An Oath to Reaganism or the Constitution?

While the Republicans worry about upholding the principles of former President Ronald Reagan, the principles of the Constitution continue to take a beating. The hot topic of the most recent Republican presidential debate was Ronald Reagan and whether the candidates believe his principals were still being practiced by today's Republicans. In fact, other than Ron Paul, not one candidate mentioned the Constitution during the debate. It is apparent that dedication to Reagan and his principles takes precedent over the oath to uphold and defend the Constitution for today's neoconservatives.

Reagan's foreign policy is one of essentially imperialistic pursuits, or at least that is how it is carried out by today's Republican leaders. Neoconservatives feel there are no limitations to where or in what circumstances the United States should use its power and influence so long as it is in the best interest of the country. Yet, the purpose of the Constitution is to limit the power of the central government thereby ensuring each individual enjoys life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

It is in the best interest of the country that all three branches of government make good on their oaths to the Constitution, which clearly states that only Congress can declare war. Presently, even government agencies like the C.I.A. and F.B.I. conduct covert military actions in foreign countries, and most Americans think nothing of these gross violations. The politicians in the legislative branch are too worried about being re-elected to truly make a decision on whether or not to officially declare war. Instead, they insulate themselves from repercussions by granting the executive branch broad authorities for military actions such as the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution or the Iraq Resolution (America has not been in an officially declared war since World War II).

President Bush has taken his kingly war powers to the next level by adopting a policy of preemptive war. Of course, this preemption should be based on knowledge of factual evidence of impending harm to the United States. It was Thomas Jefferson who said, "how much pain they have cost us, the evils which have never happened." Jefferson, unlike Reagan or Bush, was one of the writers of the Constitution.