Rice County Republicans

The first ten amendments to the Constitution are sometimes refered to as the Bill of Rights. Of these, the one we overlook routinely and to our great loss, is the Tenth …

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. [Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution]

This reminds us that the Constitution of the United States is primarily a document limiting Federal powers, not a document limiting individual freedoms.  As we head into a future overshadowed by an increasingly hostile federal government we would do well to begin the digging of the trenches we will need to preserve our freedoms. Minnesota House Bill HF0997 could be the opening salvo in Minnesota’s efforts to re-establish itself as a State rather than just another backwater in the federal swamp.

From the State’s website we read the following summary:

Federal government memorialized to halt its practice of imposing mandates upon the states for purposes not enumerated by the Constitution of the United States and affirming Minnesota’s sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.

See the State’s site for more details. The essence of this bill is that Minnesota is re-asserting its Constitutional right to be sovereign in all things not explicitly granted to the Federal government by the Constitution of the United States. The argument hinges on the Tenth Amendment to that constitution.

The Wikipedia discussion of the Tenth Amendment is entertaining and enlightening and worthy of a close read. It reminds us of the difference between the lay person’s ability to interpret the founding documents and the legal profession’s attempts to render reason moot. For example, what part of the First Amendment don’t you understand, you fascist PC police?  “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” seems pretty clear, especially vis-à-vis the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (BCRA, McCain–Feingold Act, Pub.L. 107-155, 116 Stat. 81, enacted March 27, 2002. With that in mind, the most disturbing information we find in the Wikipedia discussion of the Tenth Amendment is the discussion of the interpretation …

The first interpretation … is that the Constitution does not grant the United States any power that it does not expressly mention. … It is also why amendments were necessary for the abolition of slavery and the prohibition of alcohol – without said amendments, Congress did not have the authority to do those things. The contrary opinion, as held by most of the current U.S. Government, is that the Constitution grants Congress the authority to do more or less anything that is not explicitly prohibited by the first eight amendments.

wherein we see (in the emphasis) that we have certainly lost the battle for freedom in the minds of the ruling class. It remains to be seen whether we the people, can wrest the reins of power from those who would lead us (or is that, drive us) into federal serfdom.