James Madison: States Need Recourse Against Courts

It’s worth recalling important passages from James Madison’s famous Report of 1800 in light of the many uninformed criticisms of nullification (e.g., “Why, the courts are our infallible judges!”):

“The resolution of the General Assembly [the Virginia Resolutions of 1798] relates to those great and extraordinary cases, in which all the forms of the Constitution may prove ineffectual against infractions dangerous to the essential rights of the parties to it. The resolution supposes that dangerous powers, not delegated, may not only be usurped and executed by the other departments, but that the judicial department also may exercise or sanction dangerous powers beyond the grant of the Constitution; and, consequently, that the ultimate right of the parties to the Constitution, to judge whether the compact has been dangerously violated, must extend to violations by one delegated authority, as well as by another; by the judiciary, as well as by the executive, or the legislature.

“However true, therefore, it may be, that the judicial department, is, in all questions submitted to it by the forms of the Constitution, to decide in the last resort, this resort must necessarily be deemed the last in relation to the authorities of the other departments of the government; not in relation to the rights of the parties to the constitutional compact, from which the judicial as well as the other departments hold their delegated trusts. On any other hypothesis, the delegation of judicial power would annul the authority delegating it; and the concurrence of this department with the others in usurped powers, might subvert for ever, and beyond the possible reach of any rightful remedy, the very Constitution which all were instituted to preserve.”

The “parties to the constitutional compact” being, of course, the peoples of the states.

To the claim that Madison didn’t really mean what he obviously did mean, and what everyone at the time took him to mean, or that he later claimed he had never meant such a thing, I refer readers to my book Nullification (specifically, pp. 288-290).

http://www.halfstaffamerica.com/ Rick Prentice

The only way I see to reign in the federal gov is to remove the power of taxation. It has become the #1 destructive force to the people of the States. The Role of the federal gov must be clearly defined… National Security, National emergencies, National currency, and few others that would have to be National ..etc. The number of Senators and house members could be cut in half and their salary and budget would be set controlled and payed by their State. The President would have no authority to spend money. Then the Governors would set, oversee, and control the budget for the fed. All taxes would be collected at the State level. A percentage would then be used to fund the role of the fed. That way the fed could be kept on a very short leash. The States would decide on the programs and regulations needed for their State…. Are some of these items outside the Constitution?? maybe so. But not nearly as much as what Washington and the “Not at all Supreme” court have done. This of course would need to be elaborated on to define the details, but I think you get the idea.
http://turophiles2cents.wordpress.com/ Turophile

Rick, I like your idea of having the States finance the Federal government. I’ve said since the McCain-Feingold attempt to “get the money out of politics” that the way to accomplish that goal is to get the money out of Washington, D.C. (Den of Corruption). The way to do that is to repeal the 16th Amendment (the income tax) and abolish the IRS. The only ‘fly in the ointment’ with your plan is how to apportion the taxes between the states. Perhaps the best way to do that is to base it on the population of each State. I can see that such a system would still give the States with large military installations (Virginia, California, Washington, Texas & Florida?) motivation to jack up Federal Defense spending. I think you’re on the right track, though.
Rick

The way to apportion each states amount to fund the fed would not be by population but by a percentage of each states GDP. It would be the same percentage for each state but the dollar amount from each state would vary based on their GDP. Remember, under this plan, the lions share of social programs is handled and funded by each individual state. The federal gov is striped down to size with very specific responsibilities that would be controlled and approved by the states.

As for the States with military bases trying to “jack” the system, the budget for the military would be set and approved by all the states. No state could run “ruf-shod” over another without their approval.
This of course is all brain storming on my part. It could never happen in this country because there is just too much corruption.

As for using these ideas… please do, and expand on them at will.
http://twitter.com/SuperNovaLovah I. P. Freely

The *real* way to rein in the federal government is to eliminate the General Welfare Clause, to eliminate the block grants that scare states out of exercising their constitutional prerogatives. How many times have you heard that so-and-so kept quiet for fear of losing Medicaid money?
http://twitter.com/SuperNovaLovah I. P. Freely

The problem with state financing is that states don’t always pay their quotas even when the spending is legitimate. The two governments were to act in parallel, neither prosecuting the other, but the states kept the reins with their selection of senators and the President. Of course, the last remnants of that got edited out in 1913 and reduced to popular vote.
http://twitter.com/SuperNovaLovah I. P. Freely

Did you forget who calculates GDP?
susanne depperman

The People behind the Federal Reserve Bank are running this country/internationally & where is our gold?

The Federal Reserve Bank is not part of the UnitedStates Government, it is a private bank! Which is charging the US government interest on the money it prints! Have congress dismantle the Federal Reserve Bank and Let the United States Government start printing our own money again! For more info YouTube: ‘Fall of the Republic HQ full length version” or ‘Carl Miller Constitution man’
Anonymous

Based on this scenario, each state would of course calculate their own. It’s a matter of whether or not the people within each state can bring this about. Will there be resistance? Hell Yes there will be.

We will have to redirect our focus from “expecting this change from Washington” to “demanding this change within our own state”.
That’s what nullification is all about.

It will require a “Unity of Spirit” movement like I wrote about on HalfStaff America.com….
http://www.halfstaffamerica.com/rambling_rick/never-forget

History has shown that we Americans, at least a large number of us, have the will and ability to band together in very significant ways. Usually around a major event or catastrophe. We just have to realize that we ARE “neck deep” in a catastrophic event right now… the collapse of America as we know it.