The Repeal Amendment – An Idea Whose Time Has Arrived

Perhaps it’s the air in Washington. It might be something in the water. Whatever it is, there are few who are immune to it.

“It” is elitism. Calling it an “it” is apt, much like you would call a decomposed animal found in the woods an “it” because there’s not much to identify the rotting carcass save the fur, the goo and the smell. You certainly don’t want to get very close to whatever “it” is.

These past two years have shown the country the evil inherent in elitism. In fact, our current national malaise can be traced directly to this flaw in our political nature. Politicians in their hubris deemed those who elected them to be somehow, shall we say, less than intelligent.

And in a way, they’re quite right. Look around you, pick up a newspaper (what’s that?) or turn on the television and note the news. Very little of it is good. Record high levels of unemployment, more folks on food stamps than ever before, Washington bureaucrats reaching their tentacles into every orifice and pore of your life to dictate what you can feed yourself and how your healthcare is managed.

And who is in charge? Democrats.

So, what are we to do now that we’ve proven ourselves incapable of electing responsible, mature adults to represent our interests in Washington? Not much, except to construct a few institutional barriers to the abuse of power.

Not that they’ll be obeyed, although that’s what our Founders envisioned when they wrote the Constitution. Doubtless, they assumed that those who would step onto the political stage were of a like mind, that they would exhibit self-control, especially when charged with the awesome responsibility of governing a nation. A moment of clear thought makes that self-evident, needing no explanation except to the, *ahem*, lesser intellects whom we have elected to office.

We need look no further than our own Congress to see just how far we’ve fallen. How can there be much respect for a governing body that excludes itself from the very laws it creates? What does that say to the governed? Plenty, I’m afraid, and none of it very good.

So, if we can’t find the right type of people to administer our affairs, we’ll just have to make sure they know what the boundaries are. The Repeal Amendment is a step in that direction. Here it is in it’s simple entirety:

"Any provision of law or regulation of the United States may be repealed by the several states, and such repeal shall be effective when the legislatures of two-thirds of the several states approve resolutions for this purpose that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 describes the same provision or provisions of law or regulation to be repealed."

That’s so simple even a politician can understand it.

It restores the power to the States, where it was originally intended to be, close to the people. It would essentially neuter the type of government we’re currently suffering from. For instance, I don’t think it would be very hard to repeal President Obama’s current senseless moratorium on oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. In fact, let’s take it another step and repeal the EPA’s numerous regulations that are currently preventing us from enforcing border security.

Oh, you say you didn’t know that’s part of the reason our border isn’t secure is due to environmental regulations? I’ll allow the law to explain itself to you:

The Wilderness Act states, “There shall be no temporary road, no use of motor vehicles, motorized equipment or motorboats, no landing of aircraft, no other form of mechanical transport, and no structure or installation within any such area.”

How’s that for an excuse not to close the border? That the Feds would vigorously enforce environmental regulations instead of securing the border is but one example of this administration's misplaced priorities. Never mind that cross-border crime is victimizing the residents of Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico who are reluctant to even leave their houses lest they be ransacked by illegals.

The Repeal Amendment would go a long way towards reining in the Federal government and preventing this sort of insanity. Sort of like how the Senate was originally intended to operate.

I must also off a word of caution, particularly when it comes to Constitutional fiddling of any sort; the opportunity for political mischief is great. I’d be most careful of convening for the purpose of adding to our Constitution and make sure that one, and only one issue is considered. I’m sorry to say that my own personal trust in government is at an all-time low, just like the rest of the country.

Still, we must do all we can to reduce the power an influence of Washington over our lives. If we do it correctly and proceed with caution, we can restore the Federal government to its rightful and legal place.

Which is out of our hospitals, out of our kitchens, and out of our wallets.

UPDATE! This is even better than I had hoped for. Naturally, after I finished writing this post, I ran across this. I also found that my fears of Constitutional mischief were unfounded since a Constitutional convention is not required. The things I learn by reading...