Amidst the Obama administration's crusade to consolidate power in Washington at the expense of the very sovereignty of the states and our liberties, we should be encouraged that states are fighting back.
Consider just three very recent examples.
Have you heard about the administration's propaganda campaign to adorn each federal "stimulus" project with taxpayer-funded signs to remind us that these projects have been bestowed on us by the beneficence of the Obama administration? The signs read, "Project funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act."
In the first place, they're not funded by any act, but by the American taxpayer. This type of government self-promotion is eerily reminiscent of dictatorial governments in modern history that not only deprived their citizens of freedom and private property but also demanded to be glorified for the morsels they doled back out to them.
Rep. Aaron Schock, R-Ill., isn't taking this outrage sitting down. He has put forth a proposal to prohibit funding for the $20 million that has been spent nationwide (and more than $650,000 in Illinois alone) on these "useless" signs, which haven't created "one single job" and which serve no purpose beyond touting the administration's supposed benevolence.
Schock assures us that this propaganda campaign is being directed by the administration, not some bureaucrat, as evidenced by documents the administration sends along with the construction projects that dictate how big the logos have to be and reminding those involved that they demonstrate "President Obama's commitment to spending taxpayer dollars wisely." Schock quips, "It is almost an oxymoron that we are spending money on these logos and these signs to (show) how wisely we are spending taxpayer money."
If that isn't bad enough, get this: It extends way beyond road projects. The logos are also being required, for example, on police and fire vehicles acquired by cities in part with stimulus funds.
States are also fighting back through their state officials. Arizona state Sen. Russell Pearce is incensed over the Obama administration's "outrageous" and bogus lawsuit against the state of Arizona over its perfectly legitimate effort to protect its border and citizens.
Pearce does not mince words, saying this lawsuit is a matter of the Obama administration's abusing its power to advance its "nonenforcement mentality and agenda. ... It's outrageous, what (the administration is) doing. This is about an agenda. This is a president that is acting like a dictator. This is a president who is ignoring the rule of law and siding with lawbreakers over the citizens of this country and the citizens of this state while damage is being conducted every single day. Every single day!"
Just so. Obama is using the power of the federal government (and playing the race card in the process) to file a spurious lawsuit to prevent the sovereign state of Arizona from defending its border and citizens in deference to Obama's reckless immigration reform designs. Come to think of it, Obama wouldn't let Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal take steps to protect his citizens, either, would he? Is there a pattern here? Surely not.
Also, my lifelong friend Missouri Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder announced his filing of a lawsuit Wednesday to block Obamacare. Kinder explains that his lawsuit differs from lawsuits by other states (which he wholeheartedly supports) against Obamacare in that it involves an action not on behalf of the state of Missouri, but of individual plaintiffs who will be injured as a result of the federal law. There are three different plaintiffs, each alleging a different type of injury that will result from the application of Obamacare.
These separate challenges showcase the discriminatory, arbitrary and capricious nature of this horrendous law. One plaintiff alleges, in part, that she will be denied equal protection of the law, as she, along with citizens in 49 states, will lose access to Medicare Advantage, while certain Florida citizens will continue to enjoy it -- for the sole reason that Obama needed Florida votes to get the bill passed. Another plaintiff -- though a young, healthy woman who doesn't smoke or drink -- will be required to purchase the one-size-fits-all Obama plan against her will instead of simply procuring far less expensive catastrophic coverage.
In his fiery announcement about the lawsuit, Kinder declared that this legal challenge is about protecting the constitutional rights of Missourians against the illegal encroachments of the federal government. And in response to federal politicians who demand that we trust them to protect our interests, Kinder movingly invoked Thomas Jefferson, who said, "In questions of power, then, let no more be heard of confidence in man, but bind him down from mischief by the chains of the Constitution." Amen!
God bless the states and our state officials for opposing this tyranny.