Monday, January 24, 2011

Nullification Now

John Marshall has made his decision;
let him enforce it now if he can.
What if Washington made a law and nobody paid attention? Or even more significantly, what if states specifically repudiated it and threatened to prosecute those enforcing it?

The question's no longer are rhetorical.

Scene from 'The Second Civil War'
Scene from 'The Second Civil War'

The WND article posits,"The questions no longer are rhetorical but a real option as eight states consider a blanket nullification of the Obamacare nationalization of health-care decision-making advances in their legislatures."

"Thomas Jefferson advised, 'Whensoever the general government assumes undelegated powers ... a nullification of the act is the rightful remedy,'" states the Tenth Amendment Center, which advocates a return to the constitutionally delegated powers for the federal government.

"When states pass laws to reject and nullify unconstitutional federal 'laws,' regulations and mandates – it's not rebellion ... it's duty," the organization states.

Let's suppose that we're lucky, and the states are plucky enough to move on this.  The next step would most likely be a decision by the Supreme Court on the legality of nullification.  I'm not at all sure how this court would rule, but what if it sided with Obamunists?  That's where Andrew Jackson's supposed response to John Marshall comes in.

“John Marshall has made his decision; let him enforce it now if he can.”

There is some question over whether President Andrew Jackson uttered that threat, but an awful lot of time has been spent by lawyers and constitutionalists arguing its merits.  We know that Marshall did nothing in response.  We shan't know here unless this argument is invoked re: Obamacare.  And then it hinges on whether the states hold their ground; no certain thing.  But if they do, I can't see them losing.  I can't see the Federals sending in troops.  It would be good for the nation to find out whether the concept of federalism is dead, or not. It would be good if a whole mess of constitutionally questionable laws were nullified.  Then we could vote with our feet again.


20 comments:

Anonymous said...

Were those soldiers guarding the borders of the Golden State? From the outside.
tomw

Anonymous said...

Since the late unpleasantness having been resolved by force majeure there has been a timidity on the part of the states to assert their rights. The time has not only come. It is long overdue.

Casca

Anonymous said...

Sooner or later a State will have to cut the money supply off to the Fed. That will be the key.

Anonymous said...

No need for troops. The feds will just threaten to not return any of the money they steal from us and the states will cave immediately. - Skyhawker Doug

Anonymous said...

I don't know who is going to start the pool, but I have dibs on Texas!

Casca

cuchieddie said...

And all the more reason to keep stocking ammo and artillery.

Anonymous said...

Texas missed its opportunity back during the First Gulf War. When the 1st Cav, 2nd Armd, and the rest of 3rd Corps deployed to Saudi Arabia, most of the damnyankee military was gone from our sacred soil. Ft. Hood looked like a ghost town, Ft. Bliss was full of Bundewher troopies, and Ft. Sam Houston only had docs and M.P.'s.

The gallant gentlemen and women of Texas missed our best chance to achieve independence. Timing is everything.

Brigadier Major Mike
Barn Army Historian
Field Artillery (retired)

Anonymous said...

Next step to insure the success the right of states to ignore unconstitutional Federal acts is to somehow escrow, or keep within the states where revenue originates, the state revenue streams to the Feds.
Lt. Col. Gen. Tailgunner dick

Chuck Martel said...

In 2003, Tom Kratman wrote "A State of Disobedience" about Governor Juanita Montoya-Serasin de Seguin (D, TX), backed by the Texas State Legislature and Maj Gen John Lewis Schmidt of the Texas National Guard, seceding Texas from the Union.

DougM said...

The Feds won't challenge the State gov'ts militarily, they will do it by crushing individuals and companies via taxes, withholding, paperwork, confiscation, threats, contract disqualification, and arrest outside the States concerned. The Feds will force the people to demand that the States comply.
You know, tyranny.

Anonymous said...

Nah Dick, ya gotta let the people keep their money. It's fundamental to success.

As for the Army being at home... I'm willing to lay odds that the fracture in our standing army that proceeded the 1st Civil War would be dwarfed by the next. You live in Texas, and you don't know Aggies?

Casca

Anonymous said...

Didn't some states in the south try to turn out the National Guard to refuse integration orders.

IIRC, Washington sent the army to enforce the integration ruling.

Anonymous said...

President Eisenhower called the Arkansas National Guard to federal active duty and sent them to training sites away from "trouble spots". He then used troops from the 82nd Airborne Division to enforce the integration of Central High School in Little Rock.

Still in all, it depended upon the cooperation of the majority of the Arkansas National Guardmen. Another War of Yankee Agression would depend upon how much resistance the states would put up.

Brigadier Major Mike
Barn Army Historian

Anonymous said...

One small correction, it was the 101st ABN that was sent to Little Rock.

Kristophr said...

That trick won't work a second time.

Every time the feds have argued with a state government over NG troop deployments, the state in question has threatened to disband it and reconstitute it as a state militia.

Quite a few states have active militias separated from NG troops, and can fold existing NG troops into them quickly.

Anonymous said...

@11:42pm -- right you are! I didn't properly fact check my statement. The 101st Abn was STRAC's strategic reserve rapid reaction force. My bad.

Brigadier Major Mike

Anonymous said...

Forced integration of an openly racist South under Eisenhower is an entirely different animal.

Casca

Rodger the Real King of France said...

Doug: Like Lincoln's blockade?

DougM said...

^Rodge,
Nah, like the SC blockade of Ft Sumter.
[ducks in reaction to the clicking-back of hammers]

Cheesy said...

DougM,
You left out "EPA regulations."

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