By Steve Byas

The assault upon our federal form of government, clearly established in the Constitution of the United States, is unrelenting, yet it must be resisted. Our federal system of government is not an incidental aspect of our Constitution. It is its heart and soul.

From early in our nation's history, federalism has been under attack. Today, we face a continued onslaught from those who distort the concept, with the hope of burying it forever. Before we can keep this form of government, it is necessary to fight for its survival by challenging the propaganda against it, the encroachments against it by agents of the central government, and by electing politicians at both the state and federal governments who champion it.

First of all, we must reject the thesis that the protection of our liberties comes from centralization. Using the example of history, we can see that centralization is an integral part of tyranny. Adolf Hitler hated the power of the historic states of Germany, and did everything he could to obliterate them as an obstacle to his achieving absolute power. We see similar efforts by the Bourbon Dynasty in France, the Bolsheviks in Russia, the Communists in China, and so on.

Proponents of the centralized state slander the concept of decentralization by associating decentralization with evils such as slavery and segregation. We must recognize this tactic and challenge it. Slavery existed in the Roman Empire, and in other highly centralized states. Just because the concept of "states' rights" was used to support slavery, segregation, and the like, does not mean that we are better off abandoning federalism and adopting the unified, centralized state. It was not a government of decentralized powers that carried out the Holocaust, but rather a highly centralized dictatorship. We did not arm to the teeth during the Cold War to fight a decentralized Soviet Union, but rather a highly centralized behemoth, which suppressed efforts at secession from that centralized tyranny.

I hardly think we need to worry that some state is just itching to re-institute slavery or segregation, once freed from the protective hand of the supposedly liberty-loving federal government of the United States. Of course there will be violations of civil liberties in states, and we should fight those violations, but we should also fight the violations of civil liberties by the central government of the United States. Human nature being what it is, Lord Acton's famous saying that power tends to corrupt is true both inside and outside the "Beltway." But, I would rather a tyrant seize power in one state than the entire USA.

Do you really believe that a member of Congress is any more dedicated to liberty by virtue of being a member of Congress than a member of the Oklahoma Legislature?

Another method to advance federal power is the power of the purse. The government in Washington collects money from us, then doles it out, increasing federal power all along the way. If a state fails to comply with some federal edict, they lose "federal highway money," or some other such grant. So, we see the sad spectacle of governors and legislators meekly falling in line.

At one time, members of the United States Senate were expected to fight for their state when the heavy hand of the federal government moved to seize power away from their state. With the passage of the 17th Amendment, providing for the direct, popular election of senators, members of the Senate became nothing more than highly glamorized representatives. I remember how Governor David Walters wanted to establish an office in D.C. to represent the interests of Oklahoma's state government. Sadly, that is exactly what our senators are supposed to do, but in many states, their U.S. Senators lead the way to annihilate the authority of the states.

I have a plan. Let us take everything the U.S. government is doing now, with no constitutional authority, and put a price on all of it. If it is X gobbledygillions, then take 80% of that money and distribute it to the states on some formula, using the state's population. The states can then decide if they want to continue these programs, using this money the federal government is returning to the states. The next year, drop the federal distribution to, say, 75%. Over the course of a few years, it drops to zero. At that point, the good folks of each state have determined, through their legislative branch, exactly which programs they wish to continue, and which ones they do not wish to continue. They have enacted their own taxes, their own plans, to best suit the needs of their own state. I kind of think this was the idea of the American Revolution, when the thirteen states seceded from the British Empire.

I realize that our present Congress would never adopt such a plan, so I suggest we elect members of Congress who will adopt such a plan. Those members of Congress who would get to stay, and those who will not, can find something else to do with their time besides taking away my liberties.

Another tool to use in fighting over-reaching by the centralized government is something that James Madison and Thomas Jefferson suggested in the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions of 1798: nullification.

Nullification is simply defined as this: The U.S. government enacts a law (or the president issues a royal decree known as an executive order) that is unconstitutional, and a state simply refuses to obey it.

This is where it gets tough, but do you really expect the federal courts to stop the federal government from violating the Constitution when it comes to federal-state relations? One would think that, every now and then, the federal courts would say, "That is a power left to the states under our Constitution." More often, the courts are active in telling states they can't do something, not the federal government. Despite the 10th Amendment. Despite the words of Madison who said the powers of the federal government are few and defined.

It will take some legislators at Twenty-Third and Lincoln who are willing to do more than draw their breaths and their salaries. They must stand up to the usurpations of the federal government. We need the governor to lead them in standing up to centralization.

I realize that our present Legislature would never do such a thing, so I suggest we elect members of the Legislature who will stand up for the Constitution. Every member of the Oklahoma Legislature took an oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States. The Tenth Amendment is just as much a part of the Constitution as any other part of the Constitution. Failure to enforce the Tenth Amendment is a dereliction of duty by both members of Congress and members of the Oklahoma Legislature. The president takes that oath, and so does the governor.

When Congress passes a law, or the president issues an executive order in violation of the Constitution, that law is null and void. Continue to file lawsuits, like the challenge to ObamaCare. Refuse to enact laws that help the Congress carry out illegal and unconstitutional "laws." I italicize "laws," because any so-called law is no law at all. Educate, letting people know the benefits to our liberty of fidelity to the concept of federalism. Call opponents of federalism what they are: enemies to our form of government.

Fight for federalism.