[TheRealThing]

Ben Franklin used the phrase "essential liberty" in a letter he wrote addressing a dispute between the Penn family and the Pennsylvania legislature. In addition, the phrase appears in discussions of the Continental Congress. The phrase does not appear in the Constitution, but its thought is expressed in "certain inalienable rights.'

On the contrary, though as I have already pointed out, it is a phrase used by Franklin and no more part of the Constitution or any founding document, than are any of his other famous quotes. I mean, you might as well annex the entire works of Poor Richard's Almanac. A notable quote does come to mind for the purpose of this discussion, "When the people find they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the Republic." Your insistent reference to the pursuit of happiness, is a like distortion of the clearly stated rights in the documents; And amounts to nothing more profound than a liberal torpedo, which blows up the validity of our real rights. The list of unalienable rights are listed individually and en-toto. Adding things like the pursuit of homosexuality to the list is a defilement, pure and simple. Just as is the suggestion that welfare is constitutional because it helps people pursue happiness.

Those rights BTW, are what the Constitution calls out, not the slurve-ball you keep trying to throw into the discussion. Which is something you keep calling essential liberty, and not at all what Franklin was speaking of or concerned about upon our founding. Another quote attributable to Franklin, when a lady asked Dr. Franklin who was exiting the Constitutional Convention; "Well Doctor what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?" to which Franklin replied, "A republic maam, if you can keep it.”

As current events plainly show, Franklin had every right to be concerned that the purity of thought which established liberty in the first place, would be polluted by leftist rationales. So as things turned out the erosive forces of the left were already at work, trying to undermine the Constitution even then. The term 'Essential liberty' is merely more clever language dreamed up by leftist usurpers, in which to couch their liberal doctrines meant to make them more sellable. There is no difference between essential liberty, and just plain old liberty the true gift of the founders, and the object of Franklin's concern. The word essential, was only an endearing term Franklin used because the price paid to achieve liberty came at such a high cost to those who had the vision and the courage to fight for it.