U.S. Rep. Mark Green (R-TN-07) said in a new FOX News column this week that federalism is the only thing that can save America.
Under such a system, Green wrote, if U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY-14) wants universal rent control then she can have it in her home state — but if Tennessee doesn’t want it then it shouldn’t have it.
Green asked readers to imagine “two concentric circles representing the major tenets and beliefs of the two political parties in America.”
“There used to be considerable overlap between the two circles, allowing Congress to govern in the overlap. But with each year that passes, these circles grow further and further apart as the philosophies between the parties become more divided, and the ability to reach consensus and solve the problems facing our country becomes more difficult,” Green wrote.
“Today, the differences are so stark that there is almost no overlap between the two circles. As a result of this ever-growing polarization, here’s how we are governing: Might makes right. The majority wins, and the majority makes the rules. This is the extreme our Founders tried to prevent — the consolidation of power, the centralization of decision-making into the hands of an elite few, in a word, tyranny.”
As Green went on to write “real freedom disperses power.”
“That’s the ideal our country was built on — a federal system that shares political power and the responsibilities of governing among local governments, state governments and the national government. Sovereignty is reserved to the states, and federal power is exercised as one of the enumerated powers specified in the Constitution. This original plan allowed for a state like California to do universal health care and a state like Tennessee to pursue a wholly different approach,” Green wrote.
“Our Founders understood that freedom is best preserved in a local context. However, today freedom — and the system of federalism that ensures it — is under massive attack as power continues to accumulate in the hands of an elite ruling class. By reserving power to the people, federalism releases citizens, local communities and state governments to innovate, create and specifically serve the wishes of the individuals in a given state or local jurisdiction.”
As The Tennessee Star reported last week, Green is not happy with the process of the federal government in at least one other area. He criticized the process by which Congress has funded the federal government in a recent newsletter to his constituents.
“The House passed two spending bills to fund the government, but the process is broken and needs to be fixed. Releasing 2,313 pages of the funding bills less than 24 hours before the vote and only days before the funding deadline is no way to govern. We must do better,” Green wrote.
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Chris Butler is an investigative journalist at The Tennessee Star. Follow Chris on Facebook. Email tips to [email protected].
[…] The Tennessee Star reported last month, Green said in a FOX News column that federalism is the only thing that can save […]
Mark Green is correct, as well as Right. An underlying problem is that we have obfuscated the difference between ‘Federalism’ and ‘Nationalism’. How many people understand the distinction? Certainly, our school system fails to teach the distinction.
Respect for and adherence to the 10th amendment principle would go a long-way for the badly needed return to federalism.
I agree 100%. When CA decides to they need to clean up their cities, then they should clean up their cities. Just don’t ask the deplorables in flyover country to fund it. When CA decides to go green (wind and solar only), just don’t ask surrounding states to provide economical electricity across the CA state border.
You see, the deplorables are still trying to figure out how to get their CA “bullet train” project advanced funding back when Sacramento cancelled or downsized the project.
Yes, it pains fly-over country to see our coastal cities turned into slums and dumps. But, we had no part in that process of destruction. If they want federal help, first there must be a strict payment plan by the federal government to assure that there is a reasonable ROI.
Second, there must be some state assets (free to be sold if necessary) to act as collateral in case there is failure of the plan.
Unfortunately, as our national system drifts toward national socialism, the above remedy will not be in vogue. The federal government will reallocate resources from the states as it sees fit based on democratic (mob rule) principles.
Indeed; but this is just a stop gap solution until such time as the Federal Reserve is eliminated and we return to a system of sound money backed by hard assets. Until then, people will just continue to vote for “free stuff” and the war of attrition will continue.
Moreover, this same line of reasoning trickles down to the county level. If Shelby County wants to grant corporate welfare, fine – but do so on your own dime, not mine. If Davidson County wants to provide free health care to illegal aliens, fine. But not on my dime.
Just as the US Constitution has enumerated powers, so should the state’s. And the counties need to assert their sovereignty, just as the state does (as guaranteed by the 10th Amendment.)
I certainly have to agree with the comments by Congressman Mark Green. 2020 is now in a position to be one of the most historical years ever for America. The states agreed and created life for the Federal government and the created simply can’t ruler over the creator. No different than humanity being ruled by our creator, God almighty. As much as Washington might like to change all that it’s simply not going to happen.
As for having a vote in funding our Federal government, that process was lost a good while back. Debt ceilings have been proven to be for public consumption only. It gives false hope to the citizens that Washington actually cares about the trillions upon trillions they put onto the backs of hard working Americans and the unborn. A day of reckoning is assured at this point as all confidence will soon be lost in the US dollar. It is now created from nothing and it will return to nothing of value. While that is one sad comment for all of us it will at least bring about the rightful calamity of all those politicians responsible for it. It is our Achilles heal I’m afraid. We failed to follow the wise words of our Founders regarding the dollar.
You can add Sumner County to your list.
Yes, Ralph but as for Tennessee, just as the counties don’t violate any of the Declaration of Rights in the Tennessee Constitution.