Two congressmen from Tennessee, Tim Burchett and Phil Roe, came to ETSU last month to speak to the Conservative Coalition, a growing student organization on campus. Their mere presence and the size of the crowd remind of us the importance of students to be involved in the political sphere.
I have said it before, and I will say it again – political issues are moral issues. Discussing higher tax rates means taking a stance on an issue called either “theft” or “equality.” If the death penalty, then either “justice” or “inhumane punishment.” If abortion, either “institutionalized murder” or “women’s rights.” Wherever we stand on these political issues, we recognize that they carry moral weight. Morality is not trivial, and politics aren’t either.
These morally-charged issues have the greatest effect on us, usually not when decided upon by federal leaders but by state and local agents. The federal authorities, especially our president, seem to captivate the vast majority of our attention, though it shouldn’t be that way.
The Constitution gives our local and state politicians, especially state, far more bearing on our lives than we give them credit for. In accordance with the 10th Amendment, we have seen states pass laws on abortion, the definition of marriage and transgender bathrooms in recent years – issues which voters seem more passionate about than any passed in recent federal laws.
As James Madison said, “[T]he powers delegated by the proposed Constitution to the federal government are few and defined. Those which are to remain in the State governments are numerous and indefinite.”
Sen. Rusty Crowe told the Conservative Coalition at another meeting in October that Tennessee had recently eliminated gift and inheritance tax, cut food tax by 30%, given low-income seniors a property tax break, eliminated professional privilege tax and removed the tax on agriculture water. All these significant changes for Tennesseans were passed not in Washington but in Nashville.
Political science professor Colin Glennon points out that when our federal magistrates do “make big sweeping policy decisions,” it’s the “local government officials who often have to implement those policies. And how they choose to do so has a great impact on our life.”
We should also be mindful that the state and local governments can interpose themselves between the people and the federal authorities when they overstep their bounds. When Congress passed the “Fugitive Slave Act” in 1850, demanding the return of escaped slaves to their owners, the state of Wisconsin defied federal law when its own supreme court declared it unconstitutional and later disregarded the federal mandate overturning that decision. Wisconsin’s rebellion shows that states can successfully stand against the undue exercise of federal authority.
A modern example would be several states’ defiance of federal law in the legalization of recreational marijuana. Regardless of where you fall on that issue, these states show that interposition between the people and the central government successfully takes place even in today’s federal-centered atmosphere.
After considering how much bearing local and state politics have on our lives, it should be reassuring to note how much influence we have on politicians at these levels. While federal magistrates are harder to speak to, state and local office-bearers are easier to contact since they govern smaller populations. Simply because of the disparity in representation size, a state senator or city commissioner may listen to your individual opinion more frequently than President Trump.
This principle also carries over to the ballot, to the extent that since “turnout for local elections is nearly always minimal,” according to Glennon, “your vote will have more weight than ever.”
We should take advantage of the fact that we have a greater say in laws made at these levels of government. When we shift our paradigm of focus from the president to the state and local governments, we discover the empowerment of our voices in a way we have never known before.
The Conservative Coalition has demonstrated this mindset by raising awareness of issues like criminal justice reform and lowering taxes, as well as campaigning for Blackburn and Lee as members of College Republicans. I hope the coalition is encouraged to continue their work by attracting students to stand up for what they believe and contend for their causes after the visit from the congressmen.
