The Repeal Amendment Over the years I have on occasion made jokes about secession. Usually about Texas, as in, “Hey, Texas. Did you secede yet, or what?”
Now, in “secession-lite”, Texas could have a chance to collaborate with 33 other states to buck the federal system. Tea Partiers & friends now want the opportunity to repeal any congressional action if the legislatures of two-thirds of the states vote to do so. This amendment to the constitution is nicknamed the “repeal amendment”.
From OTB: “Granting the states the power to overturn a Federal law, whether for policy or Constitutional reasons, would do more to bring down the Federal structure of the American government than even the Civil War tried to do. ”
Chris Matthews talked to Kenneth Cuccinelli, Virginia Attorney General- the same guy that kicked off the constitutional fight against Obama’s healthcare law.Matthews is alarmed and calls the legislation “antebellum”.
Odds are the repeal amendment won’t get far: “.. it would require acquiescence by both houses of Congress to a decrease of their own power combined with the agreement of 3/4 of the states“.
If you want to hear Randy Barnett of Georgetown University Law Center yakking on Freedom & Prosperity radio about his brainchild, here’s that link. Barnett says massively unpopular laws such as the health insurance reform act could be battled with the law he proposes, and laws that are tucked into large omnibus packages that were not individually voted on.
He talks about the deterrent effect the repeal amendment would have, and he speculates that it would be used if, for example, the federal government nationalized private pension funds.
A Bad Flashback December 20, 1860 happens to be the day when South Carolina became the first state to secede from the union 150 years ago. Some proud white folks will be fantasizing about that very day, dressing up like Scarlet O’Hara and Rhet Butler & watching a mock signing of their state’s secession from the Union.
NAACP members from South Carolina–some # it is safe to presume descended from slaves– will on that day be making it clear they are royally pissed off. South Carolina’s NAACP members will be watching and discussing segments of Birth of a Nation – a 1915 film that glorified the Klu Klux Klan.
NAACP calls the reenactment of the secession “disrespectful”. I think the secession worshipers are making it clear that they miss having slaves.
I wonder if slaves are black or not in their modern plantation fantasy.
Sweet Tweet ‘@paxlibri: “South Carolina is too small to be a Republic, and too large to be an insane asylum.” James Petigru. I couldn’t agree more.’
blue cheddar 