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, taken by every member of Congress, says one thing and one thing only: that their sworn obligation is to protect the principles embodied in our Constitution so that future generations of Americans will be free. Many of them are betraying that promise, as they pass bill after bill, heaping ruinous debt on our citizens, and fostering socialism with government takeovers of major segments of our economy.

While working Americans foot the bill, politicians come up with new and exciting ways to give away the fruits of our labor, borrowing trillions of dollars from foreign countries, and saddling this and future generations with unsustainable debt. For example:

• Tax rebates – many given to people who paid no taxes to begin with – to stimulate the economy, produced no measurable economic benefit, but did remind lots of people that they could elect someone who would give them something for nothing.
• Bailouts – in which the federal government chose winners in the finance, insurance, real estate and auto manufacturing markets – with small businesses virtually left out in the cold, despite the fact that small businesses are the backbone of the U.S. economy. Those small businesses – not government – will ultimately provide the new jobs to lead us out of this recession. Government does not create jobs; entrepreneurs and small businesses create jobs.
• Czars – a new ruling class, which the White House Counsel says do not have to answer Congressional subpoenas to testify, with unlimited regulatory authority granted by presidential fiat and not by law. They control major sectors of our economy and economic policy, and more czars are being appointed to control media, to promote extreme environmentalism, to advance socialist doctrine in our public schools, and to advance other key components of the socialist agenda.
• Health Care Reform – a government takeover of our health care system that is supposed to drive down increasing medical care and insurance costs. It is government interference that caused the large cost increases that Congress is blaming on providers and insurers.
• Cap and Trade – an energy tax scheme that will add substantial operating costs to American businesses and will encourage them to move offshore because China and India have opted not to participate. It will also add $1700-$3000/year in energy costs to every household in America. This proposal is economic suicide for a country in the throes of the worst economic slump since the Great Depression.
• Cash for Clunkers – another program to “spread the wealth around”, except that it added another $2 billion to our already staggering national debt, and showed the predictable inability of government to manage even simple financial matters.

My high school Social Studies teacher defined socialism as “government control of the means of production of goods and services.” With government already controlling major banking institutions, insurance conglomerates, and major automotive manufacturing facilities, Congress is now poised to take over medical care and energy. What else is left?

The idea we call “America” is in trouble, under a concerted attack by avowed socialists who believe that the role of government is to rule our lives rather than preserve our freedom. Ronald Reagan had it right: “Government is not the answer; government is the problem.” America is certainly on the brink of the “fundamental transformation”, promised by this President and the Democrats controlling our Congress. They weren’t lying when they made that promise. They just didn’t share what they had in mind. Their intent has always been, and will always be the fundamental transformation of a once-free United States into a European-style socialist state.

Not on my watch.