Mark Small

Victoria Spartz successfully bought the Republican nomination for Indiana’s 5th Congressional District (INCD5) in the June 2 primary. Her positions on issues are deplorable. We should begin with her misunderstanding of The Constitution. 1/10

“Our constitutional republic was created with limited government functions to protect the individual rights to Life, Liberty and Property,” she states on her campaign website. 2/10

The word “property” appears once in The Constitution of 1787: “The Congress shall have Power to dispose of and make all needful Rules and Regulations respecting the Territory or other Property belonging to the United States;...” Art. IV, sec. 3. 3/10

This is not an individual’s “property,” but that of the United States. Besides, The Framers, in 1787, excluded non-whites, people who did not own land, and women from those who have “rights,” but they provided for the process of amendment. Art. V. 4/10

“Property” appears three (3) times in Amendments. “[N]or shall any person ... be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.” Amend. V. 5/10

Those two mentions in one Amendment, the Fifth, underline the importance of due process of law. That was part of the Bill of Rights - the first ten (10) amendments - and was ratified after The Convention. 6/10