Posted on 01/17/2011 11:10:40 PM PST by Qbert
RICHMOND, Va. - It was one of the reasons the civil war was fought. 150 years later, the cry of "states' rights" is again gaining traction in legislatures across the country. Virginia may be among the first to consider what's called the "Repeal Amendment."
The proposed amendment to the U.S. Constitution would allow two-thirds of the states to overturn any act of Congress.
"It's a check on this threat to American liberties imposed by a runaway Congress in today's out of control federal government", says Virginia House Speaker Bill Howell (R-Frederickburg), one of the sponsors.
But over in the Virginia Senate, which is controlled by the democrats, Majority leader Dick Saslaw (D-Alexandria) says it's a dead issue.
"We fought a war over 150 years ago over that, and I thought we settled it then. This crowd never gives up."
Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) supports the idea. When pressed by reporters, he admits it's partially the result of the federal health care legislation.
"Most congresses, on both sides of the aisle, have paid little heed to probably to what the view of the states is."
The amendment is being introduced this year in at least 11 other states besides Virginia.
The proponents are trying one of the two methods to amend the U.S. Constitution. It has never been used before.
In order to become part of the Constitution, the amendment would have to be approved two-thirds of the states asking Congress to call a national convention to propose amendments.
The other method, which has been used in the past requires two thirds of both houses of congress to vote to propose an amendment. That is not likely since they would be voting to limit their own power.
Either way, once the amendment is approved, it would then have to be ratified by three-fourths of the state legislatures, which is 38 states.
Its a dead letter because the Democrats will never vote to put the brakes on the federal government.
:-)
WTOP is in trouble! According to the Free Republic Neo Yankee Lincoln Coven the first Civil War was ALL about slavery, first, last and always. /sarc
"Most congresses, on both sides of the aisle, have paid little heed to probably to what the view of the states is."Well, DUH! That is why the states appoint senators to represent them. Oh, wait -- the progressives fixed that, didn't they?
Recall that the Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution took 10 years to reject!
I guess this is some idea to repeal Obamacare, but if we have to suffer Obamacare for as much as 10 years before it MIGHT be repealed, the “house” will have already burned down. You cannot get 50 state legislatures to do ANYTHING in a hurry.
By the time the first repeal effort ended, there would be 500 more repeal efforts going on by dissatisfied states & groups. The public & the legislatures would be extremely confused by so many repeal efforts, leading to bad votes.
Furthermore, some things cannot be undone. You cannot undo a train wreck. You cannot get back money that has already been spent. How are you going to reinstate DADT once the fags have outed themselves?
The solution lies with Congress. Major (most) legislation, especially spending, should not be passed w/o a 2/3 majority in both houses. The idea that 51% is all you need to waste money & enact tyranny is undemocratic, as it makes a minority of only slightly less than 1/2 of the people. It's almost “flip of the coin” legislating. It polarizes this country, encourages class warfare, & avoids consensus. It makes it too easy to pass a bunch of bad law.
Because of the extreme power that is OBVIOUSLY in the hands of Congress, & their propensity to regulate & tax EVERY aspect of business & life in this country, people & businesses are increasingly becoming cynical as to their prospects & possibilities in this country. If the above power is not severely curbed, we will become a bureaucratic dictatorship.
Imagine a Monopoly game where every time a player passes GO, he gets to make a new rule. After a few passes, the game becomes unplayable & not much fun. This is the way I perceive our Congress is manipulating our lives & economy. If they keep it up, the American “game” will be unplayable & not much fun!
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