This Land Was Made For You and Me

When George Bush ruled the world there was never any talk of not abiding by his laws. The exact opposite occurred actually. Anyone that dared question his authority, his "near dictatorial" power, was immediately brought up on charges of anti-Americanism from the right and its media network Fox News.

Though there are plenty, the easiest example of this is Bush's No Child Left Behind legislation.  It is one of the most disliked pieces of legislation in America, and that's saying a lot. School districts all over the country despise it, and as a result, have had all kinds of unfunded mandates thrust upon them. Many states have been forced to make budget cuts in non-tested school subjects such as science, foreign languages, social studies and arts programs, and for books, field trips and school supplies just to be able to monetarily comply with Bush's government takeover of education.  Sounds like a great way to boost education in America.  So there's no doubt nearly every state would love to opt of No Child Left Behind.  But they can't.  It's federal law and states do not get to choose what federal laws they will abide by.

Moreover, there was not a single state legislature, governor or school teacher insisting that they nullify federal law and do as they please with their education goals when Bush's laws went into effect.  Now that George Bush is gone and Republicans are but the minority member of government, it is perfectly acceptable to not only question the authority and legitimacy of the president, but to also have multitudes of Republican-controlled states try to exempt themselves from federal authority.

It's not hard to understand that federal law is the Supreme Law of the Land.  States cannot nullify federal law.  No court in the history of America has ever upheld state's rights to nullify Congress and the President.  For Republicans, however, they cannot fathom having to live under any policy Rush Limbaugh doesn't agree with.

The point, though, is not how blatantly hypocritical and retarded Republicans are acting since they lost an election 2 yeas ago.  It's the double standard that is applied by the media and the GOP to everyone else when they are in power.  I cannot imagine what would have happened if Illinois or New York tried to nullify NCLB or the Patriot Act, or refused to allow George Bush to send their National Guards to fight his endless wars.  I do know it would not have been celebrated as a simple movement for more states rights but instead as an act of treason and subversion by liberal states.  That's just how things are when Republicans are in power.  And when they're not, it's a crime to force people to live under federal rule.