Maverick Philosopher

Political Nullification

Two short articles by Tom Woods.

What is it?

Answers to Objections

The reflexive response of the typical leftist will be to denounce as 'racist' anyone who so much as asks what political nullification is. 

In the surveillance state toward which we are drifting, or at which we have already arrived, the innocuous act of typing 'nullification' into a search engine will place one under suspicion.  

Beware the Ides of March, Vladimir

"They are come, but not yet gone."

Thus spoke the soothsayer to Julius Caesar when the dictator perpetuus said to the soothsayer that the Ides of March had come and he was still alive.

Dictator perpetuus has an overly confident ring to it much like eintausendjähriges Reich. 

Some history here.

The Death of Caesar (1798) by Vincenzo Camuccini

On the Nullification Front

Here

If the Left can do it, so can the Right. 

"If California can ignore immigration laws and be rewarded with six extra congressmen, Oklahoma can ignore edicts to make girls compete with boys in drag in sports." The man who sent me the link did not source this quotation.

What is Nullification in Political Theory?

Here is one explanation:

Nullification is a fundamental part of the American political system. But what exactly does it mean? There are two definitions. One is legal. When a court strikes down a law, it literally wipes it off the books. But there is also a practical definition – to make something of no value or consequence. When we talk about nullification happening today, we generally mean it in the practical sense – to end the practical effect of a federal act. Here is a succinct definition of nullification as we apply it: Any act or set of acts which has as its result a particular law being rendered legally null and void, or unenforceable in practice.Madison gave us a blueprint on how to do this in Federalist #46.

He suggested four steps to take on counteract and stop federal programs – whether “warrantable” or “unwarrantable,” the most significant being a “refusal to cooperate with officers of the Union.” The federal government involves itself in almost every aspect of life, but depends on state assistance to do almost everything. If states refuse to help, it becomes nearly impossible for the feds to enforce their laws or implement their programs. We can use this strategy to undermine and nullify all kinds of federal acts in practice – from warrantless spying, to gun control, to plant prohibition and more.

Here is an application of the theory:

The "Second Amendment Preservation Act of Newton County Missouri" reads, in part:

All federal acts, laws, orders, rules, and regulations passed by the federal government and specifically any presidential administration whether past, present, or future, which infringe on the people’s right to keep and bear arms as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article 1, Section 23 of the Missouri Constitution shall be invalid in the county, shall not be recognized by this county, and specifically rejected by this county, and shall be considered null and void and of no effect in this County.

Newton County Commission letter dated 2/3/21

It may well be that the cure for what ails the body politic, if there is a cure, is a combination of voluntary segregation and nullification, not secession.