Tyranny of the majority

So, with the governor’s signature, we Coloradans have joined the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact.

We must hope this misguided effort to subvert the Constitution does not succeed. The argument over the manner of choosing the president during the debates in 1787 was much the same as it is today. The representatives of the rural, less populated states knew that if the president were to be chosen by popular vote, the urban population centers would control every election. It was true then, and it is still true today.

The last paragraph of the Constitution states that the document would go into effect upon passage by nine states and that it would be binding only upon those states. If this effort succeeds, all 50 states will be subject to the rule of perhaps less than half of the states. I doubt there could be concocted a better example of “tyranny of the majority,” the very situation the Founders worked diligently to avoid.

This shameful exploitation of an apparent loophole in the Constitution is nothing short of subversive. It flies in the face of the most basic intent of that document. Thomas Jefferson wrote that it is unrealistic to believe any system should bind a people to previous generations’ constraints. I believe he thought successive generations’ efforts would improve upon the past. This effort clearly does not measure up to that standard.

Honesty must compel those behind this travesty to admit their animosity to the Constitution. Dishonesty alone describes the contrary.

Wes O’Dell

Colorado Springs

There are constitutional ways

In the movie, “A Man for All Seasons”, there is a famous interchange between Sir Thomas More and his hot-headed son-in-law William Roper:

Roper: So, now you give the devil the benefit of law!

More: Yes! What would you do? Cut a great road through the law to get after the devil?

Roper: I’d cut down every law in England to do that!

More: Oh? And when the last law was down, and the devil turned ‘round on you, where would you hide, Roper, the laws all being flat? This country is planted thick with laws, from coast to coast, Man’s laws, not God’s! And if you cut them down, and you’re just the man to do it, do you really think you could stand upright in the winds that would blow then? Yes, I’d give the devil benefit of law, for my own safety’s sake!

People in our day should pay heed to More’s charge. Case in point? Trump’s national emergency declaration on illegal immigration. Trump and his supporters are willing to cut down the Constitution in their drive to halt illegal immigration with this national emergency declaration. But what will they do once the left can turn on them with all those laws down?

There are proper ways, constitutional ways, to address the issue of illegal immigration. Take care that you address the issue properly, lest in having done so in an unconstitutional fashion you imperil your position far more so than it is now.

Isaiah Hess

Colorado Springs

Contempt for the Constitution

Are you aware of what bill Gov. Jared Polis just signed into law? He joined the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact. By doing so, he gave away the state’s electoral votes to the winner of the compact. This law is contrary to the constitutional way we have elected presidents. It is another attack by radicals to undermine our “republican democracy” and shows contempt for the U.S. Constitution. Democrats are testing the system and unless there is legal pushback, they will change the Constitution without going through the amendment process.

Benjamin Franklin warned us about these seditious acts upon exiting the Constitutional Convention. When asked what kind of government was created, he said: “A Republic, if you can keep it.” All citizens who respect our Constitution must stand up against these laws or someday we may wake up and find that we have lost our constitutional republic.

Andrew Nordby

Colorado Springs

Why bother with voting?

Have our elected officials lost their minds? So Colorado voters no longer have a state say in elections popular or electoral! We just go along with national popular vote … so why bother voting? And where are our state rights … let’s just do away with states and become one federal government! I won’t be voting to re-elect any numbskull who voted for giving away our state voting rights!

Sue Gorden

Colorado Springs

Misconceptions regarding abortion

Donald Garrison calls for separation of church and state, saying the state should not be involved in church business. Conversely, one can also say that the church should not be involved in state business. This is the driving force behind Roe v. Wade. Abortion is a highly personal issue and should not be legislated by religious beliefs. Garrison’s belief that abortion is murder is his religious belief. The law allows him this belief, and he is free to abstain from this practice as long as his actions do not infringe upon the rights of others.

There have been many misconceptions regarding abortions after 24 weeks of pregnancy. Many have called it infanticide and infer that these decisions can be made on a whim. In truth, these abortions, which make up only 1.3 percent of abortions performed in the U.S., must be made with a determination that there is an absence of fetal viability or that the procedure is necessary to protect the patient’s life or health.

Garrison condemns Democrats, but one must also take a look at Republicans. They claim to be pro-life but in reality are pro-birth. As Sister Joan Chittister, a Benedictine nun, states, “I think in many cases, your morality is deeply lacking if all you want is a child born but not a child fed, not a child educated, not a child housed. And why would I think that you don’t? Because you don’t want any tax money to go there.”

Kathleen Eichinger

Colorado Springs