State Sovereignty

We have all heard by now of the Health Care debate going on in Congress and throughout the country. You may be asking yourself what health care has to do with a campaign for State Representative. I use this because it is a perfect example of how the Federal government is becoming out of control. When the Founding Fathers wrote the Constitution the did not mean for the Federal government to become as powerful as it is today. The States were to have the majority of the power, while the Federal government's main job was to keep the country safe. The Federal Government has overstepped its bounds and has trampled the rights of the States and the People. The government forces states to its will by with holding grant money until the state passes laws that the Federal Government wants them to; for example the cigarette tax and seat belt law. I saw that enough is enough and we need to stand up to Federal Government.

Over the last few years many state legislatures throughout the country have passed State Sovereignty Bills that reserve their rights under the 10th amendment to the Constitution. During the 2009 session of the Arkansas HCR1011, which claimed states' rights under the tenth amendment of the Constitution to the United States, was put to a vote in the House of Representatives and it failed 54-34 with 12 not voting, almost completely along party lines. Something as important as our rights should not be a partisan issue, Democrats and Republicans should work together on this issue for the better of their constituents. As your State Representative, I would work in a bipartisan manner to get a State Sovereignty Bill passed in Arkansas. I believe that taking our rights back from the Federal government is one of the most important issues in this election.