Howell Leads with the Right Foot
By E M Barner | Monday, September 20th, 2010 | PolicySpeaker Bill Howell, together with Professor Randy Barnett today announced an innovative solution to the problem of the nearly uncheckable growth of the Federal Government.
Virginia, which served as a model for the U.S. Constitution 223 years ago, would launch the effort to add a “repeal amendment” to the Constitution. The amendment, if ratified by the states, would allow the legislatures of 33 states to essentially “veto” any law passed by Congress.
It reads:
“Any provision of law or regulation of the United States may be repealed by the several states, and such repeal shall be effective when the legislatures of two-thirds of the several states approve resolutions for this purpose that particularly describe the same provision or provisions of law or regulation to be repealed.”
The erosion of the Constitutional checks and balances set up by our nation’s founders has left states teetering on the brink of irrelevancy; their power all but usurped by Washington. Believers in the principles of federalism know that drastic action – beyond electoral victories – is necessary.
Is Howell’s solution the correct one? If so, can it be done? Would anyone on the other side of the Potomac embrace the idea that state legislatures could check the power of the Washington establishment?
Right now, the idea of a ‘Repeal Amendment’ leaves us with more questions than answers. But Howell should be commended for leading in the direction of federalism and exploring a real step in the right direction for Virginia and the nation.
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About the author
E M Barner, the blogger formerly known as DCH / De Civitate Hominis (“concerning the city of man”), writes from a Northern Virginia perspective. Barner has been active in Republican politics and policy since 1994 – as a grassroots volunteer, party leader, and professional.
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12 Responses to "Howell Leads with the Right Foot"
Don’t voters get this right every two years when we have the opportunity to send our Reps packing? While an interesting idea in theory, it just seems like another opportunity for state government to make more work for itself.
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The real problem it seems to me is that justices from the Supreme Court on down seem to feel that they are the alternate legislature and that the tenth amendment was repealed with prohibition. If the judiciary doesn’t return to its own constitutional limits these kind of gambits are not going to succeed.
William J. Howell, legalistic wizard on a par with Tommy J himself. Imagine the possibilities. Let’s get rid of NAFTA and dump the UN. And that crazy idea about needing passports to prove you are a US citizen? Man, gotta go. Too much of a pain coming back from those Molson runs to Winsor and Toronto.
And while you are at it there Bill, how about an amendment to get the state government out of our hair as well? Dump Dillion and allow a majority of counties to over rule dumass legislation you guys come up with in Richmond. You know, kind of like this lame idea.
The elimination of the Seventeenth Amendment took away the ability for our states to work with the Federal Government. Along with Progressive states diluting the Electoral College, elections will only be determined by our liberal “Jon Stewart” media, Chris “I get a chill up my leg” Matthews and idiots like “Lady GaGa”. Maybe that’s why we’re in a Republic…not a Democracy.
The Democrats and their idiotic theories placate to the uninformed voter. Raise Taxes to pay our deficit! Racist! Tax the Wealthy! Racist! Did I mention “Racist”? Let’s hear the drive the car in a ditch joke again.
Legislation from Richmond couldn’t be as stupid as the legislation passed in Washington. “Read the bill”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gW7mOaPnYYA
Then don’t vote for the bill. This is why we need this legislation…
Not to sound too much like Andrew Jackson, but hasn’t this whole nullification thing been passed on before? While I agree that a lot of idiotic legislation comes out of Washington, at what point do we shift so much power back to the states that the federal government can no longer function effectively as a national government? Like you say, kudos to Speaker Howell from trying to find a solution to the encroachment of the federal government on states’ rights, but this seems like it goes too far in the opposite direction; its almost reminiscent of the state-federal balance that led to the failure of the Articles of Confederation, and nearly of the infant United States, too.
Howell, a Civil War buff, has an outmoded picture of the role of the states. No one thinks of themselves as a Citizen of a state. We are citizens fo the United States. We are Residents of the various states and many of us will reside in more than one over the course of our lives. The states serve a purpose in adminstration of some federal programs and in overseeing local governments. Other than that, they should know their roles and shut their mouths.
Government functions effectively! Has it ever? We will disagree on what an effective government is. Here’s where you lose me with an effective FEDERAL government:
Let’s just take three responsibilities given directly to the Federal government in the Constitution: 1) Immigration, 2) Post Office and 3) Declare War. When our Federal government can declare a War (it has only done five times and the last was WWII), operate a Post Office financially independent of taxpayer or without banning free market companies (UPS and FedEx), or still have a debate of illegal aliens than the Federal government can attempt to run car companies, tell me what type of light bulb to buy and provide healthcare.
Have them take care of the few responsibilities they are given before they start messing outside that realm because there track record is effectively bad.
Mr Vaughan succinctly presents the case for the brontosaurus govt. So succinctly there isn’t even a felt need for the justification. Kudos. I’m waiting for the celebratory statements on the late great Soviet Union which felt the same way. By the way what happened to it? Mr Vaughan like other leftists here I’m sure is also a big fan of diversity!? As long there is no diversity of thought about whatever the gangster socialists want to do each day. I knew leftists hated the second and tenth amendments but they also hate the first apparently.
Like the other leftists here??? Not sure they’d claim me. It’s just a fact that the idea of “sovereign” state governments has been dead for better than a hundred years. No matter what Republican Neo-Confederates say. But I guess I wouldn’t expect anyone who thinks the phrase “gangster socialists” has anything realistic to do with American politics in the 21st century to understand that.
I’m a big fan of both the First and the Second Amendments btw, the 10th is a dead letter.
With the failure of most liberal programs like the Massachusetts’s state healthcare system, complete failure of Michigan’s auto industry and the massive debts of California, New York, New Jersey, Arizona and Illinois, I can understand why you feel state sovereignty has been dead for years.
John: I don’t “feel” that state sovereignty is dead. We settled that issue in 1865. In blood. And that’s a good thing. We’re all Americans. Not Virginians, not Texans. Not Pennsylvanians. We’re all in this together. For better or worse. We can hang together or hang seperately.
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