Nullification And Void, The Return

I've discussed the legal aspect of nullification before, where the states decide the Tenth Amendment means they don't have to follow laws they don't want to.  South Carolina tried it 1832 and got smacked down by Andrew Jackson over it (literally, Congress passed legislation authorizing the use of force against SC over this and Columbia folded in 1833.)   The nullification effort by South Carolina was basically the first real shot fired in the Civil War, although the real bullets wouldn't fly until nearly three decades later. 

With the passage of the Affordable Care Act, and even before the passage of it, red states like Arizona began beating the nullification drum again.  Arizona was just one of many states that passed nullification laws in protest to President Obama being elected.   It's meaningless of course because the of the Supremacy Clause in Article VI of the Constitution:

This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in pursuance thereof; and all treaties made, or which shall be made, under the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law of the land; and the judges in every state shall be bound thereby, anything in the constitution or laws of any state to the contrary notwithstanding.

Of course, that didn't stop South Carolina from trying to ignore it anyway based on the Tenth Amendment, and oh yeah, the Civil War, like I mentioned.

Over at PoliticusUSA, Rmuse finds Georgia Republicans have gone one big step further and want to basically opt out of the union altogether:

The Georgia legislators introduced the nullification bill that is summed up with the words, “In the event the General Assembly votes by a constitutional majority to nullify any federal statute, mandate, or executive order on the grounds of constitutionality, neither the state nor its citizens shall recognize or be obligated to live under such statute, mandate, or executive order.” The similarities to pre-Civil War sensibilities of Southern states is remarkable and reflect opposition to, among other things, the Affordable Care Act and the right of women to choose their own reproductive health. However, the impetus of nullification is rejection of Barack Obama as President of the United States and not any one particular law.

And of course this is all about having a black President in the White House.  It was obvious as to why this happened in 1832 and obvious now.

The unconstitutional idea that a state can nullify federal law was invoked during the 1830’s by slave owners in southern states nearly caused a civil war at the time, and was the motivation of secessionists who did start America’s bloodiest conflict. Except for segregated southern states using nullification to maintain Jim Crow laws, the concept has been the purview of “constitutional radicalism” until January 2009. Its resurgence during President Obama’s administration increased with conservatives who are inspired by a neo-Confederate hate-group founder, Thomas Woods, who authored a book, “Nullification,” that argues “states have the final say” on a variety of issues.  Woods once published an article declaring the Confederacy was “Christendom’s Last Stand,” and endorses the view that the Civil War was a “battle between atheists, socialists, and communists” on one side and “friends of order” on the other. His words are eerily similar to conservative accusations against President Obama.

There are several states that attempted to pass nullification laws since President Obama took office, and they are all states with Republican majorities and governors. Virginia governor Bob McDonnell signed an obviously unconstitutional law that purports to nullify portions of the Affordable Care Act, and several states have followed suit with many considering so-called “sovereignty resolutions” which claim states have the power to ignore federal laws that conservatives oppose. In New Hampshire in 2009, four state legislators introduced a resolution which would invalidate the entire Constitution if Congress passed any law conflicting with the right-wing view of federal power. There is only one connection between all of these nullification attempts and it is they all occurred during President Obama’s term with many coming before the ACA was passed and signed into law.

It's ridiculous, but we're right back to 1832 again as far as the Republicans go.  Obama Derangement Syndrome is a pretty awful thing to witness.  And millions of Americans are okay with this level of hatred.