Anti-Washington sentiment is sweeping the nation. According to a very recent Rasmussen poll, only 2% of “likely voters” believe that congress is doing an “excellent” job, while another 7% believe it is doing a “good” job. There are 25% that rate its performance as “fair” and 63% call it “poor”. Apparently there are 3% that can’t bring themselves to even think about it. I don’t blame them.

Another manifestation of that sentiment shows itself in the Republican primary poll numbers. According to Real Clear Politics, the top two contenders are Donald Trump and Ben Carson. Carly Fiorina’s numbers are on the rise. What these three diverse Republican presidential hopefuls have in common is that they have never been elected to any public/political office. Contrast that to the field of the Democrats, who like to project the image of “the party of the people” - but where every presidential candidate is a career/professional politician.

Most of us were taught in school that the federal government was set up to include “checks and balances”. There are three branches of government, The Executive, The Legislative and the Judicial, and the so-called “separation of powers” is supposed to ensure that federal government’s power is “constrained”. Today we see how that has turned out - and it’s not as planned. However, in reality, our founding fathers were smarter than that. They knew that the separation of powers of the three branches of government would not be sufficient to achieve their stated goals of “checks and balances”.

It’s also pretty clear that they knew that it would be up to state governments to stop federal overreach. Writing in 1791 in a legal opinion regarding the constitutionality of a national bank, Thomas Jefferson refers to the 10th Amendment, stating, “I consider the foundation of the [Federal] Constitution as laid on this ground: That “all powers not delegated to the United States, by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States or to the people.” He adds, “To take a single step beyond the boundaries thus specifically drawn around the powers of Congress is to take possession of a boundless field of power, no longer susceptible of any definition.” If he could only see us now.

The spirit of Jefferson (coincidentally, the name of this publication), is very much alive today. Consider this July 3rd headline from Rasmussen Reports: “Support Grows for States to Ignore the Federal Courts”. To quote from the report, “A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 33% of Likely U.S. Voters now believe that states should have the right to ignore federal court rulings if their elected officials disagree with them. That’s up nine points from 24% when we first asked this question in February.”

The report goes on to say, “Perhaps even more disturbing is that the voters who feel strongest about overriding the federal courts - Republicans and conservatives - are those who traditionally have been the most supportive of the Constitution and separation of powers.” To my mind, it is disturbing that Rasmussen thinks this is “disturbing”. While Rasmussen makes an intriguing distinction between Republicans and conservatives, he is missing the point of his own survey. He should perhaps consider this quote from Thomas Jefferson (from his letter to William C. Jarvis in 1820): “To consider the judges as the ultimate arbiters of all constitutional questions [is] a very dangerous doctrine indeed, and one which would place us under the despotism of an oligarchy.” In other words, the Constitution provides the means to protect the people, but the key is not to rely on the federal government to follow it - and that includes the judiciary. There must be another way.

The fact is, as I alluded to at the onset, Americans are fed up with Washington and it is manifesting itself not only in symbolic poll results, but also in concrete actions by state governments. Consider this Washington Post headline from August of last year, “In states, a legislative rush to nullify federal gun laws”. The article begins, “Across the country, a thriving dissatisfaction with the U.S. government is prompting a growing spate of bills in state legislatures aimed at defying federal control over firearms”, adding, “14 such bills were passed by legislators in 11 states…The Kansas law makes it a felony for federal officials to enforce U.S. firearm law”. Kansas, the home of Dorothy and Toto.

Rasmussen notwithstanding, nullification of federal law is not confined to conservatives and Republicans, nor does it only pertain to the Second Amendment. Liberals and progressives have gotten into the act as well. For example, marijuana possession is against federal law. However, Washington, Oregon, Colorado and Alaska have passed laws that nullify federal laws outlawing marijuana possession. According to USA Today, there are 11 more states with similar legislation in the works. By the way, they don’t call it nullification, but that’s exactly what it is. You’ve got to love the PC crowd.

Joining these four states in their anti-Washington DC fervor is, well, Washington DC - which also recently passed a federal marijuana prohibition nullification bill, er, marijuana legalization legislation.

Local officials have gotten on board with regard to marijuana in a big way. Consider the recent Washington DC State Fair. Yes, Washington DC holds an annual State Fair. Who knew? I certainly didn’t. This year, instead of a pie tasting competition, there was a marijuana growing contest. I promise you, I’m not making this up.

According to the local NBC affiliate on September 12th, “For the first time, the D.C. State Fair included a marijuana growing contest. Participants in the pot-growing contest were judged on appearance, odor and touch, including whether the stem is sticky and whether it bends or snaps”. Finishing up with, “The D.C. State Fair is meant to showcase the culinary, artistic and agricultural talents of the District”. Now I wasn’t aware that there was much agriculture going on in DC, although there is certainly plenty of fertilizer to go around, but marijuana is apparently a popular and/or important local crop.

So there you have it, nullification goes mainstream. As disturbing as that might be to the good folks over at Rasmussen, they might very well have to get used to it. Neutralizing bad law is a neutral and bi-partisan activity. So the next time someone tells you that nullification is the province of extremists, radicals or “right wing whackos” - you’ve really got to love the PC crowd - I would humbly suggest that you ask them what they’re smoking.