Republican Martha Dean is again demonstrating a mistrust of the federal government that has characterized her campaign for state Attorney General: She reportedly is giving serious thought to nullification, the divisive, Constitutional theory that states have the right to ignore federal laws they consider unjust.
The Journal Inquirer reports that the subject of nullification arose during an interview of Dean by the newspapers editors on Wednesday. Also discussed, according to the article by reporter Don Michak, was Dean's promise to join like-minded state Attorneys General to fight the mandatory coverage requirement in the federal health care reform legislation enacted earlier this year..
The theory of nullification is a step beyond challenging the constitutionality of federal law. Nullification holds that a state has the right to declare null and void any federal law the state decides is unacceptable and unconstitutional.
The legal theory has been kicking around since the late 1700s, when the Founding Fathers argued over how strong should be the legal glue that binds together the American states.
South Carolina sparked the "Nullification Crisis" in the 1830's, when it prepared for war against the rest of the country after threatening to nullify an unpopular federal tax that became known as the "Tariff of Abominations." The military stood down when Congress negotiated a compromise tax measure.
Nullification was a regular part of the national debate In the decades leading to the to the Civil War. Northern states threatened to use it to block enforcement of federal laws requiring the return of fugitive slaves.