By: Matthew Newgent
A good friend and fellow West Point graduate just asked about forced vaccinations, as well as how it applies to the military. Here is my response:
Great question! This mandatory vaccine issue has been brewing for months, and it’s going to come to a head very soon.
A related and overarching issue is that Biden just defied the Supreme Court decision to end the moratorium on evictions for renters not paying their rent. Biden basically went against the Supreme court and said he was going to extend allowing tenants not paying their rent, rather than allowing the landlords to evict non-paying tenants after the moratorium on evictions expired on July 31. Meanwhile, the landlords still pay the mortgages.
Two takeaways from Biden’s latest presidential edict are these:
1. He sets the precedent of defying the Supreme Court, which President Andrew Jackson did regarding Worcester V. Georgia in 1832: President Jackson said, “Justice Marshall has made his decision; now let him enforce it.” Such an act, as is Biden’s now, is an edict of a tyrant, not of the leader of a constitutional republic.
If Biden is willing to defy the Supreme Court regarding protecting the right to property of landlords, he will defy the Supreme Court on vaccines, gun ownership, etc. Expect Biden to continue to push harder on making vaccines mandatory for all Americans.
2. Reference the end of the eviction moratorium: If Biden has his way and allows tenants not to pay rent without authorization of Congress (See Article I of the Constitution), he is in effect removing the fundamental right to property: landlords still have to pay mortgages to the banks. The Declaration of Independence states, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS.”
“The pursuit of happiness” relates to the right to own property. Allowing tenants not to pay rent denies money (a form of property) due to them by law. Biden and his administration are in effect defying the foundations of our constitutional republic, not just the Supreme Court, and if he will do it against property, he will do it against the individual person.
This begs the question, “what can we do when I am required by my employer or my military chain of command to take the COVID vaccine?”
Reference vaccines, here are a few things that can happen to stop the vaccine mandate:
1. Enough Republican leaders will push back enough via the media, using their soft power as congressmen, rallying their constituents to push back, etc. The likelihood is low, as the Republicans lately seem more intent to negotiate for concessions rather than to fight for our constitutional liberties. Even if they did, Biden most likely would ignore them.
2. State Governors and legislatures fight back. Take the example of the Honorable Ron DeSantis, governor of Florida. He and a handful of other brave Republican governors put in the legal framework to basically defy any unconstitutional edict from the president on issues such as mandatory vaccines, mandatory masks, mandatory shut downs, and gun confiscation. Additionally, Governor DeSantis has worked with the Florida state legislature and made a law that does not allow vaccines to be required. The one exception in Florida I am aware of is Disney, which is a discussion for another day.
3. Employees stand up against their employers. When enough people stand up and say, “I refuse to get a vaccine in order to keep my job. Fire me, and then I (or “WE” in a class-action lawsuit if there are enough employees) will Sue you.” If enough people work collaboratively and take this very courageous stand, employers will rethink their position and push back against the government or simply ignore Biden’s executive mandates.
4. Legal challenges in the courts. Courts can rule against different vaccine mandates, but some vaccine mandates have been upheld in court. Biden will probably not go for universal vaccine mandates because such a mandate would be thrown own of court. I see him chipping away through targeted mandates, i.e., military, government employees, where the executive branch exercises direct control and where he would tend to get more compliance than legal resistance. Hopefully, I am wrong here, and GS employees and members of military push back.
5. Enough military members say, “I refuse to get that vaccine. Court-martial me, Sir.” Some members of the military would certainly receive punishment under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) via Article 15 and maybe a undergo a courts marshal, but we have to take a stand. Typically, the courts marshal decides guilt and recommends the punishment, but the unit commander typically decides the punishment. If there is non-judicial punishment, the unit commander is the judge and executioner, so to speak, and could simply choose to accept guilt and decide on no punishment or simply a slap on the wrist of 15 days of extra duty, for example, and the trooper will still not get the vaccine. However, the increased number of “woke” leaders in our armed forces will probably lead to harsher punishments and lesser promotions for those who refuse to get the vaccine.
Stay in the fight for the Constitution and for our liberty!
Matthew Newgent
President,
Conservative Economy
