Paid for by Ed Martin for US SenateHonorable Steve Tilley, Speaker of the HouseHonorable Robert Mayer, President Pro TemMissouri CapitolJefferson City, Missouri 65101Re: Sovereignty of the people of Missouri and the duty of their United States SenatorDear Mr. Speaker and Mr. President Pro Tem,Greetings and best wishes to you and the General Assembly as you continue its important work.

I write today with an offer: my offer to assist you and, more saliently, to protect the liberty of “We thepeople of Missouri.” It is obvious to me that a

significant change has taken place in the relationshipbetween the liberty of Missourians and our federal government

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a change that is most unwelcome andnot in the interest of Missourians or our nation. First, the federal government has far outgrown itsintended boundaries. Our federal representatives are cobbling together an ever more intrusive andexpensive labyrinth of regulations, laws and mandates by asserting authority never granted to them bythe states. Second, our elected officials have, for too long, acquiesced to the federal overreach, eitherout of self-interest, disinterest, or misunderstanding. The elected officials charged with protecting thesovereignty of Missourians

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namely our state elected officials as well as our United States Senators

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have not been up to the task.I believe the time has come to begin the long work to restore balance between the states and the federalgovernment.

Toward that end, I offer you my solemn pledge to fight for the liberty of “We the

people of Missouri

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and to stop the over-reaching federal government in any way I can. I pledgeto assist and advocate for you in your efforts as leaders of our Missouri General Assembly shouldI be elected as a United States Senator from Missouri in 2012.

Last week marked the first anniversary of the Affordable Care Act, popularly known as Obamacare.Most Americans now recognize this federal takeover of health care as an unwelcome intrusion and a

dramatic overreach by the federal government. Our own state’s clear repud

iation of Obamacare, alongwith the election results in November, ought to have meant the end of this scheme; however, repealingObamacare seems as remote today as it seemed the day after passage.I believe that this circumstance calls for a remedy found within the federalist structure of the UnitedStates, specifically the assertion of the sovereignty of the State of Missouri in defense of its citizens. Ijoin those calling for

Missouri’s elected officials –

including our U.S. Senators

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to stand betweenMissouri and the federal government to stop the intrusion of our liberties and interpose on our behalf.

Paid for by Ed Martin for US SenateAs a matter of general understanding, I offer these observations:The U.S. Constitution and the sovereignty of the people of MissouriI understand that the United States Constitution and our founders intended a very specificrelationship between the federal government and the states. By ratifying the Constitution, thestates were ceding to the federal government a subset of roles or powers that, under normalcircumstances, would be the purview of a sovereign nation. For example, states do not go towar, mint currency, or levy tariffs on imported goods. The 10

amendment makes it clear, inany honest reading, that the states have the sovereign authority to manage their affairs for theircitizens in all but a limited number of situations as clearly spelled out. That this is poorly

understood is a failure in education and a willful disregard of what our nation’s founders and

founding documents enacted.Over the years, and particularly in the first half of the 20

century, the federal government

began encroaching upon the states’ sovereign prerogatives, typically in pursuit of a progressive

economic agenda (expansion of the Commerce Clause, e.g.). These insults to state sovereigntywere great and small, and, it must be admitted, they were advanced under both Republican and

Democrat leadership. Nearly every department of the President’s cabinet, for example, creates

some measure of havoc at the state level either through regulation or funding offered with a

rat’s nest of strings attached. These realities have brought us to this point where we the states

and the people are becoming broke and hobbled.Respective states have a right and duty to stand be

tween the federal government and the state’s

citizens in some circumstances. When the federal government

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which derives its authorityfrom the states

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oversteps its boundaries, the state must interpose itself between the federalgovernment and the people.

This is not a time for choosing: interposition is aREQUIREMENT of our system of government.

This defense of the state ought to begin with each United States Senator whose task is to put to

rest any encroachment upon his fellow citizens’ rights and so

vereignty. That senator should

work in consultation and concert with the people’s representatives at home, to keep the Feds

tending to Federal tasks and leaving the states to their business. I do not think the role of a U.S.

Senator is to be a “super representative” or some sort of associate President to help burden

states and their citizens with new programs or regulations.

Paid for by Ed Martin for US SenateObamacare and the Protective Assertion of SovereigntyIn light of this understanding of the relationship between the people of Missouri and the federalgovernment, I believe it is time for significant change in how our state deals with federalencroachments.How then do we return to a more honest understanding of the sovereign relations between thestates and the federal government? Or more simply: how do we undo what has been done tous?First, we must state, publicly and without reservation, the truth of the sovereignty of the state of Missouri as it relates to the state and federal governments. Second, we must join forces

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today!

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to fight off the encroachments of the federal government starting with Obamacare.Why begin with Obamacare? First, Obamacare was so recently repudiated by theoverwhelming majority of Missourians in passing proposition C. Second, it is a clear andunequivocal assault on the freedom of individual citizens of Missouri and the regulatoryprerogatives of the state. Third, even after the landslide drubbing proponents of Obamacaretook in the November elections, federal elected officials are not moving to repeal, defund orotherwise stop it.By engaging in a debate, and ultimately legislation to nullify this most odious federal law,

Missouri lawmakers have an opportunity to take the lead where members of Missouri’s

executive branch have had feet of clay. Further, Missouri will begin the slow process of

restoring the state’s proper position in the pantheon of American political institutions. I am

convinced that this is a potent curative to the overreach we have been experiencing these lastmany years.Should I prevail in the 2012 election for the United States Senate, you will have an ally in the

reassertion of the Great State of Missouri’s sovereignty. I do believe it will be my role to help protect

Missouri from federal laws and regulations that overstep the proper role of the federal government.