I was in Baltimore Friday to touch base with Republican legislators, sending a message that I expect will be more favorably received than under previous leadership: the idea that states can work in cooperation with a restrained federal government to solve problems more effectively and at a cheaper cost.
After spending a considerable amount of time in recent years speaking against the overreach of the federal government and the harm it imposes on Texans, it’s encouraging to see more friendly faces taking a leadership role in Washington. As you all know, “restrained” is not a word I’d connect with Washington since President Obama was sworn in, and I’m hopeful that having the GOP back in control of the House of Representatives can put the brakes on things that have gotten significantly out of hand.
States are only beginning to feel the pain of an intrusive federal agenda that promises to empty state coffers, even while seizing total control in areas from health care to education to air permitting.
By allowing states to exercise their 10th amendment rights, Washington can free itself of excess bureaucratic costs and re-ignite the innovative power of 50 competing laboratories, each exploring new ways of dealing with their unique challenges.
Thankfully, the new House leadership gets that and I look forward to working with them and other leaders across our nation in the effort to make the federal government less significant in American’s lives.
Thanks, Gov. Perry. Keep up the fight for government sanity.
I wish Gov Perry all the luck in the world. Repealing the 17th Amendment (I know, fat chance) would sure help, though.
Will we see Texas Rangers arresting EPA agents in Texas for violating state laws?
Howdy Governor,
Gig ‘em!
And while you’re at it, please propose the elimination of:
US Department of Education
US Department of Agriculture (merge food safety with FDA)
US FCC
US EPA
US OSHA
much of US Department of Interior
Let us know how that works out and thanks!
@Paul
YES YES, a thousand times YES.
Agreed!
And what about the Department of Labor and the Commerce Department?
Gee no wonder we are broke and can’t set up a small business without a permit from twelve different bureaucrats.
Don’t forget, in the context of what the *states* may do, Governor Perry, the 9th Amendment: “The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.”
And read “people” as the _individual_, the smallest minority.
Federal, state and local governments are *all* _limited_ by the rights of the individual, beginning with property rights. The 9th makes this explicit.
And even in the 10th, you’ll note: “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___***.
Again, read “people” as the individual.
And here’s the context:
U.S. a democracy?
“There is no maxim, in my opinion, which is more liable to be misapplied, and which, therefore, needs more elucidation, than the current one, that the interest of the majority is the political standard of right and wrong.” -James Madison
Christian (or any other religion) Nation
“Religion and government will both exist in greater purity, the less they are mixed together.” – James Madison
Welfare State
“To take from one, because it is thought his own industry and that of his fathers has acquired too much, in order to spare to others, who, or whose fathers, have not exercised equal industry and skill, is to violate arbitrarily the first principle of association, the guarantee to everyone the free exercise of his industry and the fruits acquired by it.“ —Thomas Jefferson
Eminent Domain for Private Enterprises
“A wise and frugal government, which shall leave men free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned — this is the sum of good government.” —Thomas Jefferson
Campaign Finace Law, Net Neutrality
“To compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinions which he disbelieves and abhors, is sinful and tyrannical.” – Thomas Jefferson
State Compelled Public Service (which TX schools require)
“If we are made in some degree for others, yet in a greater degree are we made for ourselves. It were contrary to feeling and indeed ridiculous to suppose that a man had less right in himself than one of his neighbors or indeed all of them put together. This would be slavery and not that liberty which the Bill of Rights has made inviolable and for the preservation of which our government has been charged. Nothing could so completely divest us of that liberty as the establishment of the opinion that the state has a perpetual right to the services of all its members. This to men of certain ways of thinking would be to annihilate the blessing of existence; to contradict the giver of life who gave it for happiness and not for wretchedness, and certainly to such it were better that they had never been born….” –Thomas Jefferson in a letter to James Monroe
Great quotes from our Founding Fathers, and words the federal government needs to heed. Go Governor Perry!!!
Thank you, Steven, for this inspiring compilation.
Since Republicans and Texas wish to terminate polygamy, no one yet has a viable solution.
As a preface to another example of Perry’s disregard for the US Constitution, consider well the lack of journalistic integrity practiced by the media at large. Reports are too often based upon biased rumor, often fabricated whole cloth.
And though I absolutely oppose polygamy, I also oppose the State’s abuse of authority to impose imprisonment of innocent babies, children, juveniles and those approaching adulthood “for their own good” over extended periods of time over a year with no contact with parents or siblings, just abruptly uprooted from familial loving care. First half of the 20th Century, in punitive actions against polygamists living along their common border, Arizona and Utah raided polygamous communities to remove and imprison all the fathers for having multiple wives. This was before LBJ’s “Great Welfare Society” so all of the many children were left hungry. Choosing the innocent and easy targets, Rick Perry would rather remove all the children in order to punish the parents, regardless of emotional trauma and negative experiences that the children will formulate to hate the State as they mature over time.
While talking about the 10th Amendment and States Rights will you formally reject any bailout of California, Illinois, New Your and other states that have spent irresponsibly? I see no reason to support taking tax dollars from a more or less responsible State to give money to States that have been negligent. There is no Constitutional justification for such a bailout, and it is a slap in the face of people that haven’t done stupid things with their money. Clearly California is the poster child for stupid laws, spending and opinions.
Absolutely agreed. The country cannot bail us out (I’m a Californian). It is simply wrong, and for those of us who are waiting for the state to crash completely so we can take part in its restoration, stealing others’ money to finance the Brown regime is just wrong, and postpones the inevitable.
I am a Texan currently living in San Diego. The California legislature needs to do two things:
1. Pass a right-to-work law.
2. Get the volatility out of their yearly income stream.
The US Congress needs to reform our immigration laws to include a guest worker program.
you have just hit the nail on the head and I as a Californian agree with you 100%. It is time the legislatures get their hands slapped and they are sent back to Government 101 and are paid half salary until they realize they are there to serve the people not the other way around
I fear that truly our last hope to remain a republic of sovereign states increasingly relies on the hope that states will effectively and forcefully stand up to the federal government, and on the behalf of their citizens, defy the federal government, refusing to back down. Dare the federal government.
Texas, Florida, and Arizona seem perhaps best poised for such a defiance.
How is that Drug Prohibition thing working out for you Rick?
Reduction of the legal powers of the Federal Government to those delineated in Article 1 would be quite a change. If we don’t start, we will never get there. Certainly the framers were familiar with education, housing, and agriculture, and gave the new federal government no powers in those fields. Commerce didn’t include insurance, or education, or housing, and only got jurisdiction of agriculture products when the products got to the state lines (manure produced by cows remained unregulated).
In like manner, mining is not federally regulated commerce until the products cross the state lines.
Simon,
I doubt Rick takes drugs. But go watch ‘The First 48′ and you will see what drugs do to people, prohibited or not.
And I totaly agree with the 50 states being ‘competing laboratories’ looking for the answers that work. Compare Texas with California, now there are two different ‘laboratories’!
Good luck. But I encourage you to be less partisan, or at least to try to appear to be less partisan: to anybody who’s actually been paying attention for the past decade (and that’s lots and lots of us Tea Partiers), “restrained” isn’t a word we’d connect with Washington since George W. Bush was sworn in, either.
LOL.
The Governor blogs on Pajamas and out of the chute we get the … wait for it … wanna-be poly sci edu types who want to tell the Governor of Texas what Constitutional Reality is!
Time for some folks to launder their pajamas.
I hope they get that, Gov. Yeah, Congress, the eyes of Texas are upon you all the live long day!
“Allowing”, Governor Perry?
Couldn’t we be slightly more vigorous, even in our day of restrained rhetoric, and treat the 10th Amendment like a feather, and beat the Federal government therewith?
The right solution to healthcare may involve federal regulation. Of a kind that states very often find difficult to accept. It’s called, enforcing free and open trade amongst the states. Citizens of the United States should have the right to buy a policy anywhere in the country, without state governments interfering.
Paul,
I do agree with you. And alcohol is the worst. I dunno why Texans tolerate it when it is within the rights of States to ban it.
Almost always, through out history, the creative dedicated, nonviolent minority with closely held principles have made the world a better place. Those who care about principles, not parties or personalities are America’s true patriots, defenders of the American dream of self government, free of big government tyranny and oppression.
We can become a more affluent, secure, and compassionate society by downsizing state and federal government! The Downsize DC Foundation is a great tool for educating and speaking truth to power.
Blame the drug war for the disastrous shooting in Arizona recently! Jared Loughner was self medicating with cannabis but an arrest got him off his medication. I believe the cannabis aided in calming his violent tendencies until he could not use for fear of passing a piss test.
Cannabis promotes a feeling of being connected, of calm and peace, “a drug which helps produce the serenity and insight, sensitivity and fellowship so desperately needed in this increasingly mad and dangerous world.” as Carl Sagan so aptly put it.
User beware; many current expensive psychotropic pharmaceuticals actually have a proven link to violence.
If you research old newspaper reports about heroin, cocaine, morphine and other addictive drugs you’ll find no evidence of these drugs causing society problems but plenty of problems triggered by pohibited alcohol at the time. Brewers no longer kill off the competition. The violence and crime associated with addictive drugs are triggered by our insane punitive policy.
It is overkill and morally bankrupt to arrest nonviolent people for making a safer health choice, cannabis or marijuana, compared to other medicinal/social drugs. The history of drug use before drug prohibition shows that “crime” was not connected to drug use when addicts could buy all of the heroin, morphine, cocaine and anything else they wanted cheaply and legally at the corner pharmacy.
Why let murderers and other violent predators roam free, while we police nonviolent adult social, medicinal and religious drug use? The overwhelming scientific consensus is that black market violence, adulterated drugs, and the spread of HIV are all exacerbated by prohibitionist policies.
Regulation, science based education and treating abuse as a medical problem is a better drug policy that increases public safety and harm reduction plus frees up billions in wasted funds to use incarcerating the violent and sexual predators or the morally bankrupt who sell drugs to children or drive intoxicated.
Oh, good grief.
Marijuana will take two years out of a young person’s life very easily. I’ll grant you that violent potheads are rare, but they aren’t very good at taking care of either themselves or their children.
If pot gets legalized, it will be treated like cough syrup, and be legally available only by (rare) prescription, and illegal pot will still be a big business, just like illegal cigarettes.
marijuana will take two yoear from a young person
Im sure you can substantiate that.
Any real (not faux) defender of liberty knows that pot should be legalized like alcohol. This will leave individuals free to buy or not *legally* and within the context of the government doing its legitimate job: protecting individual rights. The result will be that the horrors of the current, illegal pot industry will disappear, as did the horrors of the black-market alcohol industry when prohibition was repealed.
Ms. McCool,
While I agree with your assessment of reefer in that it can have a positive effect on those who self medicate, I disagree with your assertion for harder, physically addictive drugs. ANY drug to which one can become physically addicted should be heavily regulated. In other words, if I can use heroin to enslave you to say, turn tricks for my benefit, then NO that drug should not be legal and the penalties should be much more draconian for its abuse.
Mexico’s decriminalization of small amounts of physically addictive drugs for personal use has NOT made it a safer, more stable country.
Not just the brakes, complete rollback. How many times can we ‘just’ apply the brakes? We have only one set, and they must last ’til the next revolution.
More promises and assurances from a politician?
Let’s wait a few more months before we celebrate the good news of a Republican controlled House.
Drug Prohibition = Chaos – drugs are EVERYWHERE
Drug Regulation = Control – According to the rules YOU create as a government by and for the people.
Drug Prohibition = Children have FULL access in every school.
Drug Regulation = Children And Addicts have less access
This is your government on Drug Prohibition.
Let’s have a conversation about something else that works better. For our children sake.
Larry Talley
USN, Ret
@Warren Bonesteel: Wait and see.
Indeed, and it will not be a long wait.
Even if no external game-changers occur,
addressing the internal US economic issues
will require the sort of change Gov. Perry
refers to. When the parties start referring
to ‘States Rights’ openly, instead of in code,
the change will be complete.
Rick,
What are you getting in return for allowing millions of illegal aliens to suck off the sugar tit of American tax money? You know, the so called free education until 12th grade, the jail/court lawyer costs, the anchor babies, food stamps, and healthcare.
Mexico has invaded Texas Gov. What are you going to do? This is your third term.
Illegals get their entire education on the back of the American taxpayers, including college. But, isn’t it the responsibility of the federal government to protect the borders of this country from invasion? Gov. Perry has sent Rangers to the border, but the job is too big for local or state law enforcement. Perhaps if us Texans were allowed to shoot illegals on sight when they are caught crossing the border the flood might slow to a trickle. Anchor babies are a problem caused BY THE FEDS by their loooooose interpretation of the 14th Amendment. I, for one, am willing to use the training I received at Edson Range to help with these problems.
Semper Fi
“Perhaps if us Texas were allowed to shoot illegals on site…”
I strongly do not agree with that.
Also, I bet you are not really a Marine, as any squared away Marine would never suggest in murdering.
It appears you are not aware of Operation Linebacker from Gov. Rick Perry. It is not working, and I wonder if it ever was suppose to.
Therefore, I conclude you are a Troll. Some call them lefturds, or leftards. If you are really a Marine, never write such trash again, get a stinking hair cut, square away your gear, and put some polish on your boots! You have the pig award. Now, un-pig your nasty self!
Touché.
As a preface to another example of Perry’s disregard for the US Constitution, consider well the lack of journalistic integrity practiced by the media at large. Reports are too often based upon biased rumor, often fabricated whole cloth. And though I oppose polygamy, I also oppose the State’s abuse of authority to impose imprisonment of innocent babies, children, juveniles and those approaching adulthood “for their own good” over extended periods of time over a year with no contact with parents or siblings, just abruptly uprooted from familial loving care. First half of the 20th Century, Arizona and Utah attempted raids of polygamous communities to remove all the fathers forced into prison. Choosing the innocent and easy targets, Rick Perry would rather remove all the children in order to punish the parents, regardless of emotional trauma and negative experiences that the children will formulate to hate the State as they mature over time.
Gov. Perry’s executive administration in Texas not yet mentioned because it’s so unpleasant and complicated, is scarred by his decision to raid and remove every single American citizen under the age of 21 from their homes in the fundamentalist compound outside of Eldorado. Of course with the best of intentions “for the children”, Rick Perry’s administration sanctioned the State of Texas to trump up an incredible and false witness in order to forcibly remove all the children of an entire community from their homes for over a year, preventing any communications between siblings and parents. Yet the State did not have the facilities to absorb so many hundreds of children simultaneously within the Child Protective Services. So the children were abused by the State, housed in facilities never built for housing, facilities incapable of handling so many inmates at once with proper hygiene and privacy for bedding and sleep. And the State lost track of some of the children farmed out by social workers. What a grotesquely Orwellian “Big Brother” Rick Perry proved to be. And for nothing but show of force and intimidation and even persecution, another fascistic experiment a la Branch Davidians destroyed outside of Waco. It wasn’t long after that horrible Eldorado fiasco that the historical Texas Governor’s Mansion was burnt to the ground, enabling Rick Perry to move to the outskirts of Austin’s Hill Country into a mansion within a gated community, all at the Texas Taxpayers’ expense. Shame on Rick Perry.
OK Governor, 2 points
1. Work to Repeal the 17th Amendment.
2. Work to restructure the tax system. Why do the States send so much money to the Feds only to beg to get it back? Money is power. Reclaim a least some of ours.
It appears that Gov. Perry sees the problem, and the opportunity to help solve it is now at hand. The basic problem is much more entrenched and insidious than most everyone comprehends, though. For a thorough understanding of what we’re up against as a nation, you need to read “Set Up & Sold Out” by Holly Swanson. It will tie together the whole picture and show with thoughtful explanation what is needed to change the current pervasive trend toward socialism. Try to see past the need the book has for an editor who understands English writing and punctuation, for I have never seen the level of wisdom that identifies what the Green Movement is really about and what it has already done to our nation.
The elephant in the room is the tax dollars spent on the illegal immigrant. No one dares talk about it. While we are trying to repeal Obamacare no one has yet to speak of the burden placed on taxpayers for Medicaid and Medicare for illegals who have never paid into the system. It’s time to confront La Raza and other such organizations who push for amnesty for the masses of illegals in this country. A guest worker program would be great, but we need to make their health care the responsibility of those who hire them, not their fellow workers. Texas would be a great place to start.