In the more than 200 years since Americans set up a national government under their Constitution, that government has become a massive Leviathan which would be unrecognizable to the founders. Whether they consider themselves "liberal" or "conservative," a progressive or a Tea Partier, most Americans now realize that this vast centralized bureaucratic police state, dominated by corporate and political elites of both major political parties, is not "of the people, by the people, [or] for the people."
Timely Renewed: Amendments to Restore the American Constitution examines how this came about, not through the careful amendment process provided in the Constitution itself, but rather by the actions of a Supreme Court which has arrogated to itself the power to change the Constitution by a simple five vote majority. Speaking to both “liberal” and “conservative” viewpoints, it asks: Can the American people regain control over their national government?
Neither Supreme Courts nor Congresses have rolled back this unconstitutional centralization of power. Timely Renewed proposes another way to restore the power which has been taken from the American people. This is to return to our foundational document, the Constitution. To achieve this, Timely Renewed sets out a series of specific amendments to the Constitution restating the original understandings for our time. These proposed amendments recognize that we are not in the world of 1787. They take account of modern conditions, showing how the original constitutional understandings can not only function in our times, but reverse the centralization of power which is robbing us of our prosperity and freedom.
The first of these is an "amendment amendment" which restores to the States the ability to initiate constitutional amendments, thereby ending the congressional and judicial monopoly over our founding document. It opens the way for true grassroots participation in determining the meaning of our Constitution. Ten other proposed amendments then seek to restore the original constitutional meanings and allocations of power which have been most abused by our national government in all its branches. These include war powers, interstate commerce, and the first, second and fourteenth amendments.
Whether or not one agrees with all of the proposed amendments, or believes that other amendments are also urgent, Timely Renewed provides critical insight into how our Constitution became so misused, and offers a specific strategy for repairing and restoring it. The Constitution declares that it is by "We, the People." Timely Renewed shows how we, the people, can take back our Constitution.
