H/T Don’t Tread on Mike

Oklahoma passed a resolution reaffirming the state’s rights under the Tenth Amendment of the Constitution and informing the Federal government to essentially back off with their unconstitutional power grabs and mandates. Let’s see if they actually stand behind it. We need to start seeing more of this.

This is the text of House Joint Resolution 1089

STATE OF OKLAHOMA

2nd Session of the 51st Legislature (2008)

HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 1089 By: Key

AS INTRODUCED

<StartFT>A Joint Resolution claiming sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States over certain powers; serving notice to the federal government to cease and desist certain mandates; and directing distribution. <EndFT>

WHEREAS, the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States reads as follows:

“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.”; and

WHEREAS, the Tenth Amendment defines the total scope of federal power as being that specifically granted by the Constitution of the United States and no more; and

WHEREAS, the scope of power defined by the Tenth Amendment means that the federal government was created by the states specifically to be an agent of the states; and

WHEREAS, today, in 2008, the states are demonstrably treated as agents of the federal government; and

WHEREAS, many federal mandates are directly in violation of the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States; and

WHEREAS, the United States Supreme Court has ruled in New York v. United States, 112 S. Ct. 2408 (1992), that Congress may not simply commandeer the legislative and regulatory processes of the states; and

WHEREAS, a number of proposals from previous administrations and some now pending from the present administration and from Congress may further violate the Constitution of the United States.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AND THE SENATE OF THE 2ND SESSION OF THE 51ST OKLAHOMA LEGISLATURE:

THAT the State of Oklahoma hereby claims sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States over all powers not otherwise enumerated and granted to the federal government by the Constitution of the United States.

THAT this serve as Notice and Demand to the federal government, as our agent, to cease and desist, effective immediately, mandates that are beyond the scope of these constitutionally delegated powers.

THAT a copy of this resolution be distributed to the President of the United States, the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, the Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate of each state’s legislature of the United States of America, and each member of the Oklahoma Congressional Delegation.

51-2-9466 <SD> <12/31/07>

That’s all I have to say about that.

Today is the primary down here in South Carolina. A mini revolution has been brewing with the Republican Party to clean house and get rid of some of these tax and spend RINOs that Columbia is infested with. I am working at a poll today in Fort Mill for Kyle Boyd who is running for State Representative in the attempt to oust the incumbent State Rep, Carl Gullick. Gullick is a filthy, filthy RINO who recently wrote a bill to raise taxes so that the state could expand the Socialist welfare state by putting more kids on Medicaid. Fortunately, the Governor vetoed the bill and it was sustained. No Democrat has filed for this seat so if Kyle wins today, he wins the whole thing.

There are a few other races that the Governor himself has weighed in on and endorsed the challengers over the incumbents. Hopefully, we’ll see some success tonight when the returns come in. Lindsey Grahamnesty is also facing a primary challenge today, but Lindsey will likely pull through.

Tenneseans guard your southeastern border. Georgia needs the water.

The border legislation claims the Georgia-Tennessee state line was incorrectly marked 1.1 miles south of the intended border, the 35th parallel, when a Georgia survey crew plotted the line 190 years ago. The legislation states Georgia has repeatedly tried to correct the error for more than 100 years.

Authors of the legislation made no secret of the fact that this latest attempt to move the border north was to capture a bend in the Tennessee River and rights to the water as Georgia endures historic drought.

Georgians are leading the way in holding up 2nd Amendment rights.

Georgians with carry licenses can tote their concealed guns on public transportation, in restaurants that serve alcohol and in state parks under legislation signed by Gov. Sonny Perdue Wednesday.

This issue is definitely heading to the courts. The anti-gun nuts can’t resist.

U. of Okla. freshman, 19, elected mayor of Muskogee

“No matter what Wayne Gilchrest and E.J. Pipkin say on the campaign trail, their records demonstrate that they are not conservative, and they will not fight for taxpayers in Congress,” Mr. Toomey added. “In Congress, Gilchrest has a long record of voting for pork, voting for tax hikes, and voting against political free speech. In the Maryland State Legislature, Pipkin has demonstrated a similar tendency, voting for massive increases in government spending and eminent domain abuse.”The Club for Growth

Pat is correct. Both of these guys suck. Here is the ad they are running in MD-01

Andy Harris is running against Gilchrest in the GOP primary.

Over the past few decades there have been some universal truths in North Carolina politics. They vote Republican for President and Democrat for state offices. The Republican candidate has won the state’s electoral votes in the last seven Presidential elections. Conversely, the Democrats have held the Governor’s mansion for the past 20 years as well as the State Legislature for most of that time.

However, the state has been morphing rather quickly from a traditional southern state of blue collar workers to a virtual melting pot of migrants from all over the country and abroad. It is now a conglomerate of white collar yuppies, big banking barons, and “techie” nerds, mixed with the natives. In other words, it’s not your father’s North Carolina, which may explain the surprise I had when I read yesterday’s Rasmussen Report:

Hillary Clinton is competitive in the state against four leading Republican Presidential candidates. The former First Lady has a two-point edge over Mitt Romney (42% to 40%) and trails Rudy Giuliani by a statistically insignificant single percentage point (Giuliani 40% Clinton 39%).

She also trails John McCain by five (45% to 40%) and Mike Huckabee by seven (46% to 39%).

Against all four Republicans, Clinton’s support is steady and ranges from a low of 39% to a high of 42%.

Hillary leading in North Carolina?

North Carolina voters also have two major statewide races to look forward to in 2008.

In the gubernatorial contest, Pat McCrory, a Republican who just won his seventh term as mayor of Charlotte, has a three-point margin over two possible Democratic nominees. McCrory leads both Lieutenant Governor Beverly Perdue and State Treasurer Richard Moore by identical margins of 42% to 39%.

So we now have a Democrat leading the Presidential race and a Republican who hasn’t even declared his candidacy yet leading the gubernatorial race.

All of these are very close percentages of course, but I think it reflects the swiftly changing demographics in the state. Population just recently passed the 9 million mark and the state passed New Jersey last year, becoming the tenth largest. The state overall has always been purple, so to speak, as Democrats do outnumber Republicans but these are the old school socially conservative Democrats that tend to be to the right of the national party explaining their preference for Republicans at the Federal level, but still electing the socially conservative Democrats in the state party to fill local offices. With the influx of mostly northerners to the state, who tend to be more liberal in their social views, I think we are starting to witness the effects, each side countering out the other leaving more centrist candidates to be desired perhaps. McCrory is more of a moderate Republican with a mayoral history of using government to guide and shape the economy and Senator Clinton, while certainly no moderate, does radiate a more centrist impression of herself when compared to Obama and Edwards. This could explain my theory.

In any case, the North Carolina GOP had better learn a lesson from their neighbors to the north. Virginia has also been rapidly growing and while once a Republican stronghold, the party is now collapsing and Democrats have successfully captured the Governor’s seat, the State Senate, and one U.S. Senate seat and are likely to take the other next year. Furthermore, the state will most certainly be in play for the presidential race coming up.

If the Republican Party is to continue taking North Carolina for granted much like they did Virginia, I think they will be facing another such battle come 2012.

Gov. Chris Gregoire has a five-point lead, 47 percent to 42 percent, over her once and future Republican opponent Dino Rossi, according to a just-released statewide poll undertaken by an institute at the University of Washington.

The Washington Poll, which surveyed 601 voters, found the Democratic governor with a healthy 50-38 lead in populous central Puget Sound, but trailing her GOP foe 36-52 in Eastern Washington.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer

This is the real stolen election that the Democrats, of course, never talk about. Dino Rossi should be the rightful governor of Washington already, but some shady shenanigans kept him from taking his rightful place in Olympia. It looks like this will be another close race next year between the two of them.