Many states including Florida, Ohio, Wisconsin, and Maine say they will not implement ObamaCare in their states. One thing these states have in common is that they are run by Republican governors. And of course this has liberals angry since they insist these states must implement the legislation because it is the law of the land and the Supreme Court deemed the law constitutional.
It is true the Supreme Court found Obamacare constitutional including the controversial mandate. They said the mandate was a “tax” and therefore did not violate the commerce clause. The court also concluded that the federal government could not withhold Medicaid funding from states that decide not to implement the law. In other words, the federal government could not use any form of coercion to force states to implement the ObamaCare.
I am a true believer in state’s rights and feel strongly states should implement laws that their citizens want, not the laws the federal government thinks they should implement. Case in point, Colorado recently amended their Constitution to legalize marijuana and to limit campaign contributions. I voted against both of these constitutional amendments, but if this is the will of the people then so be it. To further complicate matters both of these amendments violate federal law. Federal law prohibits the possession and use of marijuana for recreational purposes and the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Citizens United which says campaign contributions should not be capped. I like it when states fight back and implement the will of the people even if I do not like the law. States know better how to govern its citizens than the federal government. After all, Colorado is uniquely different from New Jersey or Alabama.
Immigration is a good example of federal government bias. Why can’t states like Arizona implement immigration laws that better protect their citizens? The Department of Justice (DOJ) intervened against Arizona because they did not like the law’s ideology, not its position with federal law. After all, the DOJ did not interfere with San Francisco’s policy as being a “sanctuary” city for illegal immigrants. San Francisco is not adhering to federal law, but most citizens in San Francisco do not want the city to enforce the federal laws for illegal immigration which includes deportation. If San Francisco is allowed to violate federal law on illegal immigration then Arizona should be allowed to enforce its illegal immigration laws. Our administration is picking policy fights based on ideology, not based on enforcing the federal law equally.
Elections are another great example. The Supreme Court should have never ruled on the 2000 election. The federal government has absolutely no jurisdiction over state elections and election laws. If states decide to purge their voter data bases omitting ineligible voters and want to implement stricter voter ID laws then so be it. Liberals argue that these are efforts to suppress minority vote. This is far from the truth and the 2012 election is a prime example. Minorities made up a record 28% of the electorate. Minority turn out far exceeded population growth over the past four years while the White vote was down 8% (adjusted for population growth). In fact, most states have initiated very liberal early voting policies making easier for anyone to vote in elections. In the face of dozens of new election laws in a dozen states minority turnout increased – that is a fact. So let the states decide their election laws.
Laws should be the will of the states, not the will of federal liberal or conservative ideologies. If Obama’s DOJ sees fit to exempt Colorado from federal marijuana and campaign finance laws then they should be consistent and let states implement their healthcare, immigration, and election laws even if they do not comply with federal law. However, in the case of ObamaCare the Supreme Court ruled the U.S. government could not use coercion to force states to implement the law.
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