Today on the Meg Ellefson show, I shared the remarks of Assembly Speaker Robin Vos after being elected Speaker for another term. He stated that before every inauguration, he re-reads the Wisconsin State Constitution and encouraged his colleagues in the legislature to do so as well.
In part, he said:
Our state constitution begins with the following preamble:
“We, the people of Wisconsin, grateful to Almighty God for our freedom, in order to secure its blessings, form a more perfect government, insure domestic tranquility and promote the general welfare, do establish this constitution”
…
Can you guess which branch of government is mentioned first in the state Constitution?
You guessed right, the branch closest to the people. The Legislature.
While the constitution specifically provides guidance for the powers of each branch of government, it spends significantly more time on the legislative branch.
The constitution addresses the governor in 10 sections and the attorney general, secretary of state and state treasurer in 1 section each… but the *legislature is addressed in 34 sections.
Our state’s founders clearly wanted to give more distinct powers to the branch closest to the people.
Every one of us comes from a different part of the state and comes with our own set of principles and beliefs but we all share the same constitution, and all recited the same oath moments ago as we swore to defend and protect it.
We must never forget that we are not here to satisfy our personal beliefs or passions; we are here to represent our constituents and their wishes, not simply our own.
I encourage you, dear informed reader, to also read our state’s constitution and take the words of Speaker Robin Vos to heart.
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