Ignoring Civil War, Civil Rights, and the Constitution, MN GOP Gubernatorial Candidate Embraces Nullification
Who could have guessed that the party constantly screaming about the Constitution is also the party trying to dismantle it?
TPM reports:
in an op-ed entitled “States Need Veto on Federal Power,” Minnesota Republican Gubernatorial Candidate Tom Emmer argues that states should be able to ignore this part of the Constitution:
I proposed the Health Care Freedom Act last year. Had it passed, it would have given Minnesotans the opportunity to actually vote on whether or not they wanted to opt into Obamacare, rather than have that choice taken away from them. Several states have since passed such an act, but Minnesota Democrats led by Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher decided to prevent Minnesotans from having the same choice that millions of citizens from other states have. …
But frankly, getting the federal government out of our most personal health care choices is just a start. The federal government is too involved in too many aspects of our lives, and is too involved in telling state and local governments what to do and how to do it. …
I believe that our Legislature should have a voice in whether federal laws should be made to apply to Minnesotans.
Emmer is right about exactly one thing. He is not the only “tenther” lawmaker to claim that the Constitution does not apply to him. Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell recently signed an obviously unconstitutional law that purports to nullify portions of the Affordable Care Act, and at least three other states have passed laws purporting to limit health reform (although a massive 25 states have rejected such efforts). Several states have considered so-called “sovereignty resolutions” which claim that the state has the power to ignore laws that conservatives don’t like. Four New Hampshire lawmakers introduced a resolution which would invalidate the entire Constitution if Congress ever passed a law conflicting with the right-wing view of federal power.
More at link. I’d urge people to check out the other links quoted above as well. This isn’t an isolated incident.