With all the recent admissions of broad-reaching warrantless surveillance on American citizens, which bureaucrats and elected officials are attempting to justify under the guise of national security, some of them sadly need a reminder of what their oath to the Constitution and Bill of Rights actually entails.
Arizona's members of Congress are just as guilty as any others of ignoring their oath in the face of a quickly growing surveillance state. In light of these transgressions, our membership has chosen to challenge them to affirm the following pledge:
WHEREAS, the 4th Amendment of the Bill of Rights within the United States Constitution, the SUPREME law of the land, reads, "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."; and
WHEREAS, the Congressional Oath of Office reads, "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."; and
WHEREAS, the 2012 National Republican Platform is "a statement of who we (the Republican Party) are and what we believe as a Party and our vision for a stronger and freer America." (Preamble, pg. 1) and further states, "This platform is dedicated with appreciation and reverence for: The wisdom of the Framers of the United States Constitution" and identifies the GOP as "the party of the Constitution, the solemn compact which confirms our God-given individual rights ... the greatest political document ever written, it defines the purposes and limits of government and is the blueprint for ordered liberty …" (pg. 9); and
WHEREAS, the 2012 National Republican Platform specifically identifies "Protecting Internet Freedom" which reads, "We (the Republican Party) will ensure that personal data receives full constitutional protection from government overreach and that individuals retain the right to control the use of their data by third parties ... " (pg. 23 - 24); and
WHEREAS, the Arizona Republican Party State Platform states, “The Arizona Republican Party: 19. Believes government should protect, not infringe upon, individual rights and freedoms, and that “good government” begins with all elected officials being constantly aware of the tremendous responsibility they hold as public servants.” (Section III, pg. 4); and
WHEREAS, given the recent public revelation of the federal government’s vast surveillance and data collection of US citizens through warrantless “searches and seizures” which clearly violate the 4th Amendment of the United States Constitution, are contrary to the National Republican Platform, and defy the free Republic as intended by the Founding Fathers;
I do hereby reaffirm my oath to my constituents to promote the proper role of constitutional government by defending the 4th Amendment without compromise. I pledge to always uphold the 4th Amendment by supporting and voting for all legislation that protects the constitutional liberties of the citizenry “against unreasonable searches and seizures”. I furthermore pledge to oppose and vote against all legislation that permits any manner of surveillance of and/or data collection from American citizens without a judicial warrant specific to the person, place, and thing to be searched based “upon probable cause”, and/or contains any renewal or expansion of federal government powers that exceed the verbatim restraints of the 4th Amendment specifically designed by the Founding Fathers to secure the rights and liberties of “We the People.”
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PDFTags: NSA, Patriot Act, Arizona, warrantless wiretapping, nsa spying, matt salmon, arizona congressman, 4th Amendment