Do you think Thomas Jefferson would approve of the current state of the US government?
540574
No. It's a far cry from his day. He'd be shocked at how the constitution has been slaughtered and reinterpreted to fit the desires of a fickle society. I'm sure, if he were alive, he'd be explaining what our forefathers were thinking when they wrote our constitution. <*)))><
550933
i know there would some details and such to work out, and it could get a little chaotic, but i've often thought that a president should get auto-booted out of office when his approval rating drops below 50%.  he is after all suppose to elected my a majority of the people and to serve the people.\nmight keep more politicians on track instead of seeing a government office as a way to further their careers and wallet.
1061372
No:  It is not an issue of whether we agree with his policies or not.  Our Constitution works as it is and as the founding fathers intended.
670709
Patrick Henry would have objected to much of this administration's policies.  \n\nI think Patrick Henry would be screaming about the decline of liberty under this administration, and the threat from wiretapping, the Patriot Act, and dozens of other kinds of government snooping.  In that day, patriots understood that a government with great power was a government that had great power to take liberty away from the people.\n\nHe would also cringe at the size of the government, and the tremendous expansion under this administration.  He would know that all the massive spending increases would eventually come back to haunt us in higher taxes, despite the disingenuous tax-cuts that haven't matched the spendthrift habits of this administration.\n\nHe would question the foreign policy that entangles us in the internal affairs of nations around the world.  Our founding fathers were very adamant about the importance of staying clear of foreign entanglements.  \n\nFrankly, I think most of the founding fathers would be immensely saddened by this administration.  I think you have it backwards.  They might agree with some of the WORDS that have come from this government (the theory), but the practice of this administration would be precisely what they fought against.  \n\nOf course, Patrick Henry and his companions wouldn't have agreed with many of Bush's opponents either.  They would have been distressed about the interference in private commerce that both parties now seem to advocate, and the willingness of Democrats to raise taxes consistently.  Of course you know that Patrick Henry was a great anti-tax advocate.\n\nOverall, I'd say we have strayed far from the principles this nation was founded upon, and we'd all do well to study more about what it takes to maintain a free country. Patrick Henry and the other founders could teach us all a lot about what is needed for our future.
458325
I like my Constitution just the way it is. After 8 years of Bush, we'll be ready for some new ideas \n.
742237
Jefferson would hate modern politics, especially because during his time, presidents did not campaign, they had people speak for them and there was no bashing of their opponents. Why cant we go back to such wonderful times?
776792
I wouldn't; it is an outdated system that needs to be completely overhauled...the genius of the founding fathers is that they knew that they could not anticipate what the future would be and therefore built in a system to change things as the country evoled...i.e the second amendment and the electoral college both need to be reconsidered
306792
John Adams, Thomas Jefferson
223589
Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 N.S. – July 4, 1826) was the third President of the United States (1801–1809), author of the Declaration of Independence (1776), and one of the most influential founders of the United States. Major events during his presidency include the Louisiana Purchase (1803), the Embargo Act of 1807, and the Lewis and Clark Expedition (1804–1806).\n\nAnd check out the link below.
965395
It won't be any one single individual; it'll be a group of brave, caring thinkers ... much the same as the brave thinkers that gathered and formed our Constitution.\n\nIt was Thomas Jefferson who believed that a country needed to undergo a revolution every 200 years to stay on track.  Our Founding Fathers proved that the course of a country could be changed; I believe that we as a nation still carry many of their beliefs, values and strengths.
782299
Well, my opinion is that the document is outdated.  It's just a piece of paper,  made by men after all, and yet it is revered as if made by the hand of God.  \n\nI think it should be considered to draw up a new constitution: One that wouldn't need exhaustive amounts of amendments, and would apply to the state of affairs in 2006 versus 1776.  It could also include and merge all the standing supreme court decisions, which would allow the justices to refer to the constitution instead of court precedent, a practice I find to be admirable but not necessarily wise.  (A decision handed down in the past may nonetheless have been in error.)\n\nI realize that this is an extremely radical viewpoint.  But nonetheless I think people should consider the fact that the constitution is more symbolic now than truly effective.
918300
He might be, but Congress still has the power to override his vetoes and put measures into effect even without his OK.\n\nThat's what the "checks and balances" system of government here in America is all about.
779586
It might be than that the government would go back to being merely a servant of the people -- merely a temporary servant; And not the people a servant to them.\n\n Its function might be to obey orders, not originate them.\n\nMaybe.
90656
By "us gov" I assume you mean the current administration.  Or do you mean to include congress?  In either case, the answer is generally, no.  I'm terribly disappointed.  Or rather, not really disappointed, because I did not expect much from GWB.  But the structure of our government is still pretty good, and our Constitution is just fine, thank you.  Don't you wish the current crop of idiots paid attention to it once in awhile?\n\nThe problem I see in this country is that the vast majority of voters figure their choices are limited to the two largest parties.  Problem is, they have been trading off power trips and making back-room deals between them for so long, that does not give us much in the way of a choice.\n\nBut we have a strong and promising third party coming up fast: the Libertarian Party.  We libertarians believe that a government should be small enough to fit inside the Constitution.  We would disassemble the beaurocracy, stop butting into other countries' business, and trust the individual adult citizen to make his or her own choices about private matters.  We believe market forces would solve many of the problems that protectionism and favoritism only make worse.  And we believe that taxes should be eliminated if possible, or at least reduced to no more than it would take to run those operations that cannot be accomplished any other way.  \n\nIf the state can do it, then the feds should let them.  If the county can do it, the state should let them.  If the individual can do it, then let him alone.  If the individual cannot do it, let voluntary organizations and other structures at the local level help.  Because the larger the unit set with the task of solving a given problem, the less efficient it will inevitably be.  Perhaps the coordination necessary for defense operations would require a federal structure, but I personally cannot think of anything else that needs to be done on such a scale.  Can you?
675647
Just to get back to the principles on which our country is founded, here are a few quotes from Thomas Jefferson:\n\n"No religious reading, instruction or exercise, shall be prescribed or practiced [in the elementary schools] inconsistent with the tenets of any religious sect or denomination." --Thomas Jefferson: Elementary School Act, 1817. ME 17:425 \n\nJefferson strongly believed in freedom of religion, the right of every American to worship as he saw fit, and in keeping religion out of government and government out of religion. Here's another quote in which he says that ministers should not visit elementary schools:\n\n"Ministers of the Gospel are excluded [from serving as Visitors of the county Elementary Schools] to avoid jealousy from the other sects, were the public education committed to the ministers of a particular one; and with more reason than in the case of their exclusion from the legislative and executive functions." --Thomas Jefferson: Note to Elementary School Act, 1817. ME 17:419 \n\nPeople who think this country was founded as a "Christian country" should go back and read the founding fathers. They were revolutionaries who were trying to found a country that was different from the European countries and where there was no official religion.\n\nSay nothing of my religion. It is known to God and myself alone. Its evidence before the world is to be sought in my life: if it has been honest and dutiful to society the religion which has regulated it cannot be a bad one.\n-Thomas Jefferson
51759
I have a dream.  My dream is that one day Thomas Jefferson will rise up out of his grave and p!mpslap GW Bush.  Then he shall spit in the president's face and say, "Listen up, moron.  The end does not justify the means.  Your day-to-day actions add up and affect the big picture.  Sacrifice small liberties today and you're closer to killing freedom tomorrow.  Now go get yourself the complete works of Aristotle and don't come out of your room till you've finished reading them cover to cover."
718717
hell no...way too much government and the governement seems to think it can regulate every detail of our lives...that was not the original intention of the founding fathers\n\nthe government that rules least..rules best