BY CONTRIBUTING WRITER DONNY HERRIN, Local Coordinator for the Campaign for Liberty

Illinois Senator Dick Durbin's recent position not to hold any town hall meetings to become better informed of the citizens' sentiments regarding the national health care fiasco is a far cry from simply ignoring the people and their interests. Durbins' decision not to even entertain their feelings is constitutionally repugnant.

Fundamentally, let's put this in perspective. From a constitutional standpoint, Durbin is the citizens' representative. He was duly elected to represent and those citizens' best interests; to mirror their sentiments as closely as possible while he represents them in the seat of government.

From that fundamental foundation, Senator Durbin is elevated to the position of representative; to serve the citizens to the best of his ability while at the same time to take a position with the citizens best interest at heart, and then act on that position.

Let us not misunderstand Senator Durbin's role; Senator Durbin (or any other elected representative, for that matter) is not a leader. Rather, he is a servant of the people. He has been placed into a position of trust by we the people and is expected to act as our voice, and expected to execute our best interests as our servant in the seat of government.

Allow this analogy: If the King (the sovereign, or the leader) were to direct his servants to carry out an order in the best interest of the King, and the servants were to return to inform the King that they refused to comply with his wishes, what would be the fate of those servants? Senator Durbin, even worse than the King's servants who refused to act, has blatantly and openly refused to hear the sovereign's (we the people) voice. Senator Durbin has no constitutional authority to inform the sovereign (the people) that he will not hear our voices or to deny the sovereign to be called before them to question his position and/or to inform him of our demands.

As Senator Durbin should be reminded, we, the citizens, are the sovereign, the leader, and he is our servant. We elected Senator Durbin to, and with the best of his ability, carry out our best interests.

It makes little difference if the Senator assumes the opinion that the voice of the people, their concerns, or who comprises that voice, does not align with his sentiments or his personal desires. He did not elect us and we are not here to support his interests or serve him. Senator Durbin cannot take authoritative position that would, according to the rule of law and constitutional fundamentals, mitigate or make of no effect, the people, their voices, their best interests, and his duty as a servant to them, while disregarding their demands to present himself before them.

We, as a soverign people, must recognize our authority and end the role of submissive servants to elected representatives that assume the role of a leader, when they are not. We must begin, as we have done, but we must continue to call into question those elected representatives who fail to act - who refuse to act upon the sovereigns' demands - if we genuinely expect to restore the constitutional framework intended by its founders and reverse the course that unconstitutional government has navigated.

Senator Durbin's recent proclamation to ignore we the people - the sovereign - and ignore our constitutional authority, leaves us with no alternative - he must be removed from his seat in government. In the meantime,however, Senator Durbin must be taken to task. It is time that we the people, the sovereign, inform Senator Durbin of his fate, but more importantly, his unconstitional role as Senator, and his role as our SERVANT, not our leader.

The constitutional authority rests in the citizens' court - we the people - the sovereign.