DeMint Urges Power Back to the States

Sen. Jim DeMint argued for a “devolution of power out of Washington,” saying Sunday that “the fact is, education probably would work a lot better without the Department of Education.”

The South Carolina Republican had been asked on CNN’s “State of the Union” whether candidates whom he and the tea party movement have endorsed are too far out of the political mainstream. When host Candy Crowley gave Sharron Angle’s call to abolish the Education Department as an example, DeMint said, “She’s very bold to say it.” Angle is the GOP candidate challenging Majority Leader Harry Reid (D) for his Senate seat in Nevada.

“I would support a devolution of power out of Washington for education, health care, transportation, and I’ve introduced a lot of legislation for that, too,” DeMint added, saying the power should go to the states. “And you can do it in a common-sense, reasonable way that doesn’t disrupt any of the activities that we support”

For full article: http://www.rollcall.com/news/49987-1.html

Picture of the Year: Only Your Votes Can Change It

States’ Sovereignty will move to “Front and Center” if ObamaCare Passes

     If the House of Representatives, under the fearful “leadership” of Queen Nancy passes the ObamaCare legislation on Sunday, to “save the Obama legacy”, the fight over healthcare reform will not have won a HUGE voctory. Quite the contrary, the big battles will just begin.

     At the forefront to challenge the ObamaCare is the concept of State’s Sovereignty, i.e. the Tenth Amendment. Several states, including Alabama and Florida, are prepared to file lawsuits to challenge specifics of the legislation. Virginia’s Attorney General is prepared to file in Federal Court on Monday or Tuesday their challenges.

     Suffice it to say, the battle lines are drawn, and it may be years before the actual implementation of ObamaCare truly begins, if ever at all.

Related link: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/03/19/attorneys-general-south-carolina-florida-set-sue-health-care-reform/

State Sovereignty: A Virginia Rally

States using Guns to Assert Sovereignty

     Without the firing of real bullets, Montana has taken the lead in challenging the Federal Government, and using GUNS as the weapon of choice!:

Montana fires a warning shot over states’ rights

HELENA, Mont. – Montana is trying to trigger a battle over gun control — and perhaps make a larger point about what many folks in this ruggedly independent state regard as a meddlesome federal government.

In a bill passed by the Legislature earlier this month, the state is asserting that guns manufactured in Montana and sold in Montana to people who intend to keep their weapons in Montana are exempt from federal gun registration, background check and dealer-licensing rules because no state lines are crossed.

That notion is all but certain to be tested in court.

The immediate effect of the law could be limited, since Montana is home to just a few specialty gun makers, known for high-end hunting rifles and replicas of Old West weapons, and because their out-of-state sales would automatically trigger federal control.

Still, much bigger prey lies in Montana’s sights: a legal showdown over how far the federal government’s regulatory authority extends.

“It’s a gun bill, but it’s another way of demonstrating the sovereignty of the state of Montana,” said Democratic Gov. Brian Schweitzer, who signed the bill.

For Full article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090429/ap_on_re_us/us_montana_gun_rights_1

Utah and Texas have already introduced similar legislation IMMEDIATELY.

The 10th Amendment and Right Wing Extremists; State Sovereignty

The Tenth Amendment, Hypocrisy, and Right-Wing Extremists Like You and Me

By Rick Saunders
America’s Right

In a press conference held last week, Texas Gov. Rick Perry articulated a concern that has long simmered under the surface of the nation’s states, and asked a question being asked by concerned Americans from coast to coast: has the intrusive hand of the federal government now become so oppressive and hostile to the existence of the states and to the free and productive lives of its citizens that a new resurgence of popular support for the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution is needed?

For the full article: http://www.americasright.com/2009/04/tenth-amendment-hypocrisy-and-right.html

CNN reports on State Sovereignty Movement; Thye link it to stimulus package, but it is deeper than that

Stimulus raises state sovereignty issues

By Lauren Kornreich/ CNN

• Story Highlights
• GOP state lawmakers pressing the issue of state sovereignty
• They say the federal government has overstepped its bounds
• Oklahoma state senator: Stimulus package “immoral and unconscionable”
• Lawmakers are introducing bills in the states that invoke the Tenth Amendment

 

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Republican lawmakers from more than 20 states across the country are willing to take federal funding, but only on their terms.

From Montana to South Carolina, lawmakers in mostly red states have pushed ahead with measures calling for state sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment, saying the federal government has overstepped its bounds with the stimulus package. The states are calling for the right to ignore laws they deem unconstitutional.

Oklahoma state Sen. Randy Brogdon, a Republican and the first to introduce this type of legislation last year, originally pursued it because he thought then-President Bush and Congress exceeded their authority with the Real ID Act, which required states to include certain information on driver’s licenses.

He called the stimulus package “immoral and unconscionable” and said it was “the final straw that broke the financial back of America.”

Brogdon’s bill passed the state Senate on Wednesday and the state House approved a similar measure. The office of lead House sponsor Republican Rep. Charles Key said it is confident a joint resolution will get through.

The legislation would be binding. So, if the governor signs it, it theoreticallly would allow Oklahoma to ignore laws that are not “enumerated and granted to the federal government by the Constitution,” as stated in the Tenth Amendment.

“I’m sick and tired of Congress overreaching and underachieving,” Brogdon said. He added, “If we have an opportunity to salvage freedom and protect sovereignty, it has to be done at the state level.”

Similar legislation is moving along in South Carolina. The bill already passed in the state House and a state Senate panel approved it on Tuesday.

Republican state Rep. Lee Bright said he chose to sponsor the South Carolina measure because he thinks the stimulus package grants the federal government more power than the Constitution allows.

“The federal government is living beyond the scope that the Constitution grants it and states should put it on notice,” Bright said. “I haven’t been pleased for some time with what the federal government gets involved in, but it came to a head with the stimulus bill.”

The Republican lead sponsor of the bill in Virginia, state Rep. Christopher Peace, said his state has used only a small portion of the money allocated in the stimulus package. He said local officials are the best managers of Virginia’s budget and the federal government shouldn’t interfere with how the state chooses to spend its money.

“I’m not saying we don’t benefit from some of the money, but it’s important to question what are the roles and boundaries, and ask if Congress is exceeding them,” Peace said. “Our representatives in the federal government represent the same people we do and they need to work to keep the government small and limited and efficient.”

All the bills invoke the Tenth Amendment, which states that “the powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.”

Most are symbolic measures and none have passed yet, but local officials are hoping to send a message to Washington to back off.

Many states are criticizing the stimulus package, while others are trying to assert authority over other issues, like abortion in Missouri and exempting firearms from federal regulations in Montana.

Many of the bills include a provision that once the bill is passed, a copy will be sent to President Obama and Congress.

“It’s time to send a message to Congress that we’re sovereign,” said state Rep. Judy Burges, an Arizona Republican. “We have many states doing this and if you have enough sending the same message, they’re going to have to step back and take a look at what they’re doing.”

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/03/06/states.fed/index.html

Tennessee passes the State Sovereignty Resolution

HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 108

 A RESOLUTION to affirm Tennessee’s sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States and to demand the federal government halt its practice of assuming powers and of imposing mandates upon the states for purposes not enumerated by the Constitution of the United States. WHEREAS, the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States reads as follows: “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people”; and WHEREAS, the Tenth Amendment defines the total scope of federal power as being that specifically granted by the Constitution of the United States and no more; and WHEREAS, the scope of power defined by the Tenth Amendment means that the federal government was created by the states specifically to be an agent of the states; and WHEREAS, today, in 2009, the states are demonstrably treated as agents of the federal government; and WHEREAS, many powers assumed by the federal government and federal mandates are directly in violation of the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States; and WHEREAS, the United States Supreme Court has ruled in New York v. United States, 112 S. Ct. 2408 (1992), that Congress may not simply commandeer the legislative and regulatory processes of the states; and WHEREAS, a number of proposals from previous administrations and some now pending from the present administration and from Congress may further violate the Constitution of the United States; now, therefore, – 2 – 00394664 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE, THE SENATE CONCURRING, that we hereby affirm Tennessee’s sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States over all powers not otherwise enumerated and granted to the federal government by the Constitution of the United States. We also demand the federal government to halt and reverse its practice of assuming powers and of imposing mandates upon the states for purposes not enumerated by the Constitution of the United States. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that a committee of conference and correspondence be appointed by the Speaker of the House and of the Senate, which shall have as its charge to communicate the preceding resolution to the legislatures of the several states, to assure them that this State continues in the same esteem of their friendship and to call for a joint working group between the states to enumerate the abuses of authority by the federal government and to seek repeal of the assumption of powers and the imposed mandates. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that a certified copy of this resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States, the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker and the Clerk of the United States House of Representatives, and to each member of Tennessee’s Congressional delegation.

NH Legislator Sponsoring Sovereignty Legislation Joins Obama birth certificate cases

     New Hamphire’s Tim Comerford, who campaigned on the idea of state’s sovereignty, and who has pushed forward in the New Hampshire legislator state sovereignty legislation, has now become the sixth lawmaker to join the growing acyions challenging Barack Obama’s eligibility to be the President of the United States.

     From Tim Comerford’s bio:

I’m tired of politicians who preach responsibility, and then give us huge debts to pay! I’m tired of politicians who claim to be Conservative Constitutionalists, and then treat the Constitution as a “Consultative piece of parchment” only to be followed when politically convenient. I have a great passion for our republican form of government, and have a love for history. I was involved with NH youth and government for 3 years, a legislative education initiative of the Concord YMCA, which trains students in the legislative process. If elected, I’m familiar enough with parliamentary procedure to get right down to work for Epping and Fremont. I will never toss the Constitution aside, and I will always value the people I represent more than any lobbyist or interest group seeking to persuade me. I’m a firm believer in the phrase “principle over politics”, the enduring values of liberty, governmental openness and accountability, and responsiveness to the people mean more than the wrangling of party bosses.

Are the States putting Obama on Notice?

     Yesterday, we ran a post about New Hampshire’s resolution regarding States rights and federal government intervention.

     It appears that there is a groundswell among the States in drafting similar legislation. Here is a list of the State initiatives in the works, with Michigan, Arizona, Washington, and Missouri being the latest to join the list:

State Initiatives

This page tracks various State-based initiatives towards reforming the American government, a constitutional republic.

Use ChangeDetection.com to monitor this page.

Arizona: (02/04/09)

• AZ State Reps Introduce State Sovereignty Resolution

Colorado: (12/16/08)

• Candidate Qualification: CO Legislative Council Begins Ballot Initiative Process
• Ballot Initiative to Certify Candidate Eligibility Submitted in Colorado

Georgia: (02/03/09)

• From Georgia: Georgia Constitutional Convention and the FairTax, School Vouchers, Proof of Citizenship to Vote

Michigan: (02/04/09)

• MI State Rep Introduces Resolution on State Sovereignty

Missouri: (02/04/09)

• MO State Reps Propose State Sovereignty Bill Regarding FOCA

Montana: (02/04/09)

• MT State Rep Introduces Bill to Exempt Firearms from Federal Regulation (2nd and 10th Amendments)

New Hampshire: (02/03/09)

• NH State Reps Introduce Bill Reaffirming States’ Rights

North Dakota: (01/22/09)

• State Initiative Update: ND, UT Considering Legislation to Modify Statutes

Ohio: (12/11/08)

• OH State Rep Offers Joint Resolution Asking Electoral College to Confirm Citizenship

Oklahoma: (01/31/09)

• OK State Rep to Reintroduce State Sovereignty Bill
• Ballot Update: OK State Rep Ritze Pre-fills Bill
• OK State Rep to Introduce Bill Requiring Documentation for Ballot Placement

Pennsylvania: (10/31/08)

• PA State Rep Authoring Legislation on Candidate Eligibility Based on Obama Citizenship Questions

Utah: (01/22/09)

• State Initiative Update: ND, UT Considering Legislation to Modify Statutes

Washington: (02/04/09)

• WA State Reps Introduce Bill on State Sovereignty

http://www.therightsideoflife.com/?page_id=1909