The lines between Democrats and Republicans have blurred somewhat, in recent years, as more Republicans join with Democrats in supporting Federal programs to help people, but generally, the Republican Party stands in opposition to many of the over-reaching Democratic policy proposals that interfere with the free-market or personal responsibility. This does not mean that tyranny is the exclusive province of the Democratic Party, to the contrary, the Democrat's form of tyranny may be more obvious to those who want the Federal Government out of our personal affairs, but it is the tyranny in the Republican Party that is more akin to the type practiced by King George of Great Britain ...that is because the tyranny in the Republican Party works to remove government 'of the people, by the people, for the people.' 

GOP leadership is comprised mostly of highly educated lawyers who have spent their entire adult life working in government. About half of GOP members of Congress are classified as millionaires while only 9% in the general population. Leaders of the Republican Party include:

• Reince Priebus, Chairman of the RNC: Has worked his entire career in politics. Holds a Doctorate from the University of Miami School of Law.
• Mitch McConnell, GOP Senate Minority Leader: The longest serving U.S. Senator in Kentucky history and has spent his entire working life in government; holds a law degree from the University of Kentucky Law School. 
• Eric Cantor, GOP House Majority Leader: Holds degrees from George Washington University, Columbia University and holds a Doctorate in Law from William & Mary.  Has worked in Politics since 1982.
• Christine Todd Whitman, Co-Chair of the Republican Leadership Council: Holds a degree in Government from Wheaton College. Worked on Nelson Rockefeller's presidential campaign. Was the Governor of New Jersey and EPA administrator for George W. Bush and has spent her entire career in government.
• John Danforth, Co-Chair of the Republican Leadership Council: Holds degrees from Princeton and Yale (doctorate of law).  Served as Missouri's attorney general in 1968, was elected Senator in 1976 and retired from the Senate in 1995. Was an envoy to Sudan and representative to the U.N.

This list is just a small sampling of the types of individuals who pull-the-strings inside the Republican Party.  The resumes of these people do not resemble that of ordinary Americans. These are not the types of people our founders envisioned would be our leaders. Our founders envisioned a citizen's legislature that was in tune with the lifestyles and wishes of those they represented. I don't see that I have much in common with any of the individuals on this list. I doubt I am alone.

I am not suggesting that being highly educated or wealthy isn't laudable, but I am suggesting that leaders who listen to lawyers, pundits and wealthy elites instead of ordinary Americans that make up their constituencies break the bonds of trust in our government. The distrust that has built up over the years between the citizens and the government in America is now at an all-time high. Approval ratings for those in congress is in single-digits. Who are these people? Why and how do they keep getting elected?

The answer is.. the Republican Party doesn't trust you to govern. They believe that the ordinary citizen is not educated enough or wise enough to make the best decision about who should lead this country. They set up party rules that make it very difficult for an ordinary citizen to rise up within the party without the consent of the leadership. They believe that only a small group of very well-educated elite (that have spent their  entire careers in government) are best suited to make decisions about which candidates will succeed and which will fail. It is not an accident that nearly every GOP nominee for the President has been correctly predicted at the beginning of the contest by political pundits. It is also why over 80% of incumbents win re-election. There are lots of rules and huge sums of money spent to keep the machine running in Washington, D.C. They do allow citizens to vote in elections, but they also do a really good job of duping average Americans into perpetuating the status-quo through fear-tactics, false advertising and by discouraging participation in the process. They'd really rather you just stay out of their way.

The tyranny of the GOP is the most dangerous form of tyranny. If ordinary citizens are no longer directing this country, then we no longer have government "of the people, by the people or for the people".. we no longer have representative government. 

The two-party system in America is dangerous. Both parties have grown too large and too powerful. The voice of the common man is being silenced. It is time for the citizens of this country to actually start doing the job that was given to them by our founders..

Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed                                     - The Declaration of Independence

Blindly choosing candidates based on party affiliation, slick advertising, or name-recognition needs to stop. We have more resources than ever to learn about those who seek elected office in this country. It is time to turn off the television, quit listening to mainstream media who have a vested interest in maintaining the current Washington, D.C. power structure, and get to work learning about and choosing those who would lead us. If we don't resume this responsibility now, we may not have the opportunity to do it later.