Republicans push Repeal Amendment
May 12, 2011 2 Comments
Republicans – including Virginia’s latest national embarrassment, Rep. H. Morgan Griffith – are pushing an amendment that would allow two-thirds of the state’s legislatures repeal any federal law they don’t like.
This would, in essence repeal the supremacy clause, turning America’s governing framework on its head:
This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in pursuance thereof; and all treaties made, or which shall be made, under the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law of the land; and the judges in every state shall be bound thereby, anything in the constitution or laws of any state to the contrary notwithstanding.
More important, it is a strikingly antidemocratic idea. Because America’s population is concentrated, two-thirds of the states could represent just one-third of the population.
In essence, Republicans are saying they believe the legislators representing one-third of America’s people ought to be able to veto the actions of officials representing the entire population.
This is a ludicrous idea, and the fact that some are pushing it seriously is a demonstration of how silly our politics has gotten in the last few years.
So hypothetically speaking, if this were to pass, how much time, money and other resources would be wasted in the entire effort of bringing it through and then having it overturned by the Supreme Court? Not to mention that I feel reasonably certain that President Obama would veto it, so would it go back for votes to override?
This is like hiring someone to do a job who then focuses their time to organize a revolt against everything the corporation stands for, while you’re still paying their salary.
I don’t see the text of the proposed amendment, but the quote on your linked article refers to “the states” as having the ability to repeal. In honesty, it’s the states’ REPRESENTATIVES who would have the ability to repeal, notwithstanding whatever the citizens of those states want and believe. I truly think that there ought to be some transparancy between the issues and opinions that voters bring to an elected official, and the way that official chooses to vote. We now have the technology to be able to tally a vote cast by each citizen, so why are we still allowing elected officials to claim to speak for us? If you’re going to rearrange the Constitution, let’s start with repealing the 12th Amendment – eliminating the electoral college and replacing it with a popular vote. And then put these decisions in the hands of the voters themselves, rather than the lawmakers seeking to gain even more power. I bet they wouldn’t pass it then.
I see this as another step towards a fully Divided States of America – the conservatives on one side, and the liberals on the other. I’d also be willing to bet that if a conservative Republican were elected President in 2012, these same people would be scrambling to squash any mention of a repeal amendment.
Of course they want this bill to pass – what child wouldn’t want to get his own way?
Much like the state of Virginia has codified the laws concerning political ethic to such an extent that so much behavior that is criminal in federal politics, and in many other states, is legal in Virginia.
New Jersey Politicians would blush with shame at what we regard as normal in state politics. We are the envy of every criminal in politics anywhere. Heck, our latest criminal prosecution of a Politician, Phil Hamilton, was FEDERAL endeavor, after Virginia’s ethic’s laws couldn’t get a grasp on his slimy hide, and state politicians acted like he was the greased pig at the local fair -untouchable.
It’s not surprising that the GOP (and many Dem state senators) would like to see the supremacy clause overturned – Like any criminal, the chance to have ended the threat of the law curtailing a profitable arrangement is too exciting to pass up.
Of course we don’t have any criminals in our state politics – for something to be illegal, there has to be a law against it – and Virginia has no real laws regarding politicians so the only thing they have to fear is the Feds. The end of the Supremacy Clause would end even that slim threat.
http://hamptonroads.com/2011/05/va-ethics-rules-questioned-wake-federal-case