IMPACT 100/100/100

The hour is late and the situation is dire. The United States of America is the only nation founded as a constitutional republic based upon a Judeo-Christian worldview with negative, inalienable rights; a constitution which chains down the government rather than the people. And as you know, we are quickly losing this Republic and the Constitutional chains are daily being broken. Religious freedom, free speech, bearing arms, property rights, privacy, security, due process, speedy trial, and on and on . . . . the Constitutional violations seem without end. But, we have a strategy and it may be a little different than anything you’ve considered.

Federal elections are expensive . . . very expensive. According to Open Secrets data, a typical US House seat will cost well over $1 million per candidate with more expensive seats costing $10 million or more. For US Senate seats, multiply by 10 times. A typical Senate seat will cost $10 million with numerous races having a cost of $100 million or more each. When adding the non-financial factors it becomes clear that deploying resources toward Congressional races is less effective than the same resources deployed in state and local races.

But, how can winning state races and issues make a difference?

The 10th Amendment states, “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” Certainly the federal government has pushed the limits of its authority in every way particularly under the Supremacy Clause and the Interstate Commerce Clause as well as the Necessary and Proper Clause and the General Welfare Clause. However, individual states, both progressive and conservative, have demonstrated the effectiveness of standing between the federal government and the people using the power of state government. This could be through either nullification or interposition. But how are these tactics possible and will they even hold up?

Jefferson called it “the rightful remedy” to federal overreach, Madison put it a different way, saying a state is “duty bound” to interpose “to arrest the progress of the evil.”

Tenth Amendment Center

The nullification principal was first used in a formal manner under the current Constitution by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison through the Resolutions of 1798 in Kentucky and Virginia, however the principles predate the Constitution itself (Tenth Amendment Center). Similar principals continue to be used today. Recent successful examples include:

• Colorado’s decriminalization of Cannabis
• California’s sanctuary state laws
• Mississippi’s opposition to abortion

Certainly there are also instances where these efforts have not yet been successful, such as the Montana Firearms Freedom Act. But, that doesn’t mean there is no legitimacy to this strategy. Montana has not given up and instead has taken a page out of the California playbook using interposition rather than nullification with an enforcement prevention act, which will prevent any state or local law enforcement from enforcing or assisting with enforcement of federal gun law. In truth, progressives have been more successful in such strategies because they have been more willing to continually pursue these strategies. And, the underpinnings of the use of such methods is based in the fact that the states formed the federal government and empowered it with certain, limited powers, rather than the other way around. In truth, the states retain their sovereignty to oppose Congress in securing the rights of the people. And . . .

The fact is that state representation and legislation have the greatest impact on our lives; just consider the differences today of living in California as compared to living in Florida.

Most people would consider the State of Tennessee and its legislature and leadership to be red, conservative, and/or liberty minded. In truth, we have significant challenges yet to overcome. Whether its tax advocacy legislation, wasteful spending, progressive policies in state schools, or an unwillingness to stand against the federal government, we still have a great deal of work ahead of us. Yes, Tennessee has a strong Republican majority in most parts of the state and offices, but unreasonably high numbers of these Republicans are completely ignorant of the US and Tennessee Constitutions and moreover are spineless when it comes to standing for liberty in the face of opposition.

Today’s State Legislators and State Senators are tomorrow’s Federal Congressional and Senatorial Candidates. To obtain Federal liberty leaders, we need state leaders willing to stand up at the Tennessee State level . . . legislators who have read the Constitution and who will vote based on their pledge.

The facts are:

• We have some great Tennessee State Liberty Legislators . . . but there just aren’t enough yet to form a block of significant influence.
• We have some very weak legislators who really need to be replaced with Liberty Legislators
• Our Liberty Legislators come under attack by the establishment and monied interest who are pouring funds into primary races to elect progressive Republicans In Name Only.
• A new strategy by the Democrat Party is to encourage progressives who say they are one thing when in reality they are another to run on the GOP ticket.
• Another new Democrat Party Strategy is encouraging their progressive voters to crossover vote in primaries supporting the most progressive GOP candidate.

Our focus continues to be what it has been for the last decade and it has been effective, but we need your assistance to take it to the next level! Our strategy has been:

• Focus on State Races
  • Support the liberty candidate in the primary
  • Oppose the progressive candidate in the primary
  • Assist strong liberty candidates in any tight general races
• Focus on State Legislation
  • Support or Oppose swing votes on key issues in committee before floor votes
  • Let representatives know their votes will be remembered
  • Target key representatives for
    • Removal for consistently poor stances
    • Support for consistently good stances
  • Provide public awareness
  • Encourage volunteers to take action on key issues
• Incubate State Candidates using Local Races with exceptional leaders
• Support volunteer efforts for various election activities
  • Campaign Calls
  • Door Knocking
  • Support other actions and events

We’ve been in the fight for over a decade now and our financial support (or opposition) has made a significant difference in electing and keeping Liberty Legislators in Tennessee. Just some of the key races where we have been involved are:

• 2022 Tennessee State Representative District 71 Kip Kapley
• 2022 Tennessee State Representative District 35 William Slater
• 2022 Tennessee State Representative District 75 Jeff Burkhart
• 2020 Tennessee State Representative District 77 Rusty Grills
• 2018 Tennessee State Representative District 73 Chris Todd
• 2012 Tennessee State Representative District 45 Courtney Rogers

$10,000 can make a huge difference in a $100k State Rep race.

$25,000 can change the course of a $250k State Senate race.

And, working together we can make a more significant difference. Why give $1,200 to make a small difference when you can be part of a significant, ongoing campaign to have such significant influence that every legislator in the state will respect your opinion as a Tennesseans for Liberty IMPACT Supporter with enough funding to make a candidate think twice about voting the wrong way.