Obamacare: Stop the Hand-Wringing and Nullify!

LOOK TO THE U.S. CONSTITUTION AND ITS FRAMERS

by Jim Delaney

(Jan. 14, 2011) — Recently, two federal judges ruled in favor of Obamacare while a federal jurist in Virginia ruled against it. Huh? One must seriously question whether or not these guys are all reading the same Constitution I have before me.

In any event, I honestly cannot fathom nor can I abide all the needless hand-wringing and drama over the constitutionality of Obamacare. Of course it’s not constitutional! Going forward then, exactly what’s the most likely end game of the 20 or so Attorneys General who are suing the Administration over this latest federal intrusion in our lives?

First off, when our political system fails us, we should all remember that in the final analysis “we the people” are the final arbiters with respect to what is and what is not constitutional. Also, under the 9th and 10th Amendments, the States are implicitly within their constitutional authority to simply nullify any unconstitutional federal law, ruling or regulation. I won’t mince words here: anyone who disputes this assertion either is not an objective student of the Constitution or of American history, or is driven by an alien ideological agenda altogether.

Moreover, the feds are supreme only insofar as their laws and rulings do not exceed their clearly defined enumerated powers. Thus, the expansive liberal  view of “federal supremacy” is laid bare for all but the willfully blind and politically-motivated to easily see. As Alexander Hamilton asserted, the Supremacy Clause “expressly confines supremacy to laws made pursuant to the Constitution.” That, of course, applies to both federal and state laws.

It should be axiomatic that we always look to the Constitution and to the words of both the framers and the ratifiers for a clear, concise and accurate understanding of what properly constitutes Federal and State powers, a division of authority which was never intended by the framers to change over time. And reliance upon case law alone should NEVER, EVER be one’s window on the original meaning, spirit and intent of the Constitution. Peering through that soiled window merely encourages further corruption and revisionism, thus further imperiling the framers’ masterpiece of republican self-governance.

Happily for us all, understanding the clear meaning of the Constitution is NOT rocket science. If it were, we’d all have a convenient and pardonable defense for either not reading it or simply violating it. Thus, we should all do ourselves and our country a favor and take the time to actually read the Constitution as well as the words of James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, George Mason, Benjamin Franklin et. al. framers whose wisdom and instructive commentary are as relevant today as they were when written. (And, again, don’t forget that the ratifiers’ debates are also essential to achieving an uncorrupted and more complete understanding of the Constitution.)

As Thomas Jefferson wisely advised, “On every question of construction, let us carry ourselves back to the time whent he Constitution was adopted, recollect the spirit manifested in the debates, and instead of trying to what meaning may be squeezed out of the text, or invented against it, conform to the probable one in which it was passed.”

Thus, do we really need unelected black-robed “super legislators”, a derisive term ascribed to Supreme Court jurists by fellow Justice Brandeis during the New Deal, telling us what any objective student of the Constitution already knows, that being that Obamacare, and more specifically the “individual mandate”, is manifestly unconstitutional? No, not really. So, why all the costly litigating and fuss? Frankly, it’s insulting but, on a more sober note, it’s also genuinely alarming. My concern here is that all this State-initiated litigation may be but a prelude to yet another surrendering of our liberties by the States. And if that’s the end game of these Attorneys General, then we should retire from the field of play and begin earnestly pushing for nullification and civil disobedience.

So, here are the big questions for me: if the Supreme Court imperiously rules against the States or the people on Obamacare–or on any other clear-cut constitutional issue–then what should the States do? Slavishly roll over and play dead yet once again, the Constitution and “we the people” be damned? Sadly, that’s pretty much been their inclination for the last 100+ years. But, alas, enough is enough!

In a word, self-imposed State servility must cease! If the Republic is to survive, the States must be fully prepared to interpose between the feds and the people of their states, thus restoring the proper co-equality of State and Federal authority. Nothing less can any longer be tolerated if the Republic is to survive.

At long last, constitutional order must be placed on a path to fullest restoration if we are to preserve the greatest achievement in self-government the world has ever known. Trite though it may sound, the States and “we the people” really do need to stand up if we are to see this constitutional restoration to fruition.

Finally, we should all carefully read the Constitution and INSIST that your State leaders defend our Constitutional rights, the judicial circuses and their insufferable overreach be damned. And if the States and the courts fail us yet again, then, of course, our founders unequivocally counseled that it is “we the people” who are duty-bound to “take such measures to redress the injury to the Constitution as the exigency may suggest and prudence justify.” In other words, it is left to us to take appropriate action to restore constitutional order.

Timid hand-wringing in the face of judicial overreach is unacceptable, irresponsible and self-defeating.