The rule of law should be absolute, and followed to the letter, but one must remember that the supreme law of the land is the US Constitution. Therefore, following the law as it is written is not the same as following the laws that pass through both houses of congress and are eventually signed by the president. That is how it should be, and most of the time that is how it works. But when congressional authority is usurped, and congress acts in such a way that they violate the powers they are enumerated via Article I, then you set up a scenario where states can nullify, or choose to ignore such laws, if they are not consistent with constitutional limits on the federal government. Just to be clear, I am not referring to recent headlines regarding California and its declaration of sanctuary status to protect foreign invaders convicted of criminal charges. In California’s case, they do not have justification to nullify because the enforcement of matters dealing with immigration, belongs solely to the federal government, hence it is with the federal government’s constitutional authority to enforce said laws.
The founding fathers had great foresight, when it came to knowing the nature of government and the inherent trait that governments have shared throughout history. This trait is the tendency that those in power have to inch toward totalitarianism, making the revocation of individual liberty inevitable and setting the stage for revolution. This scenario always ends the same way, mass genocide. The Articles of Confederation, acted as the rough draft for what would become our constitution. Under the Articles of Confederation, the federal government existed only as an advisor and there was no real central government. This allowed the individual states absolute sovereignty. However, it was eventually decided to give some degree of authority to the federal government due to the issues that arose regarding logistics and moving supplies to those fighting the British during the war. That significant change to the concentration of power, has allowed for a rogue federal government, and usurpation of power and authority that would make Stalin, Mao, and Hitler jealous.
The Federalist papers, written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay, were used to influence the states to vote for ratification of the US Constitution. The Federalist papers consisted of 85 articles authored under the pseudonym “Publius”. Article VI of the US Constitution, also generically referred to as the “supremacy clause” is invoked by big government progressives when trying to state justification for federal overreach, and revocation of God given rights that are recognized in the Bill of Rights. The argument made here is that federal law always supersedes state law when there is a conflict. This is only half true, as there are key words in Article VI that shoot down this blanket assertion. Article VI states that, “This Constitution, and the laws of the United States which shall be made in pursuance thereof; and all treaties made, or which shall be made, under the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law of the land; and the judges in every state shall be bound thereby, anything in the Constitution or laws of any State to the contrary notwithstanding.” Sometimes one has to refer to the Federalist papers in order to get a glimpse into the minds of the founders, and get some context clarified, since we live in an era where progressives love to twist words as they attempt to give legitimacy to their Anti-American rhetoric. Federalist # 78 states that no legislative act, contrary to the constitution can be valid. In other words, congress does not have the authority to exceed constitutional parameters. Congress was given limitations to their power in Article I, but those restrictions would be pointless if they were permitted to violate the law whenever they felt like it. Federalist # 78 also highlights the independence of judges, and says that this independence is an essential safeguard in these cases. But this judicial independence has proven to be a thorn in the side of liberty, and the rule of law, as activist judges have destroyed the very fabric of the judicial system to such an extent that it may be beyond repair. The lack of judicial oversight has been taken advantage of by those that look to do harm to our republic. So many attempts to bring down freedom, and yet we are still here. The resilience of America and the American experiment continues to show why America is truly exceptional, and why freedom is not just a bumper sticker slogan that sounds cool. We need to educate America’s young people and show them that the constitution is still relevant today, but we cannot do that until we take back American institutions (Universities, media, public education, etc.).
The founding fathers had great foresight, when it came to knowing the nature of government and the inherent trait that governments have shared throughout history. This trait is the tendency that those in power have to inch toward totalitarianism, making the revocation of individual liberty inevitable and setting the stage for revolution. This scenario always ends the same way, mass genocide. The Articles of Confederation, acted as the rough draft for what would become our constitution. Under the Articles of Confederation, the federal government existed only as an advisor and there was no real central government. This allowed the individual states absolute sovereignty. However, it was eventually decided to give some degree of authority to the federal government due to the issues that arose regarding logistics and moving supplies to those fighting the British during the war. That significant change to the concentration of power, has allowed for a rogue federal government, and usurpation of power and authority that would make Stalin, Mao, and Hitler jealous.
The Federalist papers, written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay, were used to influence the states to vote for ratification of the US Constitution. The Federalist papers consisted of 85 articles authored under the pseudonym “Publius”. Article VI of the US Constitution, also generically referred to as the “supremacy clause” is invoked by big government progressives when trying to state justification for federal overreach, and revocation of God given rights that are recognized in the Bill of Rights. The argument made here is that federal law always supersedes state law when there is a conflict. This is only half true, as there are key words in Article VI that shoot down this blanket assertion. Article VI states that, “This Constitution, and the laws of the United States which shall be made in pursuance thereof; and all treaties made, or which shall be made, under the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law of the land; and the judges in every state shall be bound thereby, anything in the Constitution or laws of any State to the contrary notwithstanding.” Sometimes one has to refer to the Federalist papers in order to get a glimpse into the minds of the founders, and get some context clarified, since we live in an era where progressives love to twist words as they attempt to give legitimacy to their Anti-American rhetoric. Federalist # 78 states that no legislative act, contrary to the constitution can be valid. In other words, congress does not have the authority to exceed constitutional parameters. Congress was given limitations to their power in Article I, but those restrictions would be pointless if they were permitted to violate the law whenever they felt like it. Federalist # 78 also highlights the independence of judges, and says that this independence is an essential safeguard in these cases. But this judicial independence has proven to be a thorn in the side of liberty, and the rule of law, as activist judges have destroyed the very fabric of the judicial system to such an extent that it may be beyond repair. The lack of judicial oversight has been taken advantage of by those that look to do harm to our republic. So many attempts to bring down freedom, and yet we are still here. The resilience of America and the American experiment continues to show why America is truly exceptional, and why freedom is not just a bumper sticker slogan that sounds cool. We need to educate America’s young people and show them that the constitution is still relevant today, but we cannot do that until we take back American institutions (Universities, media, public education, etc.).