When a national election is held and a subsequent “congress” is called, it’s fairly remarkable how hard nearly 150 men and women will work to craft and pass a set of “recommendations” to the State and Federal Government.

Continental Congress ’09, an event conceived and executed by noted Constitutional activist Bob Shulz and his “We The People Foundation,” convened one week ago today (November 11) in St. Charles, IL, a suburb of Chicago.

Representatives from 48 of 50 states have assembled under the mission statement “To Defend, Not Amend The Constitution” and are addressing a wide array of subjects, all of which are tied to some form of constitutional abdication or usurpation. The elected delegates are largely conservative and libertarian, and draw mainly from groups such as The 9-12 Project, Tea Party Patriots, Constitution Party and Campaign for Liberty.

“We’ve been working tirelessly,” said CC2009 delegate Darin Stevens of Spokane, WA. “It’s unusual that we’re going to bed prior to 1 or 2 AM. We start at 8:00 every day, earlier if we’re having a committee meeting. Then there’s presentations, debate, more presentations, committee meetings, independent work… it’s consuming.”

In addition to drafting the aforementioned recommendations, tomorrow the body will begin work on what is currently entitled “Articles of Association,” which are modeled after the 1774 “Declaration and Resolves of the First Continental Congress.” This document is described by many delegates as a “Road Map” to take back to individuals and groups as a future action plan for similarly concerned citizens.

Several delegates, including Schaffer Cox from Alaska, have pressed for the utilization of strong language in many of the instructions being considered. “If we go straight from petitioning to fighting, we skip the critical step of ‘saber rattling.’ The tyrants who would impose their will on free people, whether they are foreign or domestic, are human beings with a will. They need to understand the consequences of their actions before they make that choice. We have a moral duty to give them fair warning, and begging doesn’t suffice.”

Other delegates offer a more moderate tone. “While I do support the call for ‘saber rattling,’ I think it is important to choose carefully the words we use, so as to gain as much popular support as possible,” said Kate Vandemoer, delegate from Wyoming. “We’re not just ‘saber rattling’ – we are serious about redressing the injuries to the Constitution and informing Americans with the most serious of intent.”

Former Libertarian Party Presidential Candidate Michael Badnarik, who is also an elected delegate from Texas, has served as parliamentary president of the event after being selected by event participants.

Live video streaming of the event is available at www.cc2009.us

After 11 days of deliberation, the event concludes on Saturday, November 22.

A promotional video and the official press release is listed below: 

Official Press Release: Citizens Rising in Defense of the Constitution

Citizens fed up with constitutional violations causing devastation to the economy and the Nation, are stepping up to join constitutional activist Robert L. Schulz, Chairman of We The People Foundation for Constitutional Education, to prepare for a modern-day Continental Congress to take place starting November 11, 2009 at the Pheasant Run Conference Center in St. Charles, Illinois. Continental Congress 2009 is not political or partisan and seeks to defend, not amend, the current Constitution.

Billed as the “next appropriate step for the free people of America,” planners hope the historic national assembly will inspire the critical mass necessary to restore constitutional governance. 153 citizen-nominated-and-elected Delegates – three from each state and Washington, D.C. -- will convene for two weeks to methodically and factually document constitutional abuses which have taken place over many years, across many administrations, every branch of government and both parties. Delegates will consider specific non-violent, legal civic actions to stop the wrongs.

To help finance the historic event a .999 pure silver CC2009 commemorative round will be given for each donation of $100.00 or more. Planners are also seeking bigger donors they are calling the “patriotic, brave and wealthy” who “understand what Continental Congress can do for America.” Furthermore, a money bomb is also in the works.

The decision to convene CC2009 comes after fourteen years of filing Petitions for Redress with the federal government for repeated violations of the Constitution by We The People Foundation for Constitutional Education, a national 501 c3 non-profit with headquarters in New York. Schulz says The Right to petition was put in the First Amendment by the Founding Fathers, “who did not want Americans to ever again experience a situation where their individual rights or civil liberties were threatened.” To date, this Right has never been recognized by the government nor defined in any court of law. Schulz says it must now be used to hold elected officials accountable to the rest of the Constitution “which will shift the power from the government back to The People where it belongs.”

“Americans are waking up to the urgent need to stand strong for the Founding Principles and our Constitution, as every violation further devastates our economy and our way of life,” says Schulz. “We all desire the same outcome: restoration of our Nation. Continental Congress 2009 is the only strategy we see that is not political or partisan, does not rely on the electoral process, and can bring peaceful and legal solutions to our current situation. We hope this effort can be the catalyst that brings the freedom-loving people of America together at this critical time,” he concludes.

Readers can learn more about CC2009, by going to www.cc2009.us

And when it was election time, his disciple Gregoire came to The One, saying, This Washington economy is a desert place, and the time is now past; send the multitude away, that they may go into the villages, and find themselves their own jobs.

But Obama said unto her, They need not depart; give ye them a stimulus.

And she said unto him, We have here in Washington but nine Congressional districts.

He said, Bring the website hither to me.

And Obama commanded the multitude to log on to recovery.gov, and took the nine Congressional districts, and looking up to heaven, he blessed, and created nine more Congressional districts, and gave them $6,729,117, and created 76 jobs with ye stimulus.

In case you haven't see it yet, recovery.gov is reporting that 76 new jobs have been saved or created in nine non-existent Washington Congressional Districts (the 00th, 10th, 11th, 15th, 16th, 21st, 24th, 38th, and 39th) at a cost of $6,729,117.  Similar reports are to be found in every state in the union.

According to ABC, which broke the story:

Rep. David Obey, D-Wisc, who chairs the powerful House appropriations Committee, issued a paper statement demanding that the recovery.gov Web site be updated.

"The inaccuracies on recovery.gov that have come to light are outrageous and the Administration owes itself, the Congress, and every American a commitment to work night and day to correct the ludicrous mistakes." 

G. Edward DeSeve, Special Advisor to the Office of Management and Budget for Implementation of the Recovery Act claimed "some mistakes were inevitable" and "do nothing to disprove the effectiveness of the stimulus."

I plan to use the same argument with the IRS next April...

Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA,) the Vice-Chair of the House Republican Conference just told me in a blogger conference call that not one single Republican is expected to vote for the proposed Democratic healthcare reform legislation expected to be voted on by Congress this weekend.  Rep. Doc Hastings (R-WA) related that one of his colleagues in the House characterized the current debate on healthcare as being between only "the left and the far left," and that you could take it to the bank that the GOP would present a solid front.

McMorris Rodger's comments echoed those of House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA,) who told the protesters attending yesterday's "House Call" in Washington, DC that "Be assured not one Republican will vote for this bill."

Speaking of the "House Call," Rep. McMorris Rodgers said that it created quite a buzz on Capitol Hill yesterday and that it was vitally important for such efforts to continue.  The issue is far from settled yet.  Rep. Hastings said that Speaker Pelosi was pushing the vote more because of legislative deadlines than the fact that the Democrats has the 218 votes necessary to pass the legislation.  The vote count is fluid, and changes from hour to hour.  So fluid in fact, that House Democrats rushed newly elected Bill Owens from New York's 23rd District down to be sworn in.  When the count reaches 218, the Democrats will have the vote.

McMorris Rodgers stated that House Democrats are trying to put a "happy face" on the recent elections in New Jersey and Virginia which have made the Democratics very nervous, particularly more the more conservative "blue dog" Democrats.  The issues of federal funding of abortions and public option for illegal immigrants are still very much in play.  54 Democrats signed a letter opposing abortion in the healthcare reform bill, and many of those are not the same as the 34 who oppose the public option.  But, as this a top priority for the Obama administration, arms are being twisted, and Speker Pelosi wants it to be appear to be on track.  According to McMorris Rodgers, Pelosi is negotiating with pro-life Dems to find what language they would consider acceptable without having to remove the abortion provisions.

Unfortunately, according to Rep. Hastings, what isn't in play is the $730 billion tax increase that this legislation creates with a 5.4% surcharge on those grossing over $500,000 a year.  This surcharge is not indexed, meaning it will go up over time, as well as the employer mandate.

House Republicans have proposed a plan that would reduce health insurance premiums by $5,000 per family by adding more coverage and more choices.  Democrats, however, have chosen to centralize healthcare and thereby reduce choices.

THIS ISN'T OVER YET.  CALL YOUR CONGRESSMAN OR CONGRESSWOMAN TODAY!!!!

KIRO talker Dori Monson nailed it with this evaluation of Tuesday's election here in Washington:

This may be the most singular one-party state in the nation.

New Jersey and Virginia voted for Obama a year ago - but for Republican governors tonight... Liberal Maine rejected gay marriage... Blue-state California voters earlier this year rejected tax increases...

But in Washington, our one-controlling-party mentallity rolls on.

King County government is facing a $54-million deficit - and one of the people who got the county into that financial mess has been elected Exec - because he's a Dem.

Init-1033 restricting the growth of government? Rejected.

Gay partnerships? Supported.

Huge property tax increase in Seattle for low income housing? Of course! Seattle never saw a tax increase the voters didn't love.

I evaluate each race and issue on its individual merits (I supported Ref-71 - everyone other endorsement I made on the above races lost). But despite national trends favoring Republicans, in Washington the vast majority of voters are robots. Every Democrat wins. Every expansion of government passes. Every liberal cause prevails.

The unions chased Boeing out of the state - and every winning candidate paid tribute to their big-money union support. Our unemployment rate is well above the national average. Our state is facing another multi-billion dollar deficit. King County has a $54-million deficit. Seattle a $40-million deficit.

Why wouldn't we stay the course? Election Day was business as usual in our one-party state.

Remember, Governor Gregoire made this astonishing statement over a month before Election Day:

I've told them [Democratic legislators] come on in and convince me that's [raising taxes] the right thing to do and that people will support it. At some point the people, I assume, don't want us to take any more cuts. I'm already hearing about 'why did you cut education?' Well there aren't any options

Many political observers were stunned that Gregoire would reverse her "no new taxes" stance so close to the election and felt that she was handing a win to Tim Eyman on a silver platter.  Wrong.  The Governor knows her liberal Pugetopolis base well and counted on the fact that I-1033 would be outspent some $3 million to none by wealthy liberal opponents of I-1033.  More importantly, local elected officials throughout the state, both Republican and Democrat, joined in the scare-it-to-ya chorus against I-1033.

"At some point the people, I assume, don't want us to take any more cuts."  Don't you think that is the takeaway from Washington voter's rejection of I-1033?  It certainly will be among Democrats in Olympia.  It already is at the Northwest Progressive Insititute, which proudly proclaimed that "Collapse of Tim Eyman's Initiative 1033 proves that teabaggers are just a fringe."

Now, I don't think even Democrats are stupid enough to introduce new taxes in an election year, but if Washington Republicans don't make significant gains in the legislature in 2010, look out for the next biennial budget coming up in 2011.  Labor unions and other left-wing advocacy groups have made it clear they will tolerate no further cuts to their pet programs and the state will have to address what will likely be a $2-3 billion plus budget shortfall by that time.  Those groups will point to the I-1033 vote and say Washingtonians are finally ready for that dreaded state income tax.

Hey, you were warned.  We get the government we deserve.

With all precincts reporting, incumbent Moscow Mayor Nancy Chaney has won an extremely narrow victory (40 votes) over John Weber. Could they be headed to a recount?  If Chaney's win holds, it is not great news for Whitman County.  Relations between Moscow and Whitman County have been stormy during Chaney's administration.

On the Moscow City Council, Susan Scott, Walter Steed, and Tim Brown are the winners.  All in all, it's a bit of a mixed bag for the pro-business Greater Moscow Alliance, which endorsed Weber, Steed, and Brown.  Neither the pro-growth nor the anti-growth factions in Moscow won a clear mandate tonight.  Perhaps voters prefer that kind of balance.

I had a chance to talk with Susan Fagan, the likely winner of tonight's election for state representative in the Washington 9th Legislative District, after the first round of votes had been tallied:

RC:  Obviously, the numbers look really good for you right now.  You can't really declare victory yet, but what are you feeling?

Susan Fagan:  I'm really grateful for where the numbers are now.  It is a clear indication of the amount of effort and time that was put into this campaign; literally hundreds of volunteers, thousands of doorbelling efforts, and 10,000 phone calls. I always said that if hard work pays off, we will be very competitive.

RC:  Terry Nealey is beating the incumbent Democrat in the Washington 16th LD to our south and Republicans have retaken the governor's office in Virginia and New Jersey.  Do you think voters are sending a message to Democrats on health care and other issues? 

Susan Fagan: Voters want to be listened to.  I have talked to thousands of people and many voters do not beleive they are being listened to by elected offiicials on many issues, health care being one of them.

RC:  Democrats did not have a candidate in the 9th LD race.  Obviously, some of them voted for you.  Some didn't.  Do you have a message for them tonight?

Susan Fagan:  It's the same message I have had for them all along.  Democrats know me.  They know me to be a reasonable and trustworthy individual. A legislative race like this is maybe not so much political as it is community related.  I have worked with people on a variety of issues in Pullman.  We never checked each other's political credentials on the school board, hospital or raising monety for Pullman Regional Hospital.   I will be representative of all the people who live in this district.

RC: What will be your first order of business if, as seems likely, go to Olympia in January?

Susan Fagan:  First, I will need to prepare to go.  We will be facing a billion and half dollar shortfall by next session.  I will start by looking at the current budget and the past couple of budgets to see where did we cut.  I will be sent to Olympia to address economic climate, which affects every other issue in the state, such as agriculutre, education, etc.

RC: Speaking of business climate, what would you have done to keep Boeing's 787 assembly line in Washington?

Susan Fagan:  Obviously tax incentives to keep Boeing were wrong, because they didn't work.  We should be looking at the reasons overall why businesses want to leave the state.  First, we have a broken worker's compensation system.  It's more like a pension plan.  The average time off under workers comp is 266 days.  We need to fix that.  Why do we care?  Because businesses provide jobs and careers for people.  Look at the B&O tax on gross receipts.  It's a message to businesses that the state doesn't care if you are profitable or not.  We have the highest unemployment insurance costs in the nation.  The state death tax hurts family businesses and farms.  I know of many people who have moved their business out of Washington to avoid it.