The 1789 Project
Statement of Principles
1. Restore Respect for the United States Constitution
The Framers drafted the Constitution of the United States to provide a system of checks and balances by which the judiciary, legislative, and executive branches would check one another, the states would moderate the federal government, and the people would hold the government as a whole accountable. America must remember the original intention of the founders to establish a just and free polity. Respecting the Constitution means taking literally the provisions therein and resisting the urge towards reinterpretation, judicial activism, and overreach by the federal government.
2. Reaffirm our God-given Rights
While the Constitution sets the legal framework for our Republic, the Declaration of Independence acknowledges the spiritual heritage of our nation. The Declaration points to a Creator who endows human beings with dignity as his creation, and gives them the blessings of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. To this end, the Federal Government must exercise its constitutional authority only to protect, not to interfere with, our liberties and spiritual foundation.
3.Protect Life
Our laws must affirm the inalienable right of all human beings to life, and recognize that life is sacred from conception to natural death. We as a nation must hold practices such as abortion and euthanasia as grave moral wrongs.
4. Support Traditional Families
In 1789, the Framers of the Constitution inhabited a moral framework that placed traditional families at the core of society. It is still true that traditional families are the foundation of a healthy society, but the institution of the family has come increasingly under attack. Support for traditional families should take several forms:
A. Upholding state laws that define marriage as between one man and one woman, or implementing a constitutional amendment that defines marriage as such.
B. Supporting state and local laws that protect the rights of parent to educate and bring up their children as they see fit, and passing a constitutional amendment that upholds the fundamental right of parents to bring up their children as they see best.
5. Uphold Federalism
The United States was intended as a federal system, in which all powers not explicitly granted to the federal government in the constitution were granted to the states. We have slowly slipped away from this balance of powers to allow a preponderance of control to the bureaucracy in Washington. Congress, the President, and the Courts must act whenever they can to siphon power back to the states, and to allow matters not specifically assigned to the federal government to be decided at the local level.
6. Restore Fiscal Responsibility
Our Federal Government must stop exploiting the hard-earned resources of the American workforce. It is impossible to restore economic stability through reckless spending and borrowing.
7. Encourage Free Enterprise
After the economic downturn of 2008, it has become evident that the Keynesian approach of government intervention in the economy does not work any better in the 21st century than it did in the 20th. Businesses, workers, and consumers ought to be able to negotiate freely with each other without over-regulation or over-taxation. Free enterprise, individual entrepreneurship, and economic reforms grounded in market solutions are the basis of a successful economy.
8. Emphasize National Sovereignty
One of the main constitutional duties of the Federal Government is to protect America’s borders and maintaining a strong military. Beyond supplying these basic public goods, we must affirm America’s identity, laws, and customs by resisting treaties or alliances that would compromise the rights granted to Americans by The Creator and guaranteed by the Constitution.
9. Elect Principled Congressional Representatives
We must restore order and integrity to Congress by electing principled citizen legislators who are more committed to serving the people than to being re-elected. The 1789 Project will give special attention to accountability of elected officials. The only sure way to reform Congress is to enforce strict limits and controls on how much money passes through our Federal Government.
