Republican Party
Ninth District Ben Brandon

Why Bother with the Oath of Office?

In the early part of the twentieth century, journalist and satirist H.L. Mencken likened elections to "sort of an advance auction of stolen goods." What makes this an interesting observation is that at the time most people running for federal office at least paid lip service to the idea that our elected officials, especially the President, should take their oath of office to "uphold and defend the Constitution" seriously. I think if he were alive today he'd get a real chuckle out of watching some of the people campaigning for the country's highest office.

If you listen to every Democrat candidate for office you would be hard pressed to tell if they think they have any knowledge of, much less respect for, the Constitution at all. Their litany of new programs, services and promises of even more unconstitutional government involvement in the lives of citizens is mind-boggling to those of us who just want to vote for a candidate who would actually take the oath of office seriously.

Take a look at some of the things being promised by the candidates. For instance, virtually all the Democrat candidates want to provide "universal health care" for every citizen. Where exactly can I look in the Constitution to find the authority for the federal government to do that? The answer is nowhere. It isn't permitted by the Constitution. Forget the fact that it isn't permitted for a moment and ask who's going to pay for it. The answer is your great grandchildren will end up footing the bill if they're successful in getting "free universal healthcare" passed.

Alexis De Tocqueville, the famous French philosopher, once warned: "[America] can only exist until the voters discover they can vote themselves largess out of the public treasury." For decades now liberal politicians have mastered the art of political "largess" to the point that the bottom 50% of taxpayers in this country pay less than 4% of the total income taxes that are paid. The top 50% pay the other 96%. Where do you think the most ardent supporters of this "free" healthcare benefit are located, in the top 50% or the bottom 50%? Who will they vote for to get their "free" healthcare? This isn't hard to figure out.

Sadly, by ignoring the purpose of the Constitution, to protect the God-given rights of the citizens, our political process has turned into Oprah Winfrey type campaigns of style over substance where political pandering trumps the rule of law and a candidate openly crying the day before the primary can swing election results.

At the rate we're going with the ever-expanding unconstitutional role of the federal government it's only a matter of time before it tries to tell you what the fuel economy of your car has to be, how much water your flush toilet can use and whether or not you can use an incandescent light bulb in your house. Oops, wait a minute, it's already done that, too late.

Isn't it time we demanded that candidates at least be held to the oath of office they have to take to get sworn in?

Ben Brandon, Rising Fawn, is the Dade County Executive/Commission Chairman and holds a BS from Georgia Tech and MBA from Kennesaw State University. Prior to his election in Dade County, Brandon worked in the private sector for several corporations, including AT&T and Swiss Air.