Free Republic

The Obama administration denied an appeal for flexibility in lessening the sequester’s effects, with an email this week appearing to show officials in Washington that because they already had promised the cuts would be devastating, they now have to follow through on that. In the email sent Monday by Charles Brown, an official with the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service office in Raleigh, N.C., Mr. Brown asked “if there was any latitude” in how to spread the sequester cuts across the region to lessen the impacts on fish inspections. He said he was discouraged by officials in Washington, who...

One hundred years ago, the United States ratified an amendment to the Constitution that changed the way America chose its senators. The amendment's supporters said that senators directly elected by the people would not only be more democratic, but also less corrupt and less susceptible to special interest influence. Instead of reducing corruption, however, changing the method of Senate selection provided entirely new avenues of political exploitation by fundamentally transforming our federal government. Most importantly, the amendment destroyed the federalist structure that the Founding Fathers installed to protect state sovereignty. Today, members of the Georgia House of Representatives seek to...

It is a matter of public record that the United States Senate is a terrible place where serious policy issues are ignored; routine votes are occasionally delayed over concerns about non-existent terrorist groups; and proverbial cans are proverbially kicked down the proverbial road of sadness, gridlock, and despair. What's less clear is why the Senate is such a congress of louts. Is it the endless pressure to raise money? The never-ending campaign? The fact that Americans hold lots of substantive disagreements on important things and are themselves—it's been said—somewhat dysfunctional? Actually, according to Georgia state Rep. Buzz Brockaway, the biggest...

Rallies have been scheduled to protest Barack Obama’s gun agenda, members of Congress are pondering their resistance and American consumers are speaking daily with ever-new records for gun purchases. Now states are getting into action, with several legislatures already developing bills that would simply pull the rug from under the president’s agenda by specifying that unconstitutional rules or regulations, or executive orders, won’t be allowed. Rep. Kendell Kroeker of Wyoming introduced HB 104, The Firearms Protection Act, and spoke to WND about the bill. “The new bill expands to any gun owned in Wyoming and any gun regulation handed down...

The Illinois Senate could vote as early as tomorrow on a measure to sanction same-sex marriage in the state. One former member of that body has already weighed in: President Barack Obama. “Were the President still in the Illinois State Legislature, he would support this measure that would treat all Illinois couples equally," Obama spokesman Shin Inouye recently told the Chicago Sun-Times. It's unusual for a sitting president to get involved in a state legislative matter (especially, you might argue, a president whose own views on the issue have been unclear until recently). Supporters say it's just another indication that...

One of my New Year’s resolutions is to work harder to persuade ideological friends and foes alike that the way to reduce partisanship and maximize happiness in America is to embrace federalism — the view that we should push as many decisions as possible to the lowest local level feasible.Federalism reduces partisanship by shrinking the importance of the federal government. It increases happiness by maximizing the number of people who get to live the way they want to live.Unfortunately, proponents of federalism tend to start the conversation with the really big issues: gay marriage, drugs, guns, abortion, etc.I’m for...

One of my New Year's resolutions is to work harder to persuade ideological friends and foes alike that the way to reduce partisanship and maximize happiness in America is to embrace federalism -- the view that we should push as many decisions as possible to the lowest local level feasible. Federalism reduces partisanship by shrinking the importance of the federal government. It increases happiness by maximizing the number of people who get to live the way they want to live. Unfortunately, proponents of federalism tend to start the conversation with the really big issues: gay marriage, drugs, guns, abortion, etc....

To understand why Republicans have a "branding problem," you first need to understand how the system is rigged against conservatives. Such is the schizophrenic dysfunction of our politics: We constantly demand "conviction" politicians who will "do what's right" and then condemn them, often in the same breath, for being unwilling to put aside their conviction and their sense of what's right. But such condemnation does not fall equally on conservatives and progressives alike. For the progressive's principle is, at its core, more. Do more. Spend more. Spend more doing more. Any compromise of progressive principle in this regard is seen...

This is part two of a column on the state of Republicanism and how they should move forward.In 1973, the Supreme Court issued one of their worst rulings ever in Roe v. Wade. Largely made from “whole cloth,” the ruling has started a 40-year fight over abortion that unnecessarily has divided this country. If Republican principles were in place on this issue, then there would be a heated discussion; but the core of the fight would be defused and the issue would be handled at the state level where it properly belongs and where other issues should be handled. Without...

On November 6 voters in Colorado and Washington legalized marijuana. Use of marijuana still remains illegal under federal law. A federal task force composed of representatives from the Justice Department, the DEA, the State Department, and the Office of National Drug Control Policy is considering how to respond. Attorney General Eric Holder brushed aside all substantive debate over the merits of legalization saying that “it’s not up to us to prove that marijuana is harmful in order for us to enforce the federal ban on its use. The simple fact that federal law trumps state law is sufficient grounds for...

A New York Times investigation has uncovered a shocking scandal they would have you believe involves big corporations blackmailing your state government and stealing tax dollars that should be spent on public education. This scandal, though not identified as such in the article, is called federalism. It finds its roots in the 10th Amendment of the United States Constitution. Granted, the statistical research The Times provides in the piece is invaluable, but the article is confused as to the conclusions that flow from the numbers. The most glaring statistic is the dollar amount of “gifts” (to use Mitt Romney’s phrase)...

A San Francisco couple is waiting to find out if the U.S. Supreme Court will take their case challenging the 1996 law that prohibits the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages. Karen Golinski and Amy Cunninghis got married during the brief window in 2008 when gay and lesbian couples could tie the knot in California. Golinski immediately tried to add her wife to her employer-sponsored health care plan. But because she is married to another woman and works for the U.S. government, her otherwise routine request was denied...

The federal government is tightening its control over the 50 states and the lives of every American. The U.S. Constitution, however, says states are supposed to be equal partners with the federal government. State sovereignty — allowing each state to control its own affairs — is the cornerstone of that equal partnership and critical to protecting Americans' freedom. Below are 10 ways local policymakers and citizens can restore that balance of power and do what's best for the people of your state. (Click the infographic for larger, 8½x11" PDF version.)Read Federalism DIY: 10 Ways for States to Check and Balance Washington...

“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.” - Tenth Amendment What a nasty, sordid presidential campaign, particularly if you live in a hotly contested area. Thankfully, we watch very little television, but wow, talk about being inundated with attack ads. Apparently, Ohio got the point, Romney is evil. Some voters are now elated while others are depressed. Still more risk experiencing buyer’s remorse. Many in battleground states are just relieved it’s over. The increasingly rancorous nature of elections reflects...

Yesterday's New York Times editorial: "A Big Storm Requires a Big Government": ***** Disaster coordination is one of the most vital functions of "big government," which is why Mitt Romney wants to eliminate it. At a Republican primary debate last year, Mr. Romney was asked whether emergency management was a function that should be returned to the states. He not only agreed, he went further. "Absolutely," he said. "Every time you have an occasion to take something from the federal government and send it back to the states, that's the right direction. And if you can go even further and...

In the presidential debates, Barack Obama and Mitt Romney ranged across dozens of topics, but an important one didn't come up: federalism. And no wonder. The idea that the Constitution grants only limited and enumerated powers and leaves the remainder to the states is foreign to those who believe that the national government should or even could address voters' every concern. But contrary to the view widely shared by the political class, Washington—in particular, Congress—does not have the power to pass any law it wants in the name of the "general welfare." Politicians should take heed. Voters are increasingly focused...

While the national conversation is focused on the presidential race and the nation’s poor economic health, the states continue to serve as a robust laboratory for ideas and policies. Despite the stunning growth of the federal government and the consequent take-over of many aspects of state government, business, health care and our private, daily lives, the states continue to prove that leadership and innovation can deliver game-changing reforms. There is plenty of encouraging news from around the nation with bragging rights going to places like South Dakota, Texas, Kansas, Florida—even Pennsylvania and Michigan where governors and legislatures are working together...

Phoenix—In a strong rebuke to the Obama Administration Wednesday, federal district court Judge Frederick J. Martone ruled that the Secret Ballot Amendment, which protects workers’ right to secret ballot in union-organizing elections, is constitutional. Drafted by the Goldwater Institute in 2009, the Save Our Secret Ballot amendment was added in 2010 to state constitutions in Arizona, South Dakota, South Carolina, and Utah, by voter majorities ranging from 60 to 86 percent. The constitutional amendment was sought after President Obama and congressional Democrats attempted to end the use of secret ballots in union-organizing elections and force workers into a system called...

A federal judge in Miami has ruled that Florida students cannot be charged higher non-resident tuition simply because their parents may be in the U.S. illegally. U.S. District Judge K. Michael Moore says the rules violate the Constitution. The lawsuit was filed earlier this year by the Southern Poverty Law Center on behalf of students who are U.S. citizens and Florida residents but whose parents cannot prove legal immigration status.

There recently appeared an article at Salon critical of the idea of repealing the 17th Amendment. In it, author Alex Seitz-Wald explains how the desire to return the selection of U.S. Senators back over to the state legislatures, as opposed to direct election now, developed, and why it would be harmful if tried. In this piece, the first of two on the subject, I’ll summarize the argument, argue the benefits of repealing this amendment, and correct a few points made by Seitz-Wald. His overview is that the idea had been a “hobbyhorse of the fringe right” for quite some time,...