I am a constitutional conservative. I want to conserve the constitutional order for two reasons. (1) As a Montana state representative, I took an oath to “support, protect and defend” both the U.S. and Montana constitutions. I take this oath seriously. (2) The U.S. Constitution is largely responsible for the greatness of the American Republic and the freedom and happiness of its people and is an important part of what makes America exceptional. I oppose any constitutional amendment, bill, resolution, or other legislative action that adversely affects the fundamental principles of our constitutions. Among these principles are popular sovereignty, separation of powers, federalism, rule of law, limited government, judicial independence, and individual rights. This authentic constitutional conservatism informed my votes on several occasions in the last legislative session that I determined would trespass upon one or more of these fundamental principles. Despite the pressures of partisanship and factions, I stood up – and will do so again – to put the people first if party politics offers to undermine the public good.
Anybody who adheres to the false theory of nullification is not a constitutional conservative. Nullification does not conserve the Constitution; it destroys it. Based on a profound misinterpretation of the Tenth Amendment, nullification is the falsehood that a state has the right to nullify, or invalidate, any federal laws that it deems unconstitutional with respect to the U.S. Constitution. Nullification has been repeatedly rejected by state and federal courts, including several times by the U.S. Supreme Court, based on the supremacy clause and Article III of the Constitution, which gives the federal judiciary the final power to interpret the Constitution. Therefore, the power to make final decisions about the constitutionality of federal laws lies with the federal courts, not the states, and the states do not have the power to nullify federal laws. This has been settled law since the Civil War when nullification was taken to its logical conclusion – secession – and nearly cost us our nation. Just as sin, when it matures, brings forth death, so nullification, when it matures, brings forth secession, and the death of a nation.
Nullification is fully supported by the incumbent, Senator Theresa Manzella. In the last legislative session, she sponsored and introduced Senate Bill (SB) 434. This bill would have created a group of delegates from at least nine states called a “Constitution Settlement Commission of the States,” whose purpose would have been to define what powers the states have granted to the federal government in the U.S. Constitution. The bill is premised on the false idea “that only the state may ultimately and properly define the nature and scope of the power intended to be and actually delegated to the government of the United States by the states in the United States constitution.” (This idea is false because the U.S. Constitution was established by “we the people” and ratified by conventions of the people from each state, not the state legislatures.) When making decisions about this delegated power to the federal government, the Commission “may consider any sources of information it wishes … No opinion of the government of the United States, including its courts, or of any state or state court is binding upon the commission.” Also, the Commission’s decisions are “final and may not be amended or overturned by any agent or branch of any state, any agency or branch of the United States, or by any other nation or organization of nations.”
SB 434 is nullification in its purest form because the states through this Commission determine what federal laws to obey and what federal laws to ignore by simply deciding whether the federal law falls within or without the scope of the delegated powers of the federal government. SB 434 is an attempt to give political structure and legitimacy to the nullification movement.
This nullification bill was recognized by the Montana Senate for what it is. It voted the bill down by a vote of 43 to 7 and then immediately voted to indefinitely postpone the bill by a vote of 46 to 4. It is time to restore constitutional conservatism to Senate District 44!
An original pardon of Confederate soldiers signed by President Lincoln on January 31, 1865.
Paid for by Rusk for Legislature. P.O. Box 531, Corvallis, MT 59828. Republican.