THE US REPORT

Republican Liberty Caucus (Florida) chair Will Pitts, addressing the 2009 National RLC Convention in Jacksonville, keeps members informed about politics and legislation.[Photo by Kay B. Day]Idaho is the latest state to remind the federal government that power is “inherent in the people.” Republican Liberty Caucus chair for Florida Will Pitts informed members late Wednesday Idaho passed the 10th Amendment Resolution Memorial. Pitts said the resolution “will now be forwarded to the US Congress and the President as a notice and demand to cease and desist all unconstitutional activity.”

According to The Tenth Amendment Center, more than 30 states have either passed such a resolution or are in the process of doing so. The movement actually gained momentum during President George W. Bush’s term as conservatives and libertarians grappled with implications of The Patriot Act and other issues.

The US Constitution is clear on the issue of states’ rights: “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” [10th amendment]

The issue of state sovereignty is timely. President Barack Obama’s pick of Yale Law School dean Harold Koh for the position of Legal Advisor at the US Department of State is a move statists and some moderate conservatives praise. But conservatives like Rick Santorum have serious concerns about Koh.

In a column for The Philadelphia Inquirer, Santorum wrote: “What is indisputable is that Koh calls himself a ‘transnationalist’. He believes U.S. courts ‘must look beyond national interest to the mutual interests of all nations in a smoothly functioning international legal regime. ...’ He thinks the courts have ‘a central role to play in domesticating international law into U.S. law’ and should ‘use their interpretive powers to promote the development of a global legal system.’

Many conservatives believe we’re in the mess we’re in now because of misguided globalism (as opposed to trade), a bloated federal bureaucracy and judges who legislate from the bench. The TARP bailout is just the latest in a long list of grievances.

Patrik Jonsson, in a column for The Christian Science Monitor, said, “Just as California under President Bush asserted itself on issues ranging from gun control to medical marijuana, a motley cohort of states – from South Carolina to New Hampshire, from Washington State to Oklahoma – are presenting a foil for President Obama's national ambitions. And they're laying the groundwork for a political standoff over the 10th Amendment, which cedes all power not granted to Washington to the people.”

Among the numerous other states pushing restoration of state sovereignty are North Dakota, Illinois, Georgia, Alaska, Florida and New Jersey.

The US Constitution spelled out limited powers for the federal government, vesting the power in the populace. Bush and Obama are not the only presidents who pushed the idea of a federal vise on the states; Franklin D. Roosevelt is one of the most creative in history to disregard the limiting of federal powers.

The Tenth Amendment Center is the best resource for information about a movement sure to gain momentum, possibly ending up in a battle for powers between the Obama administration and the states. One provision in Idaho’s resolution said, “[T]he Tenth Amendment defines the total scope of federal power as being that specifically granted by the Constitution of the United States and no more.” That, in a nutshell, sums up dedication to restoring Constitutional law set forth by the US, a sovereign nation whose people should protect both states’ rights and status as a sovereign nation because doing less jeopardizes liberty and freedom.