Posted on 09/13/2009 8:30:14 AM PDT by SmithL
In one of the more profound pronouncements of the gubernatorial campaign so far, Ron Ramsey declared last week that Tennessee is "an island of sanity" in a nation that is headed in a frightening direction.
Then he added: "The 10th Amendment means the 10th Amendment."
This remark got a "hearty round of applause" at one of those anti-Washington rallies that have come into fashion since Barack Obama moved into the White House, according to a Kingsport Times-News report on the event.
As a matter of rhetorical flourish, of course, this is also reminiscent of Ramsey's predecessor at lieutenant governor and speaker of the Senate, John Wilder, and his penchant for declaring "The Senate is the Senate."
Another quotation may be in order here: "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."
That's what the 10th Amendment, sometimes called the "states' rights amendment," says.
Setting aside the speaker's speaking style, Ramsey is not alone in states-rights talk within our borders. Indeed, U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp, who is among Ramsey's opponents in the developing race for the Republican gubernatorial nomination, may have bested him on the talk front. In a Labor Day address, Wamp vowed, if elected, "to meet the federal government at the state line whether it's environmental regulations, the speed limit, gun laws, whatever the federal government's doing that's onerous."
But will there be any substantive action behind the outbreak of talk on state sovereignty?
Well, the closest thing to action so far occurred during the past session of the state Legislature. While the Second Amendment got more attention during the session, the 10th was not ignored. Three resolutions proclaiming Tennessee sovereignty and citing it were introduced.
(Excerpt) Read more at knoxnews.com ...
encourage your state legislators to get on it NOW
There is no 10th unless you are jailing federal agents who overstep.
states’ rights may be another way to cut off 0bama. What if TN refuses to go along with Obamacare? Will Obama send tropps or FBI or whatever down there, and would they go, and would TN National Guard shoot back?
...and somewhere Luther Martin glumly smiles-perhaps grimaces is more likely. He was right, the majority of the other Founding Fathers were wrong.
A big question for Republican candidates: “If the individual States decide to call a Constitutional Convention, will you fully support their doing so?”
Jailing?
Hell,
Lon Whoriuchi murdered for the A.T.F. and got a raise.
Overstep? A federalie?
Ya gots to be kidding?
Wow, I’m not sure what you’re point is.
yefragetuwrabrumuy wrote:
A big question for Republican candidates: “If the individual States decide to call a Constitutional Convention, will you fully support their doing so?”
Do you support a Constitutional Convention?
A Constitutional Convention will only happen if it is forced to happen. However, one being called by 2/3rds of the individual States is predicated on two things.
First is a major disaster afflicting the United States, such as a collapse of our economy, or massive inflation due to out of control debt.
The second reason is that the US government is out of control. Quite literally, the POTUS, the congress, and the SCOTUS are no longer able or willing to do what is necessary, in the opinion of these State legislatures, to maintain constitutional order.
These are not subjective. And the constitution is clear that if 2/3rds of the States call for a constitutional convention, congress must abide that decision.
However, this assumes that the congress, already willfully in violation of the constitution, will perform its duty. Therefore, congressional candidates need to be asked this question:
“If the individual States decide to call a Constitutional Convention, will you fully support their doing so?”
Because if the answer is “no”, then the federal government is so out of control that the individual States will have no choice but to convene a convention anyway, and to relieve, on the spot, any federal officer who attempts to interfere with it. Even to the point of severe criminal sanctions.
Mysteriously, I’m still not sure where you stand on this. It sounds like you are in favor of one
I firmly believe that with our current state of citizen education and the general level of understanding in the population, a Constitutional Convention, if one were to be held today, would abolish the constitution we have entirely and replace it with something that justifies what has been going on for the last 50 years or more.
For both the Democrats (Marxists) and the Republicans (Socialists), the best thing that could happen is an opportunity to re-write the constitution to fully authorize and justify everything they have been doing. They could even get constitutional mandates to do even more.
Why coontinue to ignore the constitution when you can rewrite it to support your programs, and future programs too. That's what a Constitutional Convention would do in 2010. Be very careful what you ask for. Are you prepared for the consequences if you get it?
ping
While this has long been the argument, that a CC would be radicalized, that is an unrealistic fear. To call a CC, 2/3rds of the States would have to be in agreement, and for a CC to have an outcome, 3/4ths of the States would have to agree on the convention draft. Just 12 States could make it not happen.
This almost guarantees a very conservative outcome. And this is the broad thinking on the matter, as seen by the link I originally posted:
http://www.federalismamendment.com/
Right now, with close to 2/3rds of the States in agreement that the power of the federal government is out of control, and impinging on their authority, and that of the people, this would be the priority of the convention. That is, reducing federal power. And in turn, this implies a massive reduction in the size and authority of the federal government as well.
The slashing of the size of the federal government amounts to the “enabling legislation”, so essential to constitutional authority. That is, for example, the 18th amendment, alcohol prohibition, had no force until enabling legislation was passed to support it.
Typically, a convention would let congress pass the enabling legislation, but in this odd case, they would have to do it themselves, by specifically striking large portions of the federal government from authorization, specifically including them as not within federal jurisdiction by “legislation, judicial decision, presidential order or bureaucratic fiat.” A phrase that would have a resounding impact.
Because, unless they did this, the balance of power between the federal government, the States, and the people could not be restored.
This would mean the end of several cabinet offices and their departments, the end of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, a balanced budget amendment with a surplus requirement for unpaid debts, etc.
The federal judiciary would likewise have to be curtailed, placing additional restrictions on their jurisdiction, such as forbidding federal judges forcing States to pay for inadequately meeting federal standards, severely limiting the interstate commerce clause, removing many existing and potential avenues of taxation; creating a constitutional posse comitatus clause, strongly limiting copyright and patent law and litigation awards, etc.
Wamp is such a phony.
you are likely right. It seems quite unlikely that the states together would officially hand over even more power to the Feds given the current set of problems
Bless the TN representqatives, but I would imagine the best that they can do is keep the socialists from renaming Nathan Bedford Forrest State Park. I’m surprised it has not been renamed for Al Gore, Sr., or maybe Kefauver by now.
Luther Martin, George Mason and Patrick Henry. The anti-federalists were prophets.
Tennessee is just that but Nashville proper and Shelby county are both moonbat land and in Nashville it’s the whites as much as anyone..and not just yankee transplants...some yankees here are pretty cool actually.
in Memphrica, whites have the Johannesburg syndrome and better know what time it is...except Steve Cohen
i ain’t crazy bout him either
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