The South Dakota House State Affairs Committee got a second chance this week to strike a blow for South Dakota against the unconstitutional ObamaCare legislation with HB 1165. The committee had a chance last week with HB 1088, but chose to listen to liberal talking points and voted the bill down.

The language of “nullification” and its subsequent demonization by the Left who have tried to illegitimately tie it to 19th Century pro-slavery sentiments managed to scare the “Republicans” on the House State Affairs Committee a couple of weeks ago.

Therefore, bill sponsor Rep. Laura Hubbel talked of the duty of the states to interpose between oppressive federal laws and the people of the states. She pointed out that history has already seen state efforts to resist unconstitutional federal action.

Interposition is a legal way of responding to an illegal act by our government.  An example of this was the unconstitutional Alien and Sedition Acts passed while John Adams was president.

Hubbel said she talked with the South Dakota Attorney General’s office, and while they had reservations about a federal lawsuit as the bill was originally intended, they no longer had any reservations about it as she planned to amend the bill.

Another proponent of the bill, Eldon Stahl speaking for himself, painted an analogy of someone who brings their car to the repair shop for new brakes…and comes back to find that the mechanic has installed a rocket engine on the back.  When the customer objects, the mechanic offers to get impartial arbitration…and calls his mother to arbitrate. This is what we have, said Stahl, with our federal system.

Article 1 Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution authorizes a few specific powers to the federal government; a health care system, a wealth redistribution system, or a system of charity is not among them, and we the people (and the states) are not bound to obey illegal laws and power grabs by the federal government. ObamaCare is such a power grab.

Stahl quoted Alexander Hamilton in Federalist No. 78 to point out this truth, that no legislative act contrary to the Constitution may be considered valid:

There is no position which depends on clearer principles, than that every act of a delegated authority, contrary to the tenor of the commission under which it is exercised, is void. No legislative act, therefore, contrary to the Constitution, can be valid. To deny this, would be to affirm, that the deputy is greater than his principal; that the servant is above his master; that the representatives of the people are superior to the people themselves; that men acting by virtue of powers, may do not only what their powers do not authorize, but what they forbid.

Three people including the primary sponsor spoke in favor of the bill.  Not a single person spoke in opposition to the bill.  One question of clarification was asked by a committee member, then when the committee chairman opened the floor for action by the committee, Democrat Rep. Bernie Hunhoff moved to kill the bill; this was seconded by Republican Rep. Charles Turbiville.

The Republican-controlled committee then voted unanimously to once again kill an attempt by South Dakota to stop the unconstitutional ObamaCare program in the state of South Dakota:

HB 1165, House State Affairs, Deferred to the 41st legislative day

Rausch Yea . Abdallah Yea . Turbiville Yea
Gosch Yea Lust Yea Fargen Yea
Blake Yea Hunhoff (Bernie) Yea Moser Yea
Gibson Yea Cronin Yea Hoffman Yea
Wick Yea
Ayes 13 Nays 0 Excused 0 Absent 0


The whole hearing for HB 1165 was very quick and perfunctory. Last week, we heard Leftist talking points from the liberal blogosphere parroted against efforts to stop ObamaCare in South Dakota; this week, pretty much just silence. It was abundantly clear that nothing anyone could have said or done would have changed the mind of this fearful committee; they were as committed to killing this bill today as they were killing HB 1088 last week.

Those whose names appear in red are Republicans..or, I should say, they put an “R” after their name because the Republicans I have known for over 30 years would not turn aside from a chance to oppose an assault on the U.S. Constitution, an assault on the freedom of the people they were elected to serve, an assault on our very way of life.

Some people complain that we have a “one party system” in South Dakota, because there are so few Democrats in our state government.  I would submit that with Republicans like these in our government, who needs Democrats to represent liberalism and cowardice?

I am seldom at a loss for words, but I do not have adequate (polite) words to express my disappointment and outrage over this failure of a “Republican” committee to take a stand against this kind of tyranny.

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