Will Conservatism Make Progress in 2010?

Radio Commentary, WMVV 90.7 New Life FM, January 1, 2010
By Sue Ella Deadwyler

Happy New Year, Jim! My, how time flies! In eleven days the Georgia General Assembly convenes for its annual 40-day session, but legislators are already working. They began pre-filing bills November 16th and in just two weeks they had introduced 26.

Senator Mitch Seabaugh pre-filed S.R. 793 to protect our state’s rights as granted in the U.S. Constitution. His bill would amend the Georgia constitution with this: “All powers not delegated to the state or local governments by this Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the state or local governments, are reserved to the people of this state.” That reaffirms the intent of the U.S. Constitution, Tenth Amendment that says: “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.” Meaning, the U.S. Constitution authorizes states to control everything that it did not, specifically, put under federal control.

Representative Calvin Hill’s H.R. 1086 and Senator Judson Hill’s S.R. 794 propose another very important amendment to our state constitution. Their bills would protect us in two ways: (a) no law or rule or regulation could force any person, employer, or health care provider to participate in a health care system. It also, (b) allows any person and any employer to buy health insurance directly from private companies without being fined or penalized by the government.

Then, there’s Representative Bobby Franklin’s H.R. 1085 proposing a constitutional amendment that states, “Any citizen of this state shall have standing to challenge the constitutionality of any law enacted by the General Assembly.” You might think that’s unnecessary, but it’s not. You’ll be surprised to know that a former state legislator, now serving in Congress, said, “We pass laws that are unconstitutional all the time.” He must’ve had his fingers crossed every time he took the oath of office, because that oath requires him to swear to uphold the constitution. As you see, we conservatives have a lot to do in 2010, but today let’s celebrate! Enjoy the food, your family and friends and may your favorite team win! Happy New Year! For Georgia Insight I’m Sue Ella Deadwyler, your Capitol correspondent.