The only thing that makes our Constitution different from any other historical document is our willingness to defend the founding principles which it enshrines. Unfortunately, we are in a crisis because far too many people passively demand constitutional protections, without actively defending them. Idaho State Senator Tammy Nichols (my representative) exemplifies the issue.
Senator Nichols recently published a Substack editorial entitled: Article 10, State Sovereignty, and Idaho’s Path Forward. In her piece, she argues the importance of state rights to the maintenance of Idaho’s prosperity and lifestyle. She opens with an important question:
As lawmakers dig into policy debates, budget decisions, and priorities for the year ahead, one issue sits quietly underneath many of the conversations taking place at the Capitol, who ultimately controls the direction of Idaho’s government, Idaho, or Washington, D.C.?
Nichols uses the 10th Amendment (which some refer to as the Constitution’s 10th Article), to assert state rights. The amendment states:
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.
It’s short, sweet, and central to the founding principles of our republic. If the Constitution doesn’t explicitly grant a power to the federal government, then that power is reserved for the states or us.
Unfortunately, the 10th Amendment is not the final word on “state rights.” Our Constitution has grown far beyond the articles and amendments scribbled on parchment in the National Archives, and the 10th Amendment is no longer bound by its 28 words. State rights are now altered by over two centuries of judicial interpretation. Those “interpretations” have discovered penumbral emanations of federal power which have authorized the federal government to regulate our farms, worship, speech, and even what appliances we’re allowed to purchase – all because the states surrendered their “rights” decades ago.
Our Constitution is only as strong as our willingness to exercise the powers it grants us to maintain a tight grip on our freedom. Muscles not exercised become useless, and constitutional powers not applied become irrelevant. Our founders created checks and balances – so that we would have the muscle to defend our rights.
Our three branches of government, have enumerated separate powers, to hold each other accountable.
The original Constitution also granted power to the states, as an external check on the federal government. The Senate was created to provide state representation in the legislative branch, and the second clause of Article V was written to give the states a means to amend the Constitution via a convention of states. Those powers enabled the states to change federal behavior, and even correct “creative judicial interpretations.”
Unfortunately, the states gave up their representation in Congress when they ratified the 17th Amendment – placing Senators in service to the people rather than the states.
States have also been extremely reluctant to call an Article V convention to amend the Constitution. In fact, the second clause of Article V has never been used in the history of our republic. It is a muscle which has been atrophying for 237 years.
I joined A Convention of States delegation which met with Senator Nichols during Idaho’s 2025 legislative session. She informed us that she shares our concerns about the federal government, but is opposed to the use of an Article V convention – preferring to let our elected leaders do their jobs. Hence: Senator Nichols, demands the protection of state rights, while declining to personally defend those rights.
With each new “interpretation” and ignored encroachment, our Constitution continues to devolve into irrelevancy. Judges are issuing rulings well outside their constitutional enumerated powers. The executive branch has spent decades trampling on our civil rights. The legislative branch has squandered our financial resources to “buy votes.” The federal bureaucracy has become a fourth branch of government – accountable to nobody, and regulating us into destitution.
In the foreseeable future, Idaho will be challenged again with federal land grabs, regulation of private property, unwanted “green energy” adventures, and on, and on, and on. When that happens, does our state legislature have a plan – other than screaming, “But Article X”?
Nichols ends her article by suggesting that we avoid the temptation to take radical action, because conservatism values prudence and restraint. True, but emergency management values decisive action.
Our republic has devolved to the point of unsustainable fraud, political corruption, bureaucratic tyranny, judicial activism, and two-tiered justice. Our pact of self-governance – our Constitution – is being breeched daily, because accountability has been surrendered by those refusing to use the tools at their disposal.
The United States has moved from “business as usual” governance, to a full-blown “constitutional crisis.” We’re watching Uncle Sam die on the nightly news, while counseling restraint. The time for restraint was yesterday. Today it’s time for chest compressions – an Article V convention.
Author Bio: John Green is a retired engineer and political refugee from Minnesota, now residing in Idaho. He spent his career designing complex defense systems, developing high performance organizations, and doing corporate strategic planning. He is a contributor to American Thinker, The American Spectator, and the American Free News Network. He can be reached at greenjeg@gmail.com.
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