Dear Federal Government: Go to Hell
by Michael Boldin Recently by Michael Boldin: Toys in the Attic Strikes Again!
The following was based off a speech given at a freedom rally hosted by state sovereignty advocate and Washington State Representative Matt Shea on August 30, 2011. Almost everyone I know has written a letter to the federal government. They've contacted their representatives or senators at some point. They've emailed, or faxed, or even called – asking, demanding, or just plain begging these politicians to do something or not. I never have. Why? Because I believe that going to the federal government to fix problems created by the federal government is not only an absurd idea, it just doesn’t work. For example, those on the antiwar left got a "peace president" that has bombed Libya and massively expanded the wars in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Many of those same progressives vehemently opposed the Patriot Act forced upon us by George Bush and the republicans. With the Democrats in power, they got more of the same. Again. For those on the right, the so-called "conservative" George Bush and the republicans in Congress gave us more federal control over education with their No Child Left Behind Act. They also laid the groundwork for today's national health care mandates with the largest expansion of federal control over health care in decades – Medicare Part D. And for everyone, we've got the TSA. Because no one, at least no one I know, likes the fact that this particular agency violates the 4th amendment almost constantly.
So, because of things like these, I've always thought it was pointless to write the Feds telling them anything. Until now. I recently wrote a draft letter to my so-called representatives in Washington. Before sending it off to them, I thought I'd share it with you here to see if you have suggestions or if it meets your approval as is. So here's what I came up with: "Dear Federal Government, Go to hell." OUT OF THE MAINSTREAM? NOT AT ALL Start talking Tenth Amendment, state sovereignty or heaven forbid – nullification – and you will immediately find yourself branded as an extremist, a nut job, a radical and out of the mainstream. They even created a supposedly nasty term for those of us who would dare advance such nutty principles – "Tenther." Well, apparently, the American majority is just plain nutty. A Rasmussen poll released last Friday tells us that "54 percent of likely U.S. Voters believe that states should have the right to opt out of federal programs they don’t agree with." In other words, more than half of Americans now embrace the constitutional concept of state sovereignty.
More telling than this small majority in support of such crazy ideas is the much smaller minority of people opposed to them. Only 31 percent of those polled disagreed and said states should not enjoy the ability to opt out. Think about that for a moment, because it is significant. Less than 1/3 of the country opposes our base principle that each state can and should have a unique approach to handling various political issues. FEDERALISM RULES! The founders told us that such a system was not only a good idea, but also in line with the constitution. They knew that one-size-fits-all solutions would lead to pretty much what we have today. A crumbling economy, liberty eroded, and continual violations of the rules given to government. Today, people everywhere are beginning to recognize a simple truth – what's right for California is likely not right for Washington State. And what's right for Idaho is likely not right for Alabama. And so on. In fact, such a decentralized system – the system that the founders gave us in the constitution – is the only kind where people in a huge country like ours, with widely varying political, economic, and religious beliefs, can all live together under a big defense umbrella. In peace. John Adams famously told us that the real American revolution was not the war for independence... he said
"The Revolution was effected before the War commenced. The Revolution was in the minds and hearts of the people; a change in their religious sentiments of their duties and obligations. This radical change in the principles, opinions, sentiments, and affections of the people, was the real American Revolution." HAPPENING RIGHT NOW Even more exciting than this poll is the fact that states around the country are putting this idea into practice. In 1996, when my home state of California decided to opt out of federal drug laws by allowing marijuana to be used for medical purposes, they were going it alone. But, soon other states recognized not only their own ability, but the possible benefit of opting out of this particular federal program. Today, fifteen states are doing so, and they're increasingly getting away with it. A few years ago, the ACLU championed state-level opposition to the 2005 REAL ID Act, which required states to follow federal guidelines in issuing driver’s licenses. Since then, over half the states enacted legislation against participation, and all had applied for or received extensions by the 2008 deadline. Here we are six years later and it’s still not fully implemented, because states just won’t do it. States "opting out" of federal programs (at the Tenth Amendment Center, we refer to it as "nullification") can be a pretty effective strategy. Far more effective than "voting the bums out" or writing a letter to federal politicians, in my opinion. STATES’ RIGHTS: NOT JUST FOR LIBERALS Better yet, this growing states rights movement is not just exclusive to progressives and the left. Conservatives have gotten on board with the idea in recent years, and they are becoming more effective with it, too.
A recent Washington Times report tells us "All told, 17 states have enacted laws rejecting parts of the Affordable Care Act." And, as tracked by the Tenth Amendment Center, more than ten states have begun to consider the next step, rejecting (read: nullifying) the entire Affordable Care Act, every word of it. GOING MAINSTREAM According to Rasmussen, "support for states' rights goes even higher when unfunded mandates enter the equation. Sixty-three percent (63%) of voters think states should have the right to opt out of such programs. Twenty-one percent (21%) disagree." What does that mean? Only one in five now believe that the states should have to blindly comply with federal mandates, no matter what. This is certainly good news, and something to build upon. We Tenthers are winning the ideological battle amongst the people. In the end, it seems to me that Thomas Jefferson's ideas from the Principles of '98 have gone mainstream, as they should. He was far more eloquent than I when he wrote, "the several states comprising the United States of America are not united on a principle of unlimited submission to their general government." But, the message remains the same. "Dear federal government. Go to hell! " Michael Maharrey, communications director for the Tenth Amendment Center, contributed to this article. September 3, 2011 Michael Boldin [send him mail] is the founder of the Tenth Amendment Center. Copyright © 2011 Tenth Amendment Center. Permission to reprint in whole or in part is gladly granted, provided full credit is given.
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