Commissioner Richard Rothschild

January 15, 2013

 Good Morning,

Commissioner Howard- asked me to go last…  I’m Not sure whether I’m batting cleanup to generate excitement, or whether he was hoping we’d run out of time before I speak.

• Attacks on our property rights are the symptom of a DEEPER problem
• You see… No county is a cocoon .
  • We are heavily affected by things outside our borders:
  • Shifts in political winds- have been targeting Your UNALIENABLE RIGHTS…that prohibit the taking of property without due process & just compensation

• THEY DO THIS TO US? BECAUSE WE LET THEM….      Several reasons:

• 1^st: Disrespect for the Bible & Constitution often comes from those who know the least about either. The bible played a foundational role in the creation of our constitution, and our constitution is the basis for all laws and limitations on government.  The purpose of the constitution is not to give you rights… but to protect those unalienable rights given to you by God.   Life-Liberty-Property… otherwise known as the “pursuit of happiness.”

• 2^nd: We fail to articulate our values… Officials have said to me… Don’t  talk about the Constitution when you’re in Annapolis… They’ll just laugh at you.  I DISAGREE… That is why every official should be talking about it every day in Annapolis & Washington.

• We allow them to silence us when we fail to visibly lead with OUR values:

• …When we Cede control of our schools to federal & state curriculum mandates.
  • We embrace the teaching of things that are un-American
  • Common core will become a defacto national standard
  • Teachers will not have the legal authority to change it
  • Reading & Math only the first to come. “Politically correct” versions of Science & History will be next.
• When new Septic laws demand we administratively create new zoning maps that violate existing zoning rights. And if we refuse to do so, new “sudden-death” restrictions take effect anyway.
• A dozen counties have not drawn these maps. Cecil County signed a resolution declaring their actions to be “under duress and protest”.
• Our Commissioners refused to submit and draw new maps, but the sudden-death property restrictions take effect anyway.
• You see… We should have gone one step further and nullified the bill. Unconstitutional administrative rezoning has no authority in law and should be thrown out.
• In a constitutional republic, the majority has no authority to vote away the unalienable rights of the minority.

• WHY DO THEY DO THIS?  BECAUSE WE LET THEM.

• They say… “we’re not taking anybody’s rights”.  They’re just environmental restrictions.
  • SAVE IT FOR SOMEBODY WITH GULLIBLE STAMPED ON THEIR FORHEAD
  • If they take away your right to buy ammo, they abort your 2^nd Amend rights
  • If they stop your ability to use septic, they take away rural property rights

• Their War on Rural Maryland has other fronts:
  • A new MD Storm-water law that demands new taxes based on the size of your roof and driveway, clearly targeting suburbia.   Yet, in Virginia, a federal court ruled water is not a pollutant and the EPA is overstepping its bounds.  We should follow Virginia’s lead and start fighting back…  and that takes money.

• 2013 will mark the beginning of the attack on private transportation. They are targeting private cars they say: “Detract from the local Economy”.  <I have drafted proposed legislation to prohibit mileage tracking by government on private automobiles for purposes of levying a mileage-based tax.>

 

• So why does Annapolis do this?
  • Because we let them

• Elected officials take an oath to support the Constitution… and then ignore it.     They continue to push for and/or allow more government overreach.

• Do they think the Constitution is unimportant???  I hope not, because it is what protects EACH OF YOU from government-gone-wild.

• Upholding our oath of office in support of the constitution takes practice

• That’s why I’m adopting the philosophy of WWJD.. (with a twist)

                      What Would Jefferson Do?

• Here’s an example of the problem:
  • I asked some officials what they would do if they were ordered to confiscate their citizens’ guns.
  • Three said “they don’t know” and three said they would “resign from office.”
  • No one mentioned nullification; interposition; or the constitutional role of an elected Sheriff in defense of your Unalienable Rights
  • There is a fundamental lack of understanding of the oath and powers vested in their offices.

• Local officials are our citizens’ last line of defense against overbearing government and its increasing contempt for your freedoms.

• In our efforts to be reasonable, we have tolerated the intolerable.

• .. we must work together to resist the excesses of upper levels of government.

 

• … And there’s good news…

• Carroll County is a charter member of the new Rural Coalition of ten counties working together to create a unified voice and stance for rural counties.

• We helped create the NEW CLEAN CHESAPEAKE COALITION consisting of 7 rural counties… working together to refocus efforts on cost effective strategies that will actually solve environmental problems at an affordable price.

• What can you do?

• Support our efforts to invest in initiatives that refocus government on sound science; sound economics; and a valid cost/benefit analysis. Otherwise, new taxes and new regulations will eventually crush rural homeowners and businesses, and steal your freedoms.
• Finally, tell your elected official at all levels to “Uphold their Oaths of Office.”

• Thank you & May God Bless Carroll County