Breitbart News Network joins American Principles Project and Cornerstone Action as co-sponsors of a forum that will focus on the principles of federalism as viewed by the Framers, the role of state elected officials in guarding against federal overreach, and how the federal government undermines that duty.
Titled “Practical Federalism: How the Federal Government Is Silencing the People,” the forum will bring together state lawmakers, policy analysts, and activist citizens to discuss the current level of federal intrusion into the states and American life, and will be held in key presidential primary states, beginning with New Hampshire in November of 2014, then moving on to Iowa in February of 2015, and South Carolina in April of 2015.
The forums will examine the impact of federal overreach in areas such as ObamaCare, the Common Core standards, privacy and data collection, Medicaid expansion, religious liberty, and the EPA and land use.
Constitutional structure, the history of federalism, and the separation of powers are among the topics that will be discussed by the speakers and panelists, including Georgia state Sen. William Ligon, Esq.; Oklahoma state Rep. Jason Nelson; Louisiana state Rep. Brett Geymann; the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA); and John Davidson of Texas Public Policy Center.
“Breitbart News is excited to sponsor a forum that not only exposes the extent of federal encroachment into the states and the everyday lives of the American people, but also brings the discussion about this into the public square,” said Breitbart News executive chairman Stephen K. Bannon. “We want those Republicans who plan to run for president in 2016 to know federal overreach must be addressed if they want the support of their conservative base, and we want state lawmakers to know their job is to push back against federal intrusion, and that we will hold them accountable to that.”
Emmett McGroarty, education director of American Principles Project (APP), talked to Breitbart News about the ways in which the federal government entices and bullies states into yielding their power.
“We repeatedly confront this tragic reality in our work,” McGroarty said. “On issue after issue, the federal government uses grants, waivers, and threats to turn the state executive branches into its administrative agents, and in so doing, it effectively cuts the state legislatures out of important decision-making.”
“That negatively affects the rights of the people and impairs their abilities to direct government,” he added. “The forum is gathering state legislators, policy analysts, and citizen-activists to study this and to explore possible solutions.”
The first forum will be held on Saturday, November 22, 2014 from 11:00 a.m. to 5:30 pm at Southern New Hampshire University, Manchester, New Hampshire.
“Cornerstone is excited to partner with American Principles Project and Breitbart News to educate New Hampshire citizens on the adverse affects of the increase of federal government at the state level,” Cornerstone Action executive director Bryan McCormack told Breitbart News. “We look forward to standing alongside key legislators and other grassroots organizations to speak against governmental overreach and how detrimental it is to healthy operation at a state level.”
“We hope to not only reach the public but also those who will be sitting as returning or new legislators in the state,” he added. “It is vital that they, as lawmakers, understand the damage that is done when states are coerced into decisions by the promise of federal funds.”