Virginia C. Armstrong, Ph.D., National Chairman

The Constitutionalist Manifesto: A Summary

"An idea, adopted by a court, is in a superior position to influence conduct and opinion in the community; judges, after all, are rulers" (Edward H. Levi, 1949). Levi's description of the federal judiciary was made before the advent of the Warren Court, generally identified as the beginning of the liberal/activist judicial revolution in America. Levi's assessment of more than fifty years is far truer today. America is engulfed in the fires of a Culture War and federal judges have been whipping the flames to a white-hot heat. Their objective? "The crusading and coercing roles of the Supreme Court and the federal judiciary, [are] a model for all those whose primary aim is the wholesale reconstruction of American society." (Robert Nisbet, 1982). These Reconstructionists must be repelled. And the responsibility for an effective counter-attack falls on us Constitutionalists, who revere the Constitution and its foundations. The "Constitutionalist Manifesto" draws our line in the sand and is a Twenty-First Century Magna Charta for our constitutional republic. The most embattled principles of the "Manifesto" include the following.

1. The Constitution is, and must be, by definition, the "supreme, fundamental, paramount, permanent" law of the land. No court decision, statutory law, or other form of "law" is either equal to, or superior to, the Constitution.

2. The Constitution provides America with the legal anchor necessary to give our nation stability and direction--qualities without which no nation can survive.

3. The provisions of our Constitution have a fixed meaning. This meaning can, and must, be determined by careful, objective study of the express language of the text, the context of the provision being interpreted and of the entire document, the intent of the Framers, and the world view in which the Constitution was embedded by its Framers.

4. The Constitution, properly interpreted, can express the values of only one world view. It cannot reflect a "pluralism" or "diversity" of world views.

5. The world view in which the Constitution is embedded is the Judeo-Christian world view. The Constitution's principles and purposes are defined and prioritized by the Judeo-Christian value system. The Constitution cannot survive if it is ripped from its Judeo-Christian moorings.

6. Federal judges have neither the authority nor the competence to rewrite the Constitution by altering its basic meaning. Federal judges are governed by the Constitution. They are required to respect their boundaries and give full application to the consent of the governed, to other branches of the national government, to state governments, and to other societal institutions.

We, America's Twenty-First Century Constitutionalists, affirm these principles as both our foundation and the objects for which we are fighting in America's Culture War. We call upon all Americans who love our constitutional republic to understand clearly, and support completely, these principles. Thus may we fight together to reclaim our culture, our Constitution, and our courts!

• Share this "Summary" and the entire "Manifesto" with as many individuals and groups as you can;

• Order additional materials explaining the "Manifesto" from www.blackstoneinstitute.org or The Blackstone Institute, 810 Butternut, Abilene, TX 79602;

• Help Court Watch's Chairman, Virginia Armstrong, to connect with media outlets, especially radio talk shows;

• Stay in touch with Court Watch, as we keep you updated on news and action items during this critically important Congressional session and the campaigns of 2004.