Horowitz: State sovereignty acts: The single most important post-election agenda item for conservatives

“When Ottawa announces policies and laws that attack our economy or violate the rights of our people or when Ottawa seeks to take control of our sovereign areas of provincial jurisdiction, our UCP (United Conservative Party) government will not enforce those laws & policies in this province, period." Those were the words of newly elected Alberta Premier Danielle Smith in announcing the Alberta Sovereignty Act.

If the Alberta premier could be this bold in a country where the people are much more compliant with tyranny, where she is the only conservative leader, and where provinces are less sovereign than American states, how much more it is incumbent upon us to pressure Republican governors and legislatures to erect “get off our lawn” signs in Joe Biden’s face.

Last week, I posted a comprehensive analysis of the scope of power Republicans hold in state government and how they are likely to dramatically expand it. Between trifecta control and supermajorities in legislatures, they could conceivably hold the power to pass legislation unchallenged by Democrats in at least 30 states. As such, when national Republican leaders lament the limits of their power to check the Biden administration in Washington for lack of full control of government, we must remind them it doesn’t absolve the party of its duty to enforce the Constitution in the states Republicans control.

What does that look like? Governors and legislators need to announce that when the federal government seeks to violate the Constitution, statutes, the rights of the people, or the social compact itself by openly engaging in destruction of our food, energy, and natural resources, those policies will be blocked in the states.

Practically, what does that mean?

The first bill all GOP-controlled legislatures should pass when most of them convene in January is a law allowing them via concurrent resolution to declare a federal policy, regulation, or statute unconstitutional. That would automatically, pursuant to this law, have the effect of criminalizing the enforcement of that policy within the state’s boundaries by any state or local official or state-funded NGO. It would also call upon the state law enforcement agencies to work directly with the governor to, with all practicable means, block any attempts of federal officials to enforce those edicts.

On specific issues, this means:

• All federal policies regarding transgenderism cannot be enforced.
• All federal policies concerning medical mandates, surveillance, or public health policies deemed harmful or unconstitutional are prohibited.
• All federal policies locking up state fuel, food, or natural resources are suspended.
• All FBI raids on residents of the state that are prima facie political persecutions when no allegation of violence is brought are illegal and will be thwarted by all means possible.
• All cooperation with federal law enforcement on surveillance, information sharing, or apprehension of political opponents is suspended.

On issues pertaining to federal violations of the social compact, where no reasonable person can assert that the federal government is trying to govern in accordance with the general welfare, states must also step up to the plate. For example, if the feds are locking up lands from pipelines, natural gas terminals and storage facilities, and drilling and refining oil, states must work together to create a parallel economy for energy. That is the only way to fight the climate fascism, which is quite literally threating to turn us into transhumans eating bugs and sewage water and living in containers. As Danielle Smith wrote, “On major policy issues, our government will be discussing a pushback strategy to address issues such as the federal oil and gas emissions cap, fertilizer reductions, and the firearms confiscation program. The Alberta Sovereignty Act is a critical part of that strategy.”

Then there is the issue of illegal immigration. While it naturally is a federal issue, what is a state to do when the federal government violates the nation’s sovereignty laws and floods the states with cartels, drugs, and criminal aliens? The Constitution is not a suicide pact. As Justice Scalia observed in Arizona v. United States (2012), "The naturalization power was given to Congress not to abrogate States' power to exclude those they did not want, but to vindicate it."

As such, states have a fiduciary responsibility to their residents to protect them from the safety and economic concerns of illegal immigration. They should form a compact and institute a state-based “return to Mexico” policy. At a minimum, they must cut off all employment and benefits so that the cartels will only be incentivized to send illegal immigrants to the blue states.

The first American Revolution had its roots in the colonial legislatures, which worked together to form the Continental Congress and interpose against the British monarch. Once again, we are confronted with a centralized government that has become destructive to the moorings of human freedom. The state governments are well placed to deter, thwart, and overcome this federal tyranny.