Dear Jeff,
You may recall our most recent meeting at the Red Mountain Tea Party, on April 2nd…but then again, you may not. So let me take just a moment to go over what took place.
You possibly recall my asking “What does your oath, to defend and protect the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic, mean to you?”
I must say that I found your response to be quite revealing, to wit: “It means that I will support…policies…that give effect to that oath which I’ve taken; that I won’t do anything that…would…put me in a position where I’m violating that oath. That’s what it means to me.”
In order to be fair, Jeff, perhaps we could review together exactly what that oath contains. Here it is:
I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God.
Oops! Looks like I misspoke, Jeff. I said “defend and protect,” when it actually reads “support and defend”! How clumsy of me…but the meaning, of course, is identical! There’s obviously more to it – “that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same,” for example, and I presume that that is what you were referencing in your eloquent answer.
My question, however, clearly went to the first stipulation of that sacred oath (which you have now had administered to you by various Speakers five times over the past ten years.) So I didn’t ask if you yourself would “support…policies…that give effect to that oath,” Jeff, but rather, “What…your oath, to defend and protect the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic, means to you….”
I don’t know if you were “reading ahead,” anticipating where I was going with that question, and thus avoided answering directly…or whether you had simply not considered that critical component of your oath…”So help [you] God.” I’m sure you know the history of the oath you took, Jeff, starting with the oath taken by the very first Congress in 1779, but we’ll review it just the same.
The stipulation for such an oath was, of course (and still is, of course) contained in Article VI of the Constitution itself. Here it is:
The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution….
Being very particular to follow the recently ratified Constitution, the first Congress which had sufficient Representatives present by April 1, 1789, to form a quorum, appointed a committee on April 6 to draft a bill on how the oath of office was to be administered. It was entitled An Act to regulate the Time and Manner of administering certain Oaths, and was signed into law on June 1, 1789, becoming “Statute I,” the first official law in the “Laws of the United States.” Here is the original language contained in the oath:
I, A. B. [a Representative of the United States in the Congress thereof,] do solemnly swear or affirm (as the case may be) that I will support the Constitution of the United States.
Apparently, the position held by the various parties taking the oath was added at some point for clarification. This oath remained intact until the time of the Civil War. From the Senate website (referenced and quoted earlier) we find:
The outbreak of the Civil War quickly transformed the routine act of oath-taking into one of enormous significance. In April of 1861, a time of uncertain and shifting loyalties, President Abraham Lincoln ordered all federal civilian employees within the executive branch to take an expanded oath. When Congress convened for a brief emergency session in July, members echoed the president’s action by enacting legislation requiring employees to take the expanded oath in support of the Union. This oath is the earliest direct predecessor of the modern oath.
The first qualification added was that “I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.” While I wasn’t actually there, Jeff, that part seems to stick in my mind of late…. I wonder why?
Now that we have thoroughly refreshed our memories as to the origin and evolution of the oath that you swear before both God and man, let’s look at your “conclusions” regarding the Arpaio Investigation, or that of Mike Zullo and the Cold Case Posse. Let’s dispense with the nicities at this point and state the obvious, shall we?
Neither you, nor Jon Kyl, nor John McCain have even troubled yourselves to watch either of the fully-recorded press conferences on March 1 and March 31, 2012. If by some bizarre stretch of the imagination that you have, then of necessity, you are alleging that Sheriff Arpaio and his posse are guilty of prevarication (a fancy word for “lying”) on this most serious issue of historic national import.
This, of course, raises an issue which pretty well sums up the truth of the whole matter, Jeff, and it is this: Given the seriousness of the charges, if there were substantive points raised by the posse’s investigation, which could be contested, we would have seen that as the immediate response from the White House and its army of attorneys and media cohorts, would we not? But what did we hear instead? Alinsky 101:
5) Ridicule is man’s most potent weapon (Alinsky 1972: 128).
13) Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it (Alinsky 1972: 130).
Having watched both press conferences (and attended the second of the two as well), I am keenly aware – as should you and your own AZ contingency of “representatives” of the People (I’m referring to the Republicans) – of the stark contrast between the questions asked by “ordinary” people, citizens, and the vapid attack dogs apparently in the full-time employment of the state. Curiously, Jeff, your response mirrored that of the latter in substance…or, that is, in the glaring lack thereof.
Your first response was potent, even menacing:
I’m the number one opponent in the House or the Senate of the president’s agenda, so I do not think much of the president’s agenda. I think that he’s going in the wrong direction on the economy and a number of issues…
You came out swinging, Jeff, but in the end, you sounded like a junkyard poodle, lacking both bark and bite…not to mention either facts or reason:
but I think that he is our president; I think he was duly elected , and I believe he is a citizen; and I do believe it is a distraction…and my job…my job…my job is to make sure that we beat him in November. If we do that….
I’ll stop you here again, Jeff, just as I did when we last met…on tape. I assume you are, at least, of average intelligence, although admittedly I have no basis for that assumption,other than, perhaps, wishful thinking. In any case, I would expect that – at a minimum – someone of your rank, distinction, or class would base his opinions or beliefs on something…anything, Jeff.
So what is it that has convinced you that “he’s a citizen”? If you had bothered to watch even the preliminary results of the posse’s six-month investigation presented at either of the Arpaio Press Conferences, you would have seen clearly that the man whom you pretend to oppose (but so strenuously “support and defend” ) lacks the most fundamental of all identifying documents– a real, certified (hard copy) birth certificate…not a digitally-created virtual image thereof.
Like both the brilliant and tenacious judges, Michael Malihi of Georgia and Jeff Masin of New Jersey, who without any supporting evidence whatsoever (or witnesses – including the court-defying defendant, Barack Hussein Obama, in the Georgia case), unilaterally proclaimed the most enigmatic president in all of American history “born in Hawaii.” (In an unprecedented as well as uncharacteristic show of judicial restraint, however, the two prescient jurists stopped short of affirming his virgin birth…which would have been problematic in any case.)
Having heard enough of your woefully unsubstantiated defense of the most undocumented occupant of the People’s House (when not off at a five-star resort in some exotic vacation spot or golf course) in the two hundred and twenty-three year history of the country, I did what you may never have done, Jeff, and asked the People:
“How many of you would like to see Congress investigate the president? Please stand up if you can!”…at which point the vast majority of those present stood up, amidst cries of “impeach him,” etc. A mutual friend of ours, Jeff, upon watching our encounter via the Internet (along with tens of thousands of other voter/constituents) said to me: “You kind of put Jeff between a rock and a hard spot”…to which I replied, “No, Jeff did that to himself!”
To which I will only add, Jeff, that next time – if there is a next time, or a next term – I suggest that you and every other public “servant” named herein take a second look at your sacred oaths of office and recall vividly what it entails…especially the preeminent first and final points:
I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic…. So help me God.
Perhaps we’ll meet again soon, Jeff. Until then….
Sincerely,
Tom Ballantyne – A Constituent (one of those you are also sworn to represent)
P.S. While I am, in fact, indignant over your failure to stand up for the obvious and irrefutable truth here, Jeff – apparently for fear of retribution from the Ruling Class, in both the establishment media and the “leadership” of your own party – I am sincere in my hope that my standing for the truth, no matter how uncomfortable that may be to some, will cause you to reflect seriously on your one and only authorized, and therefore legitimate role…that of upholding, as well as defending, our sacred and God-inspired Constitution.
Author of Oh Really, O’Reilly! and Uncommon Sense…Apparently!
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Thank you for your letter to Mr. Flake. I would suggest Mr. Flake go over the evidence provided so far by Sheriff Joe and rethink his position. There are too many missing parts to this story including copies of college applications and missing Customs information from the travel week of his mother right after his “birthdate”. Why????? I believe there will be lots of egg on the faces of many people when the truth comes out!!!
Google The Powerhour….there’s some interesting information about his birth certificate.
Everyone and I mean everyone in Washington knows Obama is a fraud and still he gets away with it. They are insulting and dishonoring the American people and our Constitution.
The Supremes also have turned their backs on Americans;Real ones.
All of these frauds in Congress and the courts are terrified that dismissing this fool will cause race riots. THAT’S NO EXCUSE. GET IT DONE.
I have e-mailed my two Senators (Mr. Jeff Sessions and Mr. Richard Shelby of Alabama) and one Congressman (Mr. Mike Rogers of Alabama) with a similar point of interest and the response was that Washington OFFICIALLY accepted the birth certificate given and accepted the statement of Hawaii officials that the birth certificate of REAL. I personally DO NOT believe that Congress had an expert review and scrutinize the document like Sheriff Joe’s group did. I personally feel that Congress DOES NOT want to be called RACISTS! It is time for a REAL SHAKE-UP in leadership BUT I am only one voter in the entire United States.
I think I’ll stay home in Nov. if we can’t get anyone in dc to carry the ball for us; they’re all corrupt as he11!
Tom, I watched the video as you were taping what Jeff “FLAKE” said. Just FYI, I have written Jeff “FLAKE” several times and sent many petitions to approve or disapprove and every response was exactly the same. He appreciated my concerns and if I had something of importance please notify him. What does he consider important??? Nothing! He is another acting Congressman, sitting on his behind and doing nothing for the good of this country. You would think he would have at least checked out what Joe Arpaio and his cold case posse discovered, but then I suppose he didn’t because he already knew.
He is living high on the hog like so many politicians and doing nothing for the position, and unfortunately there is another Mormon running for a position in Congress and I am sure he and “FLAKE” share the same objectives, with both from the Mesa area.
The town of Mesa is ran by Mormons and if you are not one of them, you are a lost soul and don’t belong in their realm. There are many things about that cult that affects entire communities, and to think Romney may become president is nearly as frightening as Obama. They worship the dollar, big corporations, and big families to carry their greed and corruption. The Mormonism is very close to Muslimism. Believe it or not!
Jeff “FLAKE” wears a good mask, just like Obama,,,his looks and charisma are so similar, and so is Satan
the deceiver.
I reward you Tom for writing your open letter to let the public know where Flake really stands. We know he is not going to do anything whether he took an Oath or not, just like the rest of them. I took an Oath to the Constitution before I could work for the Dept. of AZ Corrections, and I took it seriously, it was an honor to me, as it should be in any position. Our Military is falling apart because of the politicians in office thinking they are above the Law and the Oath means nothing to them, and I don’t blame the military because they are putting their lives at stake for our Freedoms only to be slapped in the face with hypocritical leaders, such as Congressman Flake and the Obama Administration.
Thank you again and God Bless you.
Don’t stay home, Jim Crane, vote if for nothing else but to keep up the pretense that voters matter. Every slug in the Senate and House was sent there by voters so we have only ourselves to blame for electing them, while we have little say in who becomes president, we still can boot these slugs to the curb. .
By the way, he’s a Republican because that’s where his best chances were, if being a Whig would have served him better he would have run as a Whig. He’s not alone in this farce, they all look to the odds.
Aid and abetting of a known felony is a punishable crime. (period)
ObamaForgeryGate Would Sink Anyone ButtHead Barry Soetoro With His Coyote Partner Eric Holder/Soros Holding His Head High. God Bless America And Sheriff Joe Arpaio. God Bless America And Sheriff Joe Arpaio.
IMHO, those people who say the will stay home on election day are worse than died in the wool obummer supporters. Not casting a vote for the front runner, no matter who he/she is, effectively counts as a vote for this socialist misfit illegally occupying the White House. You may say that if makes no difference, that the election is already rigged (and probably is), however, not voting is an abuse of the privilege. We must stand for something as a nation, or we will all fall as a nation.
Dear “Pa” (Pabritt71),
Thank you for your comments. I too am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. You may be interested to know that I did not vote for Mitt Romney in the Primary. I serve in the Mesa Temple, although I live in Queen Creek, was born in Houston, and lived in Nashville for 20 years. There are good and bad people everywhere – of all races, creeds, and nationalities. I believe Jeff may well believe that he is doing all that he can to defend the Constitution, but living inside the Beltway for ten years can blind one to the realities of life in the rest of the country. I simply seek to remind everyone of the truth. I’m writing to the people of the country, and not to Jeff. He will only get the message when he is defeated in November…and that is a strong likelihood.
Thanks, my friend.
Tom Ballantyne
Boy Iam glad Iam not Jeff that hurt you know he might quite in shame.you think. Side bar when Odamhim was sworn in he was sworn in with out the american people watching because something went wrong at thi first one I would like to know what happen did he have his fingers cross. I would like to hear both swearing in side by side. Seams strange to me. the second swearing is not talk about.
COULD IT BE THE GOP is wanting to run Rubio as Vice President? He would make a great Vise, but he is not natural born. If the GOP says nothing about Obama then nothing should be said about Rubio. However, if anything is said about Rubio, the whole mess with Obama comes out, going to be very interesting… Could it be both sides of this issue are trying to throw that part of the constitution away? With the blind leading the blind, who knows what those idiots in Washington are doing. For them, the way they see everything justifies the end, but there seems to be no end to their madness…
Could it be our representatives stay in power too long? The way things are now, it only proves we need term limits. This would stop so much of what is going on in Washington. You want hope and change, throw all the old out and bring our congress and senate up to date. Scream for term limits, for this is the only way to rid ourselves of these vermin. Think about it, vote them out, especially Obama, for he is a disgrace to the office and a tyrant to our way of life, for Indonesia or Kenya is not a place I want to be…
Well said, Mister Ballantyne
Well, to be honest, I’m so frustrated with our guys on the repub/conservative side that I can’t see any way to support them any longer. You all vote for them. You’d think there would be at least a handful of people over on the hill that could get these eligibility concerns a fair and public airing out.
“I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God.”
This oath is more serious than a marriage vow because in a marriage you get divorced not hanged. DON’T TAKE THIS OATH IF YOU CANNOT OBEY IT, because you will be and should be hung to death if you violate one jot or tittle of it. If you CANNOT OBEY YOUR OATH then go back to the hole you crawled out of and stay away from the most trusted position in our land. IF YOU CANNOT PUT GOD FIRST and ABOVE ALL then we DON’T need you there in the first place. IF you CANNOT be part of the land of the brave and home of the free then keep away from me and mine, you COMMIE TRAITOR! Our muslim enemies practice taquiya or lying for the good of mooselum to accomplish their destruction on all infidels according to their false god, allie. America has run wild with TRAITORS and they need to suffer a TRAITORS FATE! It’s simple stupid, if your in public office OBEY the Constitution of the United States for it is one hundred percent American to do so. The first ORDER given to all soldiers and public servants is to support, defend, protect and obey the Constitution.