Gruber says State of the Union in Peril

The State of the Union in early 2018 is not good. It has been weakened this year by political strife, venom, street fighting, and an atmosphere that is simply toxic. Critics will blame President Trump for his Tweeting and juvenile outbursts that steal from the good news headlines about the economy and the accomplishments of his administration during its first year, but it is not about the President. It is about the rule of law.

Not since George Wallace stood on the steps of a school in Montgomery have we seen a propensity by Governors to tell the Federal Government their laws do not apply here. But now in states including California, New Jersey, Washington, and New York we have governors, all Democrats, who say they will not respect federal law and they will go to war with the White House on anything they don’t like or agree with.

In California, citizens are being threatened with arrest and prosecution if they dare to assist ICE agents in tracking down illegal aliens. Stunning to believe, but local officials are being told they will be punished severely for following Federal law. States like New York and Connecticut are fighting back against the President's new tax reform law he signed in December. It seems that high tax states are simply refusing to be held accountable for their own high tax policies and say the Feds are not allowed to reduce write-offs for state and local taxes.

The idea that Federal law takes precedent has been in place since 1819. One time states began telling Washington what laws they would follow and the ones they would not you may recall led to a misunderstanding we call The Civil War. We are headed to a place not far from there. States do not have the luxury to pick and choose the laws they intend to follow.

Think about the ramifications; if states can choose which laws they want to follow on taxes, interstate commerce, terrorism, or anything else then we really have no union at all. It is time for the Federal government to crack down on these renegade governors and politicians and make clear this is a nation of laws and we intend for them to be enforced.