Horowitz: Finally! State legislatures reclaiming power from dictatorial governors

"It is not OK or normal or inevitable or necessary to indefinitely suspend the lawmaking process," Wisconsin state Sen. Duey Stroebel (R) said Tuesday. "There is no such thing as a perpetual emergency."

These are the words spoken by a Wisconsin GOP state senator during debate over SJR3, a resolution to terminate Gov. Tony Evers' emergency order, which includes a mandate that all human beings be forced to breathe only through a cloth. It is shocking that it has taken this long to establish the fact that civil rights matter and that governors cannot rule by executive fiat.

The fulcrum of the scam of COVID fascism is the premise of treating a pandemic flu that most of the population is inevitably going to get as if it's a limited, quarantinable disease like Ebola. Yes, governors can declare health emergencies, but by definition, if quarantine works, it is limited in scope and time. If it is not limited, that means quarantine doesn't work, just like you can't quarantine a flu or a cold. Yet 10 months into this saga, executives are still acting as if the traditional quarantine powers can apply to all humans — whether they had the virus or not, whether they have antibodies or were vaccinated or not — and can destroy every aspect of their lives. Thankfully, the Wisconsin legislature is leading the way in stopping this dangerous nonsense.

On Tuesday, the Wisconsin Senate passed a joint resolution canceling the governor's emergency order, which includes a statewide mask mandate. The margin was 18-13, with two Republicans joining the Democrats in opposing it. The state Assembly will likely pass the resolution with overwhelming support on Thursday. In Wisconsin, a simple resolution, which does not require the signature of the governor, can cancel the emergency. In fact, Evers really needed the legislature to even continue the emergency declaration beyond 60 days. The resolution therefore declares his latest executive order "void from the date of its issuance."

The next fight for conservatives will be to ensure that as many county governments as possible follow suit and keep their respective jurisdictions as constitutional sanctuaries. Roughly 80% of Wisconsin's 72 counties went for Trump in the presidential election, which should mean that, despite a Democrat president and governor, most of the state should be a constitutional sanctuary.

In a parallel legislative effort, the state Assembly passed a COVID-19 relief bill on Tuesday to ensure that state health care programs cover COVID-related costs, unemployment benefits are dispensed without the one-week waiting period, and businesses and schools are absolved of liability if a worker contracts the virus. The governor requested those provisions; however, the Republican-dominated Assembly also added provisions that the governor opposes, including a ban on employers requiring their workers to get vaccinated and prohibiting the closure of churches during any future health emergency. The Senate previously passed a bill without those provisions. Conservatives should push for them to adopt the state Assembly's bill and hold their ground against the governor.

What is going on in Wisconsin underscores the importance for patriots to focus their attention on state politics. With Republicans in control of 31 state legislatures, there is so much they can do to push back against the sickening tyranny that is consuming our lives. They can also push back against some of the Biden regime's illegal executive orders, such as forcing women to accept men in their sports and private spaces. But that will require a pressure campaign against phony Republican governors and legislators.

There are some promising prospects elsewhere around the map, but not in nearly enough states. In Idaho, for example, the state House just passed a resolution terminating Gov. Brad Little's ban on gatherings. Shockingly, despite Republicans fully controlling government with supermajorities, the state has an inhumane mask mandate and bans gatherings of more than 10 people! Conservatives in Idaho would be wise to push for more categorical legislation and long-term reforms of runaway executive power.

With control of 23 trifectas and 31 legislatures, as well as the overwhelming majority of counties, conservatives, if they only asserted their will on the elected officials, could easily create a liberty safe space in most of the country.

Even in states with Democrat or RINO governors who are pushing COVID fascism, strong majorities in the legislature should be able to strip them of ill-gotten powers. There are RINO governors in Alabama, West Virginia, and Indiana, as well as a Democrat governor in Kentucky. Yet Republicans have supermajorities in those four states, and incidentally, only need a simple majority to override the governor's veto.

In Ohio, where Mike DeWine has shut down the state worse than in some blue states, Republicans only need a three-fifths majority to override his veto – a threshold they should easily meet with effective grassroots pressure. In Kansas, Republicans have more than the two-thirds majority needed to override the Democrat governor's veto as well.

It's time to stop promising and time to start doing. Biden and Democrats might be in charge of Washington, but in more than half the states, Republicans, if they really mean what they say, have the power to neutralize his presidency and protect our most sacred rights. Let's stop talking about 2024 and use the power and influence conservatives already have in red states to bring relief now.