Lt. Dan: The Man with ALL the right enemies

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Dan-ForestWhile Gov. Pat McCrory tucks tail and runs, Lt. Gov. Dan Forest is sticking to his guns and standing up FOR the folks he represents:

Friday, an unelected federal judge violated the foundational principles of this great nation. In 1787, at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia and later by ratification, the states relinquished a limited amount of power to a federal government. The document we call the Constitution set out a detailed and enumerated list of powers to be held by the federal government, and in the Tenth Amendment the states left a reminder that “the powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”

In his 1788 speech to the New York Ratifying Convention, Alexander Hamilton said, “The state governments possess inherent advantages, which will ever give them an influence and ascendancy over the National Government, and will for ever preclude the possibility of federal encroachments. That their liberties, indeed, can be subverted by the federal head, is repugnant to every rule of political calculation.” Friday’s decision by unelected federal judge Max Cogburn showed how far we have strayed from our founding principles. Not only has the federal government asserted ultimate and supreme authority over every decision of the states, it has done so by the judicial fiat of one unelected man.

The 35th section of North Carolina’s Declaration of Rights informs us that “a frequent recurrence to fundamental principles is absolutely necessary to preserve the blessings of liberty.” Today we must remember our fundamental principles and return to them for the sake of our republic.

Sixty-one percent of North Carolina’s voters chose to amend our constitution to ensure the preservation of marriage defined as the union between one man and one woman. This definition predates North Carolina, the United States, and goes back as far as recorded history. What does it say about the state of our nation when a large majority of voters can have their reasoned decision overturned by a single, unelected individual–an individual who waited until a Friday after the close of the normal court day to issue his ruling?

The courts have essentially stated that a man “marrying” another man, or a woman another woman, is rooted in our nation’s traditions and history, inferring that states have no interest in the preservation of marriage as an exclusive union between a man and a woman. This strains credulity.Fitzcryin-eyes-closed

Our people will either submit themselves fully to a federal oligarchy of unelected judges or stand up and proclaim that federalism is alive and well. I hope that you will join me in standing against judicial tyranny, and fight to restore the balance of power intended in the Constitution of the United States.

Language like that likely has Gov. Pat’s chums in the Uptown Charlotte crowd shaking their heads and tut-tutting, while the libs are likely seething about the fact that they didn’t cheat harder to slip Linda Coleman into office.  Check out one particularly unhinged lefty, Blinkin’ Chris’s comrade (and WRAL boss Jim Goodmon’s protégé)  Rob Schofield:

[…] And then there’s Lieutenant Governor Dan Forest. Forest, a longstanding and devoted soldier of the religious right (click here for a refresher on his co-founding of a group that purports to rate retailers for their adherence to “Biblical principles”), pulled no punches in a scathing and over-the-top statement decrying the ruling and, indeed, questioning the legitimacy of the federal judge who issued it. Here are some of the “highlights”:

“Friday, an unelected federal judge violated the foundational principles of this great nation. In 1787, at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia and later by ratification, the states relinquished a limited amount of power to a federal government. The document we call the Constitution set out a detailed and enumerated list of powers to be held by the federal government, and in the Tenth Amendment the states left a reminder that ‘the powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.’

…Friday’s decision by unelected federal judge Max Cogburn showed how far we have strayed from our founding principles. Not only has the federal government asserted ultimate and supreme authority over every decision of the states, it has done so by the judicial fiat of one unelected man….

Our people will either submit themselves fully to a federal oligarchy of unelected judges or stand up and proclaim that federalism is alive and well. I hope that you will join me in standing against judicial tyranny, and fight to restore the balance of power intended in the Constitution of the United States.”

You got that? North Carolina’s second-highest elected official has quite publicly thrown himself in with the “states’ rights” crowd that challenges some pretty basic and long-established principles of American law – principles like the notion that the federal courts get to decide what and what is not constitutional.

“Judicial fiat of one unelected man”? What is this, 1963? What’s next, a defense of secession?

Ah, the new McCarthyism. Shut up someone you don’t agree with by shouting “BIGOT!”  (At least McCarthy had the facts on his side.)  The problem with the modern judiciary is schofthat it is NOT refereeing disputes between approved legislation and The Constitution. It is making up stuff that aligns with their personal political beliefs and those of their political patrons.  (Gotta keep that Senate Judiciary Committee happy.) 

And why is a federal judge even involved in issues of marriage?  When you get married, you apply for a license with state and local officials.

Far too often, politicians are failing to do their jobs and govern.  They leave the decisions to the courts. The problem?  Courts were never meant to legislate. Lefties have taken advantage of these developments to shove a lot of garbage down our throats that would NEVER get approved by a popular vote of the people.

The Supreme Court  created a right to abortion out of the fourth amendment’s protections against unreasonable search and seizure.  I wonder how far I’d get by suing to throw out something — like IRS audits — that REALLY violates the Fourth Amendment?  MORE: 

A predictable reaction

Amazing as this reaction might seem at first blush to the uninitiated, it was, in fact, completely predictable to those who have paid any attention to the Lieutenant Governor’s positions on the issues and his actions since taking office in 2013. Despite his sunny public demeanor and efforts to project the image of a modernizer and a champion of improving public schools, Forest is almost certainly the most far-right statewide elected official in decades.

As reported in this space after his election two years ago, there is scarcely a hard right position (e.g. abolishing corporate income taxes and the minimum wage, championing home schools) or conspiracy theory (e.g. the notion that “Agenda 21” represents some monstrous threat to the American republic) that Forest doesn’t champion. In a speech to the John Locke Foundation after taking office, the Lt. Governor alleged that Raleigh’s News & Observer plants hidden and nefarious messages in its headlines. Forest’s chief of staff – a guy named Hal Weatherman – is a veteran conspiracy monger who has long railed against supposed threats to American survival posed by “radical Islam” (first for Forest’s mom, former Congresswoman Sue Myrick and later for a group called Act! For America).

[…]

Where the Lieutenant Governor is headed with all of this (and whether he’s really serious about pushing or riding the far right’s amend-the-Constitution scheme very far) is anyone’s guess. Given the assiduous way in which he and his staff have been cultivating local politicians and conservative groups ever since he took office, however, there can be little doubt that Forest has big plans – both for himself and North Carolina (and maybe even the United States as a whole). Moreover, as Saturday’s statement made plain, we can all rest assured that those plans most certainly do not include equality for members of the LGBT community.

We’ve got a governor and a US Senate nominee who are running as fast as they can away from conservative principles that made this country great and brought the GOP so much modern-day success.  Dan Forest is providing the kind of leadership the grassroots has been starving for.  The fact that he pisses off Rob and his blinkin’ buddy makes it that much better.