Kirsten writes:
Washington simply ignores the 10th amendment.
Exactly. But why is that? We rail against the Legislature and the Executive branches but the real fault lies with the Judicial branch. A lawsuit designed to invalidate a Federal law or executive mandate based upon 9th or 10th Amendment grounds will fall on deaf ears. No one even tries anymore.
I like the idea of the Federalism Amendments, but they don’t really address the central problem–if the Courts will not uphold the written letter of the Constitution then it is meaningless. And that’s how we got to where we are today.
What I would like to see is a constitutional Amendment to the effect that if half of the State legislatures pass resolutions condemning a particular Supreme Court Justice or Justices for a decision that they believe plainly flies in the face of the US Constitution then they shall immediately be removed from office and shall never serve in any position of the Federal Government again, and all benefits accruing
from having served at that position shall be forfeited.
At best the game can only be as honest as the referees. If the players can cheat with impunity, then cheating there shall be. The structure is good, but the “checks and balances” broke down with the Judiciary. That’s where it needs to be fixed. Otherwise all other changes will be made in vain.