© WND
Truckers rallied in Washington to restore America to its constitutional republic foundations. So did veterans. And bikers. They all assembled and then departed, leaving the Beltway insiders to continue running the nation into the ground, according to one man who says an event he hopes to hold this spring will be different.
U.S. Army Col. Harry G. Riley, retired, who runs the
Patriots for America website, told
WND his event planned for May 16 doesn't really have an organized sponsor - it will be just be individual Americans assembling to demand a restoration of their nation.
One of the primary catalysts for the event he said, was the establishment of a prayer group.
Also, he vows that they won't leave Washington until they see change.
"One million or more of the assembled 10 million must be prepared to stay in D.C. as long as it takes to see Obama, Biden, Reid, McConnell, Boehner, Pelosi, and Attorney General Holder removed from office," Riley explains in a promotional email about his plan.
"The senior Republican in the U.S. House of Representatives will become Speaker of the House and the U.S. House of Representatives will elect a temporary president and vice president of the United States. The U.S. Senate will take action to elect a new majority and minority leader," he declared.
"As required, the U.S. Congress will execute appropriate legislation to convene new elections or U.S. states will appoint replacements for positions vacated consistent with established constitutional requirements."
Riley spent more than 34 years in the U.S. military, with tours of duty around the globe. He received the Silver Star, Bronze Star, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Air Medal, Joint Service Commendation Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal and other honors.
He's been active in several other efforts, such as the 2007 Gathering of Eagles, and has been effective enough so that leftists have come out to attack him.
"There is not much time and the only planning necessary is to select a starting date, which we have done, and then show up in Washington, D.C., on that date, and plan to stay for the duration. The goal is restoring the U.S. Constitution as the law of the land, removing the lawless leadership," Riley explained.
Read the definitive case for removing Barack Obama from office in "Impeachable Offenses" by Aaron Klein and Brenda J. Elliott."
Will this be a cake-walk? No, it will be painful, and some people may die because the government will not be non-violent; some of us will end up in a cell, and some may be injured. If that's what it will take to save our nation, do we have any choice? Freedom loving Americans will say there is no choice, we must begin the second American Revolution. Not with guns, but with millions of Americans demanding a return to constitutional government and the resignation of Obama, Biden, Reid, McConnell, Boehner, Pelosi, and Holder as a start...then the constitutional restoration process can begin."
He urged "all organizations, groups, particularly veterans and military retirees, [to] begin planning to visit Washington, D.C., beginning May 16, 2014."
His plans seems to align mostly with what another retired military leader, Maj. Gen. Paul Vallely,
has advocated.
As WND reported, Vallely said it's time for millions of Americans to "stand up" to a federal government that is "conducting treason ... violating the Constitution, violating our laws." He's calling for marches, a legislative vote of "no confidence" in President Obama and congressional leaders, even citizen arrests - drawing inspiration from the 33 million Egyptians who stood up to their government and removed Muslim Brotherhood officials from office.
Vallely also said the radio interview in which
he called for a new American uprising has struck a note with the millions of modern tea partiers who are looking for unifying leadership.
"It's been all over Facebook, a number of websites, radio shows calling me for interviews," Vallely said. "And the response I've received has been 99-percent positive.
"I think the biggest thing is that someone is finally standing up to lead," he explained. "We need someone to lead; we need a new George Washington."
Sign the petition urging Congress to pursue impeachment right away!Riley explains his philosophy:
© WNDMaj. Gen. Paul E. Vallely (ret.)
"Similar to our Founding Fathers, citizens and patriots in America now find themselves increasingly denied freedom and liberty from a government leadership (A new crown) that is focused on self-serving, power hungry, deception, and betrayal motivations...the ultimate goal of U.S. Constitutional destruction," he writes. "While our Founding Fathers endured pain and suffering from the British Crown, there came a time when they declared 'enough is enough.' Thus, the Declaration of Independence was drafted. We should read our Declaration of Independence and note the grievances that led to the decision of 'independence or death.' America is under the heel of a new 'crown,' enduring grievances of which are not far removed from conditions our Founding Fathers experienced. The Founders moved to action. Now is the time for American patriots to move to action."
Underlying the plan is the invitation to "patriots" to help restore the constitutional government, rule of law, freedom and liberty" from what is described as a "despotic and tyrannical federal leadership."
The first step is for millions to assemble in a peaceful, nonviolent, physically unarmed display of loyalty to the U.S. Constitution.
The second step is have a large number of those people stay in Washington until changes are made. It calls for those changes to be made "consistent with the Constitution."
"We are past the point of no return, thus must move forward with an effort to save our nation, as there is no other choice. We are asking, pleading with you, and any others that have resources, national voices, email lists, blogs, FB, Twitter, to call for a non-violent American Spring May 16, 2014, in Washington D.C. We must appeal to ten million and more American patriots to come and stay in Washington, D.C., to stop the White House and Congress from total destruction of the United States. It's now or never. God help us."
Riley told
WND in an interview that the "paper shuffle" of contacting Congress and petitioning has been unfruitful so far.
"The Congress and the administration are just totally oblivious to the American people. They go their own way. The administration makes its own laws. They have their own Congress in the president's staff," he said.
Riley said he never before has seen so much interest in such a move.
"This has to be done," he said.
He said he was inspired by Georgetown Professor Jonathan Turley's recent congressional testimony.
The liberal professor has represented members of Congress in a lawsuit over the Libyan war, represented workers at the secret Area 51 military base and served as counsel on national security cases. He now says Obama is a danger to the U.S. Constitution.
He was addressing a House Judiciary Committee hearing Dec. 4. Chairman Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., asked him: "Professor Turley, the Constitution, the system of separated powers is not simply about stopping one branch of government from usurping another. It's about protecting the liberty of Americans from the dangers of concentrated government power. How does the president's unilateral modification of act[s] of Congress affect both the balance of power between the political branches and the liberty interests of the American people?"
Turley replied: "Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The danger is quite severe. The problem with what the president is doing is that he's not simply posing a danger to the constitutional system. He's becoming the very danger the Constitution was designed to avoid. That is the concentration of power."
Turley explained that the "Newtonian orbit that the three branches exist in is a delicate one but it is designed to prevent this type of concentration."
"There are two trends going on which should be of equal concern to all members of Congress," he said. "One is that we have had the radical expansion of presidential powers under both President Bush and President Obama. We have what many once called an imperial presidency model of largely unchecked authority. And with that trend we also have the continued rise of this fourth branch. We have agencies that are quite large that issue regulations. The Supreme Court said recently that agencies could actually define their own or interpret their own jurisdiction."
Video of Vallely's radio interview, in which he called for millions of Americans to march on Washington, can be seen below:
Vallely has been immensely popular among tea party organizations that are seeking a way to restore the rule of law to Washington.
Among other things, they cite the Obamacare law, and the 15 or more times Obama has changed the law - without consulting Congress.
In a statement earlier to WND, Vallely said a vote of no confidence could be used.
The founder of
Stand Up America, an organization that provides education resources for leaders and activists based on the values of the Founding Fathers, said: "Clearly America has lost confidence and no longer trusts those in power at a most critical time in our history. ... It is true that not all who ply the halls of power fit under that broad brush, but most of them are guilty of many egregious acts, and we say it is time to hold a vote of no confidence. It's time for a 'recall.'"
Congress already is addressing charges that Obama is violating the Constitution.
WND reported when Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., said Obama's actions have reached "an unprecedented level, and we've got to do something about it.
"Assume that a statute said you had to provide two forms of ID to vote. Can the president require three forms? Can the president require one form? Can you suspend all requirements? If not, why not?" he said. "If you can turn off certain categories of law, do you not also have the power to turn off all categories of law?"
Gowdy cited Obama's decisions to ignore certain immigration laws, even though Congress did not approve the changes. He also cited arbitrary changes to the Obamacare law and Obama's "recess appointments" of judges even though the U.S. Senate was not in recess.
His proposal is for Congress to take the White House to court over the president's actions, through a resolution proposed by Rep. Tom Rice, R-Ga., that would authorize the House to sue the Obama administration. It has 30 co-sponsors.
Rice said that because of "this disregard of our country's checks and balances, many of you have asked me to bring legal action against the president."
"After carefully researching the standing the House of Representatives has and what action we can take, I have introduced a resolution to stop the president's clear overreach," he said.
A Fox News interviewer asked Gowdy if Obama could refuse to enforce election laws.
"Why not?" asked Gowdy, "If you can turn off immigration laws, if you can turn off the mandatory minimum in our drug statutes, if you can turn off the so-called Affordable Care Act - why not election laws?"
WND reported that it was at the same hearing that Michael Cannon, director of Health Policy Studies for the Cato Institute, said there is "one last thing to which the people can resort if the government does not respect the restraints that the Constitution places of the government."
"Abraham Lincoln talked about our right to alter our government or our revolutionary right to overthrow it," he said.
"That is certainly something that no one wants to contemplate. If the people come to believe that the government is no longer constrained by the laws, then they will conclude that neither are they."
Cannon said it is "very dangerous" for the president to "wantonly ignore the laws, to try to impose obligations upon people that the legislature did not approve."
Several members of Congress also contributed their opinions in an interview with talk-show host Sean Hannity.
See the Hannity segment:
Former Reagan Justice Department lawyer Larry Klayman hopes the 19th of November will rank with the 4th of July, someday. He called the day the beginning of "The Second American Revolution." Klayman organized a rally that day at Lafayette Park, across from the White House, by the "The Reclaim America Now" coalition.
The coalition is composed of about three-dozen conservative groups, including 2 Million Bikers to D.C., Jihad Watch, Freedom Watch, Gun Owners of America, Accuracy in Media, Tea Party Patriots and the Western Center for Journalism.
© WND/Garth KantLarry Klayman speaks to the "Reclaim America" rally.
About 200 people gathered to hear speakers call for two goals: The renewal of America and the resignation of Obama.
Klayman accused Obama of establishing tyranny in America and called for peaceful change, declaring: "We the People have had enough of the corrupt and incompetent ways of the Obama administration and its bipartisan political enablers. It is time for action, not words."
It will be draped in the American flag.