Pearce talks Constitution in Portales

[email protected]

The U.S. Constitution, U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce said on Friday, is a contract between the people and the government. And it works in favor of the people.

“It’s like my wife getting our floors done at our house and, if the floor breaks, then she has the right to tell the contractor to fix it,” Pearce said.

The Constitution’s authors, Pearce said, wanted to ensure government’s powers were outlined exactly because they had lived in a world where one person had too much power.

link Staff photo: Lillian Bowe

Rep. Steve Pearce, R-N.M., reads the U.S. Constitution as part of the event held on Friday at the Sandia Room at Eastern New Mexico University. Pearce went over what the document means and how it affects the country.

Our Constitution was put in place to protect the people, he said.

“Anyone in power wants more power. It doesn’t matter what political party it is. Each one is trying to get more power,” Pearce said.

Pearce, R-N.M., spoke before Eastern New Mexico University students, staff, professors and area residents on campus Friday as part of Constitution Day, which commemorates the formation and signing of the U.S. Constitution on Sept. 17, 1787.

The informal lecture became a Q&A session.

Pearce was asked if he were worried about a rich minority of the United States running the country.

“Ideas will win over money,” he said.

Why, asked another, is it necessary to learn about the Constitution?

“To know what power the government holds and what rights people have in our country,” he said. “They (citizens) can seize what power they have. I’m very passionate about educating everyone about the Constitution.”