OFFLINE

BOISE, Idaho -- After leading the nation last year in passing a law to sue the federal government over the health care overhaul, Idaho's Republican-dominated Legislature now plans to use an obscure 18th century doctrine to declare President Barack Obama's signature bill null and void.

Lawmakers in six other states -- Maine, Montana, Oregon, Nebraska, Texas and Wyoming -- are also mulling "nullification" bills.

Sick of just passing largely symbolic resolutions decrying federal encroachment on states' rights, proponents like Sen. Monty Pearce say their bills will ratchet up the pressure on the feds: This isn't just some piece of paper to wave about; if it passes -- and there's plenty in Idaho to suggest it will -- this would become the law of the state, Pearce says.

It's been tried before, a long time ago.

Back in 1799, Thomas Jefferson wrote in his "Kentucky Resolution," a response to federal laws passed amid an undeclared naval war against France, that "nullification, by those sovereignties, of all unauthorized acts... is the rightful remedy."

OFFLINE

Originally Posted by Dødherre Mørktre:
BOISE, Idaho -- After leading the nation last year in passing a law to sue the federal government over the health care overhaul, Idaho's Republican-dominated Legislature now plans to use an obscure 18th century doctrine to declare President Barack Obama's signature bill null and void.

Lawmakers in six other states -- Maine, Montana, Oregon, Nebraska, Texas and Wyoming -- are also mulling "nullification" bills.

Sick of just passing largely symbolic resolutions decrying federal encroachment on states' rights, proponents like Sen. Monty Pearce say their bills will ratchet up the pressure on the feds: This isn't just some piece of paper to wave about; if it passes -- and there's plenty in Idaho to suggest it will -- this would become the law of the state, Pearce says.

It's been tried before, a long time ago.

Back in 1799, Thomas Jefferson wrote in his "Kentucky Resolution," a response to federal laws passed amid an undeclared naval war against France, that "nullification, by those sovereignties, of all unauthorized acts... is the rightful remedy."

This became the issue that led to the major Nullification battle in the 1830's centred on South Carolina, Calhoun and Andrew Jackson.  Both sides of the case were aired in Congress by Hayne and Webster and the history books spewed out after the Civil War tried to suggest that Webster's logic trumped Hayne throughout.  Things were rarely so simple and a large body of US opinion believed that the encroachment of the Federal state where it had no business should lead to Nullification.  History books, however, find it hard to give Calhoun his plaudits because South Carolina was using the concept to keep the Federal state well away from slavery

OFFLINE

i would just add that i think the era of states rights has long since been dead. the central government has stamped out most of that.

OFFLINE

Originally Posted by Dødherre Mørktre:
i would just add that i think the era of states rights has long since been dead. the central government has stamped out most of that.

In one sense yes, but the Tea Party movement is itself the bastard child of States Rights and Whig sentiment.  The idea that the over concentration of power at the centre is both bad and illiberal is comparable to those sentiments exprterssed in the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions.  People want to reclaim power and decxision making for themselves and, if that is not fully possible, at least relocate power to more local level