Montana Governor’s Defiance of Feds Has Few Parallels

There are plenty of opportunities for governors and presidents to get cross-wise with each other, particularly in the West, where so much of the land is managed by federal land agencies like the Forest Service, National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management and Fish & Wildlife. In most cases, squabbles among state and federal executives get worked out in the courts, through Congress or in the “bully pulpits” that governors and presidents use to persuade, cajole, denounce or otherwise set the stage for closed-door negotiations. What we saw recently in Montana are all of the above, as well as something radically different. In defiance of the federal Endangered Species Act, Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer has ordered state officials to kill whole packs of gray wolves in response to attacks on livestock or elks. As of Friday morning, there were no reports of ranchers killing wolves or of state game officials gunning down entire wolf packs, so it could be argued that Schweitzer’s letter to Interior is, so far, a dramatic performance on the bully pulpit of state, regional and national media. However, when bullets begin to fly and dead wolves begin to pile up, this goes well beyond media gamesmanship and political brinksmanship. Indeed, Schweitzer’s action would then move toward and even beyond the political neighborhood of Alabama Gov. George Wallace, who stood in the doorway of Foster Auditorium at the University of Alabama to block two black students from enrolling...more

Why does the author go all the way back to June 11, 1963 for an example of a state standing up to the feds?  Especially since it was symbolic only, with Wallace stepping aside for the federal agents as the author admits. There can only be one reason and that is to besmirch Gov. Schweitzer and anyone else who defends state authority over natural resouces with the specter of racism.

Otherwise why not use the recent law passed by the Utah legislature and signed by the Governor which authorizes the state to exercise eminent domain on federal lands?

The author may not have noticed there seems to be a widespread movement a foot to challenge federal authority as states are passing:

10th Amendment Resolutions
Firearms Freedom Acts
State Marijuana Laws
Health Care Nullification Acts
REAL ID Acts

And that is just a partial list.

The author then goes on to state, "...the last time there was unlimited defiance of federal authority, that was a matter rather firmly resolved at Gettysburg and Appomattox."

That is the argument they always resort to - do as we say or out come the guns.

Really? That doesn't seem to be the case with the state medical marijuana laws. Ten states had passed such laws by 2005 when the Supreme court said no you can't. And yet not one of those laws has been repealed and five more states have passed similar laws. Fifteen states have passed medical marijuana laws and are getting away with it...in effect nullifying the federal law.