In 2004, a Republican-majority Congress, with good intentions, required virtually all public schools and colleges in America to “hold an education program on the U.S. Constitution” each year on September 17.
Unfortunately, Stockton University, like most public schools and colleges in America, is run by “progressive” Democrats. Day after day, year after year, they teach students that our Constitution, like the rest of America, was created by the wrong people for the wrong reasons. They teach that our Constitution is a flawed document to be ignored, circumvented, or “fundamentally transformed”. Tomorrow, as in past years, Stockton will be holding an “Anti-Constitution Day” on September 17.
This year’s “keynote speaker” is Joan Biskupic, a full-time CNN analyst. She is also the author of a biography of John Roberts, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Roberts was the key swing-vote who switched his vote at the last minute to uphold Obamacare in 2012. In so doing, Roberts completely ignored the plain language of the Constitution, the statute, and a century of precedent.
Last year, Stockton University featured another CNN contributor, Julian E. Zelizer as its “keynote speaker” for Constitution Day. Other “Constitution Day” speakers at Stockton included Former NJ Governor Jim Florio, Eugene Robinson, Anita Hill, Adam Winkler, and Akhil Reed Amar.
Every speaker, in one way or another either ignored or blatantly misrepresented the basic purpose and language of our Constitution, to advance a “progressive” Democrat political agenda. Last year’s speaker, Adam Winkler, trashed both the First and Second Amendments.
During the “Constitution Day” of 2016, keynote speaker Akhil Reed Amar said very little about the U.S. Constitution. However, he did compare Barack Obama to Abraham Lincoln and Trump supporters to slave-owning Confederates, and looked forward to the “certain” election of Hillary Clinton that November.
Here some of the tactics used by “progressive” Democrats at Stockton to undermine our Constitution and America:
They describe the Framers of our Constitution as a handful of “rich white men”. They do this to promote the false idea that the “self-evident truths” that created our country no longer apply to America today. They fail to mention that many, like Benjamin Franklin, grew up poor, and worked long and hard to become prosperous. Or of how many, like George Washington, encountered insults and discrimination by British aristocrats. Or of the courage they showed has they faced danger and hardships during eight years of war against the most powerful empire in the world. Or how most were married to strong, smart, educated women and who shared their opinions and ran their homes, businesses, and politics as a family unit.
They ignore the timeless wisdom of our founding fathers about human nature and character. The fail to mention how their unique combination of knowledge from books, discussions, and practical experience made their wisdom about human nature and character were respected and admired around the world. The government they created recognized that humans are complicated and flawed creatures. The knew from experience how great leaders and heroes like Benedict Arnold could also be corrupt politicians and traitors. They knew how the power, money, and fame attracted the wrong people to government and politics for the wrong reasons, and that it was important to define and limit the powers of all politicians. They learned from the failures of the French Revolution how quickly and easily good people were persuaded to follow evil men to commit the most horrible crimes against innocent people. That subject has not been discussed in any of the Stockton “Constitution Day” programs so far.
Stockton’s “Constitution Day” program completely ignores the “enumerated” powers of Article I, Section 8 and the 9th and 10th Amendments as being the most critical parts of the U.S. Constitution. Not a single “keynote speaker” even mentioned it! The purpose of that key section was to make sure the national government only used its money and power to do things state and local governments could not do on their own. They instead refer only to preambles that refer to the vague goal of promoting “the general Welfare” before listing very specific and limited purposes and uses of federal power.
Stockton’s “Constitution Day” program does not tolerate diversity of opinion. Speakers who do not use “Constitution Day” to promote a radical and “progressive” Democratic Party agenda are systematically excluded. Stockton does not invite speakers to defend the First Amendment in the “Citizens United” case. It does not invite speakers who question the Constitutionality of federal laws that limit the right of citizens to financially support candidates. It does not invite speakers who defend individual gun rights under the Second Amendment. It does not invite speakers who question the Obamacare decision. Stockton does not invited speakers who criticize the unprecedented and blatantly unconstitutional spying and investigations by officials in the FBI and U.S. Justice Department against President Trump and his supporters. Stockton does not invite speakers who support the enforcement of federal immigration laws, or who oppose “diversity” quotas in hiring, promotions, college admissions, or scholarships.
Groups of volunteers like ours cannot win support for our Constitution and America as founded, when so many of our tax funded institutions systematically undermine our work like this. Please support our efforts to change this.