By Shane Trejo
This brave new world we are living in is getting very wild and crazy during this election season. Although the Tenth Amendment Center primarily focuses on political reform at the state and local levels, it is impossible to ignore the impact that Julian Assange and WikiLeaks are having on federal politics.
WikiLeaks has recently begun “Phase 3” of their election coverage. The first two phases have given way to crushing revelations that are slowly but surely receiving public coverage and creating serious ramifications. A The Hill reportelaborates on this unprecedented information drop:
The anti-secrecy site put politicians on notice Sunday evening in a tweet that also included a plea for donations.
We commence phase 3 of our US election coverage next week. You can contribute: https://shop.wikileaks.org/donate @WLTaskForce
WikiLeaks has already posted stolen emails from the Democratic National Committee and Clinton campaign chief John Podesta. The hacker Guccifer 2.0 took credit for the DNC breach and is widely believed to be a front for a Russian intelligence group tied to the Podesta breach.
WikiLeaks is obviously pulling no punches when dishing out the dirt. It is clear that their priority is opening the eyes of the public, rather than protecting the prestige and influence of institutional government power. A BBC reportdescribed some of the ‘Greatest Hits’ from the leaks which included secret wars being plotted with corporate donors and full-blown presidential debate rigging.
These disclosures are important to the cause of nullification not because they may swing the election a certain way. The federal elections are largely irrelevant to this cause. Regardless of who wins, there will be plenty of overreaching federal policies that must be nullified. We will have our hands full regardless if the red team or the blue team wins next week.
The reason why these leaks are so important is because of the enlightening effect that it is having on the public. The preposterous facade of federal propaganda is finally crumbling. The feds cannot control the flow of information anymore, and there is no putting the genie back in the bottle. WikiLeaks has lit the powder keg in the digital era, and there is no going back.
The ramifications on federal power may be incredibly dire. The federal government has always shrouded itself in a cloak of secrecy to act as if everything they do is completely sacrosanct. They would never open up the books and the records because it would supposedly jeopardize national security. The public has stomached this rigmarole for the most part – especially in a highly polarized War on Terror environment.
The “national security” facade is a bit more difficult to maintain when there is direct, incontrovertible evidence that indicates the contrary. The Wikileaks disclosures have shown definitively that federal bureaucrats handle top secret information capriciously and dangerously. Give them power, and they will squander it while enabling terrorists and hackers to make our country into a laughingstock.
Obviously, these disclosures are fantastic news for nullification proponents and other limited government activists. They are essentially ripping off the federal mask for good. The feds have had to revert back to Cold War mode with rhetoric so absurd that it would make Joe McCarthy wince were he still alive. These desperate maneuvers show that they have no more cards in their deck to play, making the time to push back against them better than ever.
It is far easier to make our arguments in this new digital age. Our case that the NSA should stop collecting all of our data warrantlessly in a blanket manner is a slam dunk when the feds cannot even contain their own emails without exhibiting gross incompetence and negligence. Bringing the power back home from Washington D.C. is not a tough sell after the feds are caught dead-to-rights in leaked e-mails scamming and lying to the American people.
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This entire process may be ugly and grueling, but it is proving to be very beneficial to the cause of liberty. As the federal government falters and loses their ability to manipulate the public, they will not cede power without a fight. The feds will cling to power desperately until the bitter end regardless of how disgraced and reviled they become. Nevertheless, we have to seize the opportunity that this discontent gives us to rally the public around ideas that can create a lasting free and prosperous society.
There has never been a better time to revive the message of the Founding Fathers and the rightful remedy to federal tyranny, nullification. The crisis of confidence that the federal government has created for themselves is a massive opportunity for us. There is nastiness ahead, but we can bring about the end to it by pushing timeless ideas that will forge a better future for us all. Do not lose hope, and join this battle that will determine whether or not we keep freedom in this brave new world.
Shane Trejo writes for The Tenth Amendment Center, where this article first appeared.
