Lockdowns vs the Constitution

Here’s a glimmer of sanity during our months of house arrest. Thomas Lifson at American Thinker reports:

Two state supreme courts have stepped up to constrain abuse of civil rights in the name of fighting an epidemic.  The concept of a "state of emergency" can be used to suspend constitutional limitations on the powers of government, as has been the case with the response to the Wuhan virus pandemic.  But under our system of justice, there has to be a reckoning, and finally we are beginning to see state supreme courts acknowledging what Barack Obama notoriously called "negative liberties," also known as limits on governmental powers, also known as protections against tyranny.

Using their respective state constitutions (which generally mirror the U.S. Constitution when it comes to fundamental rights), the supreme courts of Wisconsin and Texas have spoken up for liberty in the face of two months of "state of emergency" punishing restrictions on liberty.

. . .

In Texas, Justice James D. Blacklock, the majority [opinion held that] the default position must always be to protect rights, and any contravention of thise rights must be minimal and justified.  This is what our revolution was fought to protect.

. . .

These judicial actions — and there will be more later — will help solidify the growing public revulsion against loss of liberties in the name of fighting an epidemic that, while concerning, has not lived up the scary estimates driven by computer models that have not proved out as remotely realistic.  Politically, Democrats have wagered that the public will remain frightened enough to accept a new Great Depression in the name of avoiding a phantom catastrophe . . .

Read the article here; it includes extracts from the judicial rulings.  

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Photo ID law in Wisconsin is upheld

Earlier this week, Cleveland Tea Party Patriots learned about the initiatives to require Photo IDs in order to vote. Chris Long addressed the issue as it concerns voter fraud as opposed to voter integrity. Ohio voters can take a look at a recent development on a voter ID law in Wisconsin, via Hot Air:

Surprise: SCOTUS upholds Wisconsin voter-ID law

POSTED AT 12:01 PM ON MARCH 23, 2015 BY ED MORRISSEY

Or maybe not such a surprise after all. The path to today’s Supreme Court decision to refuse an appeal by the ACLU against Wisconsin’s voter-ID law has been strewn with appellate decisions that supported its implementation, although a last-minute stay by SCOTUS kept it out of play for the midterms. The law will fully take effect for the 2016 election, which may complicate efforts by Democrats to keep the state blue:

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday left intact a new Republican-backed law in Wisconsin that requires voters to present photo identification when they cast ballots.

The court declined to hear an appeal filed by the American Civil Liberties Union, which challenged the law. …

A federal judge blocked the state’s voter ID law in March 2012 soon after it took effect and entered a permanent injunction in April, finding the measure would deter or prevent a substantial number of voters who lack photo identification from casting ballots, and place an unnecessary burden on the poor and minorities.

The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals blocked the decision and subsequently ruled in October that the law was constitutional. Wisconsin’s Supreme Court upheld the voter ID law in a separate ruling.

The SCOTUS stay in October had more to do with the timing of the law, thanks to the scheduling of the challenges through the courts. Regardless, the election still went in favor of Scott Walker and the GOP, preventing Democrats from repealing the voter-ID provision before it could come into effect.

This will put a huge dent in the Obama administration’s efforts to squelch voter-ID laws in other states. In order to grant certiorari, the ACLU would have needed four justices to vote to add it to the docket. The fact that they couldn’t even move the liberal wing to unite against a voter-ID law shows that the justices consider the issue settled. Requirements for identification at polling stations are legitimate, in the eyes of the court, as long as enough options for no-cost qualifying ID exist to keep the poor from being disenfranchised.

The dismissal of this challenge to the law will also help boost Walker’s efforts outside of Wisconsin. He’s known for reforming the public-employee unions, balancing the budget, and most recently for signing Right to Work legislation even if he advised the Republican-controlled legislature to move more slowly on the latter. Some forget that Walker backed the voter-ID legislation as part of his reform package that got him elected in 2010, and then reconfirmed in 2012 and re-elected again in 2014. It gives Walker an argument to position himself as the reformer who has a real track record of conservative change in a purple state, change that could turn the state red for good.

However, the Supreme Court decision isn’t keeping the ACLU fromdemanding yet another delay, on the same basis as the last one:

The Wisconsin state elections board says it is awaiting direction from the state Department of Justice about what comes next now that the U.S. Supreme Court has refused to hear a challenge to the state’s voter identification law.

The American Civil Liberties Union asked a federal appeals court to block implementation of the law for the April 7 election.

If the ACLU gets its waiver, it had better enjoy it — because it will be its last.

Update: It’s more accurate to say that the refusal to grant cert in this case upholds the law rather than approves it, although functionally it’s the same thing. I’ve changed the headline from “approves” to “upholds.”

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Way to Go Wisconsin!

From Jenny Beth Martin, Tea Party Patriots Co-Founder and National Coordinator on the outstanding job by the grassroots Tea Party groups in Wisconsin....

From Brietbart --

The Wisconsin recall election was a local microcosm for a national debate between two competing visions for America – a debate that will be settled, one way or the other, on November 6th, 2012.

 On one side of the debate are power-hungry big government overspenders who waste taxpayer dollars on their insider pals and on their half-baked schemes to control our lives.

On the other side of the debate are We the People -- people who want to keep more of their hard-earned money, and want power-hungry politicians kept in check by the checks and balances built by our nation’s founders.

Tea Party Patriots who held up protest signs a few years ago are now willing to take time out of their lives to fight the battles that must be fought – on the ground, door to door – to save the country. We might not have as much money as our opponents, but we make up for it in passion, dedication, and sheer numbers of ground troops.

In the Wisconsin recall election, we put out the call to Patriots across America: anyone with the time and the passion to step up and save Wisconsin and save the country – by knocking on doors, stuffing envelopes or making phone calls – we would help them step up.

From as far away as Seattle and Texas, from age 16 all the way up to age 80, Tea Party Patriots answered the call. Together in Wisconsin, we knocked on 15,000 doors, made 37,000 phone calls, and distributed nearly 150,000 pieces of literature.

And we won. We beat the well-funded special interests and big government overspenders.

 Wisconsin was another Tea Party Patriots victory. Just like Massachusetts in 2010. Just like Indiana last month. And just like the massive 2010 midterm victories now dubbed “the Tea Party midterms.” 

But all of that was just a warm-up for the November 2012 elections.    

While we have been racking up victories for America, we have been strengthening ourselves for the battles ahead. 

As an organization, we have focused intently on training, educating, and preparing our troops for victory. Across America, Tea Party Patriots Local Coordinators are now trained, ready, and building their teams for November. Every time the media counts us out, we count more and more people coming through our doors – patriotic Americans who want to save the country and don’t take kindly to being told that they’re irrelevant or don’t exist.

We are mothers, grandmothers, fathers, and sons. We are soldiers, veterans, seniors, and students. We have 15 million supporters nationwide and more than 3,400 locally organized chapters. We are organized, we are trained, and we are ready to win in November.

And we will win on principle. The Tea Party Patriots’ three core principles are Fiscal Responsibility, Constitutionally Limited Government, and Free Markets. When we stick to our core principles, we rack up electoral victories for America. Our core principles are America’s core principles. They remain the same from election to election. While others focus on personal attacks, we focus on principles. People listen to our motives and vision. And, judging by our growing numbers – and our growing number of victories – our principles are resonating with the American people.

In the weeks and months to come, the Tea Party Patriots will continue to reach out to our fellow Americans and share our core principles and show why they are important to America’s future success. We will continue to take time away from our home lives to do the work that must be done to secure a better future for all Americans. And we will continue to campaign on our core values and our vision for America, which is the same vision held by the first tea partiers in Boston Harbor and the same vision written into our Declaration of Independence and Constitution by America’s founders.

But our job will not be complete in November 2012, just like our work was not complete after the “Tea Party midterm” victories of 2010. We will not rest on November 7th or any day thereafter. Elected officials are human beings and human beings are frail. We will immediately – and repeatedly – remind the human beings we helped elect why they were elected in the first place. 

Starting on November 7, and continuing through 2013 and for as long as it takes, we will keep up the pressure until the “government of the people, by the people, for the people” does the job that We the People sent them to do: fully repeal Obamacare, balance the federal budget in 5 years or less without raising taxes, and eliminate crony capitalism and corruption to allow competitive free markets to create a real and lasting economic recovery.

The Tea Party Patriots helped save Wisconsin.  Now it’s time to save America.

Visit www.TeaPartyPatriots.org to get involved.

How You Can Help Save Wisconsin!

The FINAL HOUR is fast approaching for the June 5th recall election in Wisconsin and EVERYTHING is at stake! 

Grassroots activists in Wisconsin have worked tirelessly over the last several years to promote fiscal responsibility, but the opposition is waging a war to tear it down!

Tea Party Patriots are mounting a massive ground operation to end the Wisconsin recall once and for all, but we can't do it without you!  With your help - we can take it to the left - and we can win!

 Wisconsin needs YOUR help now!  

From going to Wisconsin to door knock, making calls from your home, giving a financial contribution, or sharing our efforts on social media, YOU can have a huge impact! 

For Patriots with the time to go and knock doors and help in Wisconsin, Tea Party Patriots will cover your room and board. For others, you can make calls from home, help with blogging and social media efforts.  There is something everyone can do - are you ready to help save Wisconsin?

This recall election is about much more than any individual candidate. It is about protecting our representative democracy to ensure that the democratic process is allowed to work. If the opposition is successful in Wisconsin, they will replicate this abuse of recall laws in states across the country - AND you can be sure Ohio will be one of them!.

Click Here to Help Wisconsin