Everything New is Forgotten Old

Lexington, Virginia, January 5, 1866.
Mr. C. Chauncey Burr.
My Dear Sir: I am very much obliged to you for your letter of the 27th ult., and for the number of the 'Old Guard' which you kindly sent me. I am glad to know that the intelligent and respectable people at the North are true and conservative in their opinions, for I believe by no other course can the right interests of the country be maintained. All that the South has ever desired was that the Union, as established by our forefathers, should b e preserved, and that the government as originally organised should be administered in purity and truth. If such is the desire of the North, there can be no contention between the two sections, and all true patriots will unite in advocating that policy which will soonest restore the country to tranquility and order, and serve to perpetuate true republicanism. Please accept my thanks for your advocacy of right and liberty and the kind sentiments which you express toward myself, and believe me to be, with great respect,
Your obedient servant,
R. E. Lee.

Unfortunately, the return to the Republicanism that our founding fathers established never was restored as Robert E. Lee hoped. This argument is still the heart and soul of the Tea Party movement. Hillbilly White Trash had this article posted with the title, "everything new is simply forgotten old". Blazing truth. Deo Vindice.

Interposition Doctrine- The Rebirth of States Rights

Interposition, in the context of the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions, refers to an asserted right of U.S. states to protect their individual interests from federal violation or any abridgement of states' rights deemed by those states to be dangerous or unconstitutional. In the words of the Virginia Resolution of 1798,

That this Assembly doth explicitly and peremptorily declare, that it views the powers of the federal government, as resulting from the compact, to which the states are parties; as limited by the plain sense and intention of the instrument constituting the compact; as no further valid that they are authorized by the grants enumerated in that compact; and that in case of a deliberate, palpable, and dangerous exercise of other powers, not granted by the said compact, the states who are parties thereto, have the right, and are in duty bound, to interpose for arresting the progress of the evil, and for maintaining within their respective limits, the authorities, rights and liberties appertaining to them.

By this statement, Madison asserts that state bodies are "duty bound to interpose" or stand between federal encroachment on the rights of a sovereign state. The procedural legal details of how this interposition is enacted is not explicit. The Virginia Resolution thus provides what is sometimes considered to be the more tempered Madisonian view to Jefferson's Kentucky Resolution that calls for nullification of federal laws. It is often used in conjunction with nullification, which is said by its advocates to give states the right to nullify, or invalidate, any federal law which that the state has deemed unconstitutional.

Debra Medina, Republican, is running for Governor of Texas. When asked about how she might help preserve 10th Amendment powers of the State, she mentioned potential use of the Interposition Doctrine. This is a fascinating prospect. Perhaps Texas, under her able leadership can lead the way in showing other States how to nullify the craziness of the Congress and the Supreme Court. States need to reassert their powers, and something more drastic has to be done. Washington is not listening to us, and the Interposition Doctrine is a tool that can potentially be used to dial back the Washington DC power grab.