AP Misses the Boat, MSNBC Runs It Aground
I know, I'm shocked, too.
Contrary to the headline hastily glued onto this MSNBC.com piece, New Hampshire House Concurrent Resolution 6 was not filed for the purpose of fighting Obama's pork-ladenstimulus spending package, and would have been introduced whether that steaming pile of you-know-what bill was signed into law or not.
Some state lawmakers fight federal stimulus
That's two fallacies in one sentence - just another day at the Associated Press.
1. Gun control is not (or at least, shouldn't be) a "conservative agenda item". At least not in the way the definition of the word "conservative" has been mangled as of late by the mainstream press (e.g. "the last eight years of conservative rule").
To defend our Second Amendment rights from attack is to defend the rights of all Americans to defend themselves and protect their families and communities from harm - be they straight, gay, black, white, rich, poor, rural folk, or city dwellers.
If respecting the rights of all citizens, regardless of their socio-economic status represents a "conservative" belief system, then I will wear that appellation with pride. There used to be a time in this country when tolerance of others was the hallmark of the "progressive" left.
2. This resolution seeks not to advance "conservative agenda items", but rather to prevent the federal government from passing legislation that it has no business being involved with. It's about getting the federal government to respect the limitations of power that are identified in the Constitution.
The purpose of HCR-6 is to demand that the federal government respect the contract that exists between it and the 50 sovereign states that comprise our constitutional republic. The federal government has been grossly overstepping its bounds for some time now.
Example: The Defense of Marriage Act. There is nothing in the Constitution that gives Congress the power to regulate the institution of marriage, yet they went and did it anyway.
If HCR-6 had been filed by a member of the Berkeley (CA) City Council four years ago (OK, minus the part about icky guns), it would have been hailed in the press as one of the most heroic and progressive pieces of legislation in American history.
The Constitution has been torn asunder and stepped on by politicians on both sides of the aisle. This resolution is not a matter of Left vs. Right, or Democrats vs. Republicans. All we are asking is that our elected officials stop using it as a doormat and uphold their oaths of office.
To say the fate our Republic hangs in the balance is by no means an understatement.
UPDATE: Got the truck all loaded up for the 8:00 AM rally at the State House tomorrow morning. See you there!
Contrary to the headline hastily glued onto this MSNBC.com piece, New Hampshire House Concurrent Resolution 6 was not filed for the purpose of fighting Obama's pork-laden
Some state lawmakers fight federal stimulus
CONCORD, New Hampshire - For proponents of small government, the $787 billion economic stimulus bill recently passed by Congress isn't a life saver. It's the last straw.
State lawmakers across the country are sponsoring resolutions — most of them only symbolic — demanding state sovereignty, in effect the right to ignore any federal law or policies they deem unconstitutional. And that includes the U.S. stimulus package.
Resolutions such as one introduced in the New Hampshire House are typically nonbinding, meaning they would not have the force of law even if approved by legislatures. Instead, they give legislators a platform to stand up for smaller government and other conservative agenda items, such as limiting gun control.
That's two fallacies in one sentence - just another day at the Associated Press.
1. Gun control is not (or at least, shouldn't be) a "conservative agenda item". At least not in the way the definition of the word "conservative" has been mangled as of late by the mainstream press (e.g. "the last eight years of conservative rule").
To defend our Second Amendment rights from attack is to defend the rights of all Americans to defend themselves and protect their families and communities from harm - be they straight, gay, black, white, rich, poor, rural folk, or city dwellers.
If respecting the rights of all citizens, regardless of their socio-economic status represents a "conservative" belief system, then I will wear that appellation with pride. There used to be a time in this country when tolerance of others was the hallmark of the "progressive" left.
2. This resolution seeks not to advance "conservative agenda items", but rather to prevent the federal government from passing legislation that it has no business being involved with. It's about getting the federal government to respect the limitations of power that are identified in the Constitution.
The purpose of HCR-6 is to demand that the federal government respect the contract that exists between it and the 50 sovereign states that comprise our constitutional republic. The federal government has been grossly overstepping its bounds for some time now.
Example: The Defense of Marriage Act. There is nothing in the Constitution that gives Congress the power to regulate the institution of marriage, yet they went and did it anyway.
If HCR-6 had been filed by a member of the Berkeley (CA) City Council four years ago (OK, minus the part about icky guns), it would have been hailed in the press as one of the most heroic and progressive pieces of legislation in American history.
The Constitution has been torn asunder and stepped on by politicians on both sides of the aisle. This resolution is not a matter of Left vs. Right, or Democrats vs. Republicans. All we are asking is that our elected officials stop using it as a doormat and uphold their oaths of office.
To say the fate our Republic hangs in the balance is by no means an understatement.
UPDATE: Got the truck all loaded up for the 8:00 AM rally at the State House tomorrow morning. See you there!
