By Selwyn Duke
With the passage of ObamaCare coming on the heels of
government takeover of industries and taxpayer-funded bailouts of the
irresponsible, many are wondering how we can turn the socialist tide. They see Uncle Sam expanding, their rights
and economic prospects shrinking and their voices ignored. For these people, November cannot come soon
enough.
But November is not the ultimate solution. In the political
universe, seven months is an eternity, and we cannot know precisely how public
sentiment will evolve. Besides, the
chances of Republicans retaking both Houses are slim and, even if they do,
there’s no guarantee they’ll rise to the occasion. Some will be Scott Brown types — not the sort
to give us tradition we can believe in.
A better solution lies on the local and state levels. Fifteen states are currently suing the
federal government over ObamaCare, and then there is the Tenth
Amendment Movement, involving at least 35 states that are asserting their
sovereignty over powers granted them by that amendment. These are good starts, but . . . .
Question: What if the Supreme Court, in obvious violation of
the Constitution, upholds ObamaCare? Do
we simply obey unflinchingly and wait for the next federal usurpation?
Certainly, there is every reason to believe the Black Robes
will thus rule, as enabling the Leviathan’s tyranny has become their
practice. Of course, many legal
“scholars” will provide oh-so intellectual justifications for the incessant
expansion of federal power as they lawyer away our rights. But let’s look at what James Madison,
considered the father of the Constitution, wrote in The Federalist, No.
45:
The powers delegated by the proposed
Constitution to the federal government are few and defined. Those which are to
remain in the State governments are numerous and indefinite. The former will be
exercised principally on external objects, as war, peace, negotiation, and
foreign commerce . . . .
When was the last time we had a government reflecting these
limits? The truth is that Uncle Sam
violates the Constitution ever more brazenly with the passage of time, adding
to its power and subtracting from our rights.
And it won’t stop unless someone stops it.
And it is time we stopped it.
The states should send a message: Black Robes, if you won’t do your job,
we will do it for you. No state resident
shall be compelled to buy health insurance, and we will not cooperate in the
enforcement of such a mandate.
Furthermore, no federal agents may enter our territories for the
purposes of such enforcement. And if
they do, they will be arrested.
On top of this immediate concern, states should resolve that
the same will apply to all other
unconstitutional mandates — regardless of
how established and longstanding they may be.
Period.
Now, many people — good people — will object to this
prescription. “How can you defy the
courts?” they will ask. “We must respect
the rule of law.” But what is the
law? The Constitution is the supreme law
of the land. And when a government
violates it, it loses its legitimacy, right to exist and legal authority.
Will we just accept an oligarchic judiciary and abide by its
dictates no matter how onerous? Will we
accept social engineers-cum-lawyers’ “interpretations” of plain language regardless
of how contrary to the text they may be?
What will we believe, them or our own eyes? If the former, we are not governed by the
rule of law. We are governed by the rule
of lawyers.
And let us understand fully the moral and legal validity of my counsel. The Constitution is the contract the American
people have with one another, and enumerated in it are the rights and
responsibilities of all those party to it.
But it has one serious flaw.
It only works if you actually abide by it.
Now, what if one of the parties, being more powerful,
continually violates the contract for the purposes of advantaging itself? Do you seek redress through the courts? Sure.
What if, however, this party has the power to appoint judges sympathetic
to its tyrannical aims? What if these
judges, with a wink and a nod and legalistic mumbo-jumbo, aid and abet the
party in its breach of contract? Do you
just say, “Oh, well, that’s what the contract means now because they said
so”? Or do you recognize a simple fact?
To wit: Through its habitual violation of the terms of the
contract, the federal government has rendered it null and void.
Null and void. It is
silly to think that states have an obligation to follow the law when the Leviathan
violates it at will. It is to fight
abiding by Queensberry rules while your opponent makes up his own rules. That is, if you can even characterize it as
fighting and not genuflection.
I know my prescription is bold enough to scare many into
believing all the more in November, but be under no illusions. The idea that we’re going to put the Leviathan
in its proper place at the national ballot box is a pipe dream. The problem of extra-constitutional federal
governance is not a new phenomenon; it is approximately 100 years old and so
deeply ingrained that the central government views many violations of the
Constitution as federal rights. Besides, the Founding Fathers gave us a balance
of power between Washington and the states for a reason: Governments don’t
willingly relinquish or limit their own power. Thus, it is naïve to think that
“asking” the Leviathan to recede into its cage will bring anything but
contemptuous laughter. For how long will we say “pretty please”? For how long will we play by the rules while
the Leviathan plays with the rules? It’s
time to stop asking and start telling.
Moreover, those of us who care about resurrecting tradition
are in the minority. The 11 most
populous states boast more than half our population and enough electoral votes
to elect the president, and they are a decidedly liberal bunch. Obama won nine of them — most by wide margins
— losing only Texas and Georgia. Four of
them, California, New York, Illinois and New Jersey — which alone have a
quarter of the U.S.’ population — are firmly entrenched in the statist camp;
three of them, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Michigan, have one foot in that grave; and
two of them, Florida and North Carolina, are teetering on the edge. And all of them, along with the rest of the
West, are trending left.
It is time for the few remaining pockets of traditionalism to
take control of their culture and destiny.
If not now, when? Will the
resurrection of manly virtue ever wait for the next usurpation? Will we wait until the Black Robes find
a justification for hate-speech laws?
Do we sit idly by while cultural traitors manufacture socialist votes by
granting amnesty to 13-20 million illegals, people with no allegiance to our
nation? Will we just watch them build a
statist electoral phalanx that will support the redistribution of wealth and
further constitutional trespass? I say
no. States should send a message to the
Leviathan: If you don’t do your job, we’ll do it for you. They should make clear that they will not
recognize the citizenship of any individual who broke into our nation and was
then given a get-out-of-jail-free-if-you-vote-for-me card.
Period.
What’s that you say?
Immigration is a federal role?
Null and void.
And if asked about the constitutionality of the matter, I would just quote a very
powerful woman second in line to the presidency: “Are you serious?! Are you serious?!
Yes, I am serious.
It’s time to stop acting like an abused wife who’d rather take beating
after beating after beating than leave the tyrant.
The sun will not come out in November. It rises with the vigilant, shines on the stout-hearted,
and sets only when a nation’s courage sleeps.
© 2010 Selwyn Duke — All Rights Reserved
selwynduke.com 
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