Today’s Democrats are using the same unconstitutional ploy that Southern states used to protect the institution of slavery leading up to the Civil war, Constitutional Scholar Mark Levin noted Sunday.
Democrat-run sanctuary cities and states are employing what’s known as “nullification,” the openly declared defiance of federal law, in order to protect illegal aliens in their regions, Levin explained in the latest episode of “Life, Liberty and Levin”:
“Nullification is not only unconstitutional. It was used by the slave states starting with South Carolina, in the lead-up to the civil war to justify secession from the union.”
Years earlier, in the Nullification Crisis of 1832-1833, South Carolina refused to recognize and abide by a law that imposed heavy tariffs on export of the cotton and agricultural products important to its economy. In response, Congress passed the Force Act, authorizing President Andrew Jackson to send the Army into South Carolina to collect customs duties and enforce the federal tariff law.
While a compromise gradually lowering tariffs was reached, saving Jackson from having to send federal troops into one of the United States, South Carolina’s declaration of a federal law to be null and void created a pretext, not just for secession, but also for today’s sanctuary cities, Levin said:
“They had a compromise and they eventually reduced amount of the tariffs on cotton and agriculture over a period of time.
“But, that was the predecessor to what would become nullification and the antislavery movements in the north. That was the predecessor to states nullifying their obligation to be part, part of the union.
“It was pretext to secession, nullification. Their type of sanctuary states.”
Today’s attempt to nullify constitutional federal law by creating sanctuaries for illegal immigrants is “a throwback to the Confederacy” – in which Democrats’ open-border policies have similar consequences – Levin noted:
“It is a throwback to the days of slavery and segregation. To today – to the days of slavery, due to the Democrat Party open-border policies that took place and the horrendous, inhumane consequences.”
“So my point is this: the old Democrat Party -- the party of the Confederacy has never died,” Levin said:
“Sure, its issues have changed. The groups have changed. But, the ideology has not. See, the Democrat Party has never embraced Americanism. It has never embraced the Constitution. They don't embrace Americanism and the Constitution, while they keep lecturing us about Americanism and the Constitution.”
“Don't listen to what they say watch what they do. And what they do is damnable,” Levin concluded.