Federal mandates, regulations, and bureaucrats have been encroaching on the rights of states and their citizens under President Barack Obama, GOP candidate Jeb Bush said in an op-ed that outlines his plan to restore federalism if elected as president.
"There are many reasons that most Americans say they would prefer to elect a former governor as president of the United States," the former Florida governor said in the piece for
FoxNews.com
"Governors are on the front lines of federalism: helping people, getting things done and balancing all the pressures that come from running a state — especially a big, complex and occasionally crazy place like my home state of Florida."
Bush said that before Obama's "lawless power grabs began," he was in support of moving more power to states and a "more bottom-up — rather than top-down — approach to government."
Further, he commented, governors know best about when the federal government exceeds its proper role in the constitutional system, and noted that shortly after his brother took office, "I sent him an extensive 'Dear George' letter highlighting areas where the states should take the lead."
The 10th Amendment protects states rights, said Bush, noting that the powers not delegated to the federal government are "reserved to the states respectively, or to the poeple."
His plan includes adhering to the Constitution's limits on federal power, nominating or appointing officials committed to Federalism; repealing or replacing regulations to restore the role of state government; enhancing state enforcement of federal immigration policies; and promoting state-driven labor and employment policies.
"Under President Obama, the federal government is amassing power at the states' expense, despite the fact that state leaders are closer to the schools our children attend, the hospitals that care for our sick and the water we drink. Hillary Clinton is offering more of the same," he said.
"As a former governor, I know that many problems, even some that are of national scope, do not call for federal solutions."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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