Wednesday, August 11, 2021

How States Could Constitutionally Assume Abandoned Responsibilities of the National Government

 How States Could Constitutionally Assume Abandoned Responsibilities of the National Government

Excerpt: The doctrine of protective resumption offers a way to safeguard the rights of citizenship when the issue is not how powers are being exercised but how they are not. A government that doesn’t perform its core duties is, to that extent, not a government at all. Just like fallen banners, core powers left lying in the dust can be picked up by those next in command, assuming their own powers give them a good reason to do so. State police powers can’t be invoked to remedy every federal dereliction, but there may be areas other than immigration where they can, the case strengthening as federal abdications become more basic and done with mens rea. Potentially it could be invoked in any domain of federal authority so elemental as to put citizens at grave risk if left unattended. Two besides immigration jump to mind as possibilities: maintaining a stable national currency and securing equal protection of the law, though in both cases implementation of protective resumption would be more complex and difficult than with respect to border security. [Oh, my. What an interesting idea! This is REALLY worth reading and thinking about. Ron P.]

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