COLUMBIA -- With tax collections
tanking and jobless rates at record highs, state legislators hundreds
of miles from Washington have found an easy way to appeal to
conservative voters: Bash the federal government.
Lawmakers in 44 states have introduced measures warning Congress not
to trample states' rights and dozens of other resolutions opposing the
government on issues including gun control and health care.
...
In conservative South Carolina, Republican House Majority Leader
Kenny Bingham said his caucus made standing up to the federal
government a top priority this year.
"I hear it at church, at the barbershop: 'You guys need to stand
up.' The issue of federal intrusion is a John Doe issue," he said.
"This is a yes-point for us. They're mad. They're upset. They expect us
to respond."
That response included passing a resolution to assert the state's
rights under several constitutional amendments. It says South
Carolina's attorney general will sue if Congress passes mandates the
state deems unconstitutional, and that no state agency will follow them
while a decision is pending.
"To say public reaction and being vocal doesn't have any influence
is ludicrous," Bingham said. "That's how you enact change in a
civilized society."
Eight states -- Alabama, Alaska, Idaho, Louisiana, North Dakota,
Oklahoma, South Dakota and Tennessee -- have passed resolutions
asserting states' rights under the 10th Amendment, according to
Boldin's group. Another passed the Kansas Senate last week after
hundreds of residents rallied, brandishing copies of the U.S.
Constitution, and vowed to "take their country back."
In South Carolina, the House has already passed an expanded version
of a states' rights measure it first approved last year. A version is
awaiting Senate approval. "It is vitally important for the future of
our nation that the states stand against the relentless expansion of
the federal government and restore the proper balance to our federal
system," it reads. ...
The backlash isn't limited to conservative legislation or the
nascent "tea party" movement, which calls for reduced government:
Proposals in Vermont and New Hampshire, for example, urge President
Barack Obama to bring the states' National Guard troops home from Iraq,
arguing congressional authorization for their federal deployment has
expired.
Some legislators are becoming increasingly defiant, with more states
considering bills that seek to nullify federal law, rather than simply
sending a message.
In Virginia, legislators have passed the so-called Health Care
Freedom Act, an effort to annul mandates proposed in congressional
health care legislation, which has stalled since Massachusetts voters
sent Republican Scott Brown to the Senate to replace the late Ted
Kennedy.
More than 30 other states have introduced similar legislation
modeled after the American Legislative Exchange Council's "Freedom of
Choice in Health Care Act" since the limited-government group endorsed
it in late 2008.
