It’s hours till the end of the 2012 elections, and the votes are already being counted. Here on the West Coast some people are still heading out to vote, sharing their political thoughts on Facebook, while others have done so earlier, and are spending the rest of the day completely stressed out. They tossed and turned all last night in terror that “that other guy” will be elected today.
No matter who you voted (or will vote) for, chances are good that there are going to be some discrepancies in the vote count. Lots of people, on both sides of the main political aisle, are going to be certain that somehow, the other side cheated. In reality, both sides probably cheated somewhere. The pre-election finger point freak out will carry on in a post-election rant and ridicule. The divide which only grows with every passing election, will seem ever more frightening to the objective few, and untold thousands of people will be completely distracted by it.
Regardless of the outcome though, whether your guy wins or that awful other fellow, there are many things that aren’t really going to change. No matter how much more in touch you think your letter is, these are issues that we should all be very concerned about. Consider a few…
The TSA. It’s not going anywhere soon, friends. Romney supports the Patriot Act which allowed it’s creation, and Obama could have – but didn’t – let it expire. Both of them think this is necessary for our “protection,” despite the fact that they have been completely unsuccessful at actually catching a terrorist, or finding a bomb in anyone’s hip transplant. No matter which one becomes President, the TSA is still going to be groping grandma six days, six weeks, six months from now. The 4th amendment barely exists anymore.
Obamacare. Sure, the Republicans are telling you they think it’s bad, but let’s get real. Mitt Romney was the first governor to institute a version of this in his own state. If we stopped being naive we would realize, that the most likely scenario under Romney is that we’ll end up with a similar healthcare mandate – only this one will have an “R” in front of it. Some people still think this is a good idea, but I’m putting my money down that that is going to change once they start seeing the repercussions, and forking out the money. What difference is it going to make that one plan calls for “free” contraception, and the other doesn’t, when businesses are still closing because they can’t afford it, and you are still forced to pay a “tax” if you want to opt out. Being forced to purchase something (anything) from the government? Unconstitutional.
The NDAA. It’s still astounding that some people have managed to have no idea what this is. Section 1021 of the 2012 NDAA allows for the indefinite detention of American citizens and legal resident aliens. Obama signed it, Romney supports it. No right to Habeas Corpus for you. No jury of your peers. The fact that this section and whatever it considers “belligerent acts” are not clearly defined, makes it that much more nefarious. If you’ve been living under a rock, you can read a bit more here
There are many other issues we could talk about, including the war on drugs, and out of control military spending being perpetuated by both camps. The point is, today’s election is not going to change much at all about any of these issues. Most people have not realized it yet, but if we want anything to change we are going to have to embrace the fact that we need to fight these issues at a state and local level.
Most of the time, this is going to mean defying the Feds through nullification. In other words, it’s time for us to say NO.
No, we will not pay an unconstitutional tax penalty. No we will not throw our citizens in jail for the non-violent crime of smoking a weed they could have gotten from their back yard. No, we will not continue to pay an obscene amount of tax dollars to support the largest incarceration rate in the world. No, we will not turn our backs on our 4th amendment, and cast down our eyes as we are intimidated and molested in the airport!
No, No, No!
Around the country, as the dust settles, and the election fervor fades away, a lot of great nullification bills are going to be coming up for the next state legislative session. And if there isn’t anything you feel you can get behind in your state, you can find some at this link.
Bring it to your state and local representatives. Here in Washington we are going to be pushing for Sound Money, and the Liberty Preservation Act, among other things. These actions that we take at the state level are going to decide the trajectory of our future. Will there be more liberty, or will we continue to let the feds tread all over us? The answer is still up in the air.
- Surprise: Federal Solution to Policing is Actually the Problem - May 11, 2015
- After the Frenzy, Nullify! - November 6, 2012