Guest Commentary from Constitution Daily

General George H. Thomas earned himself the nickname The Rock of Chickamauga after his defense of September 20, 1863 saved the Union Army from annihilation. The battle of Chickamauga was a Confederate victory, but the losses to the South were enormous. General Thomas’ determination to protect the Union retreat saved the opportunity for General Sherman to later break the rebel hold on the major city of Chattanooga and proceed to scorch Georgia.

In the aftermath of the battle, a chaplain asked General Thomas how he like the states arranged for burial in the new cemetery. Thomas replied he wanted them all mixed together. “I’m tired of states’ rights.”

At least that’s how I remember it. I was drinking with Grant through most of the war.

The general may be a military hero, but if I were that chaplain, I might have bopped ol’ “Slow Trot Thomas” right in the nose.

I know Mr. Ruth Harkin doesn’t much care for states’ rights. What the great socialist hoard has in store for all of us is no surprise. But, I still find it amazing that less than sixty years after ratification, the wheels already started coming off the 10th Amendment.

In one man’s lifetime, he went from King George’s subject to an independent colonist and ended up a subject of another centralized government. Patrick Henry must be rolling over in his grave.

150 years speed by and we cannot find one tiny corner of life in America that any state controls without federal interference. Can we ever return to the 10th Amendment? It certainly wouldn’t be an overnight event.

Where is the rogue governor who takes a 10th Amendment case to the Supreme Court? Where is our vocal Congressional minority that takes Reid and Pelosi to task for abuses of states’ rights?