Make room for two more on the states' challenge to the Obama bathroom order! The president's decree that schools and universities throw open their bathroom and shower stalls to both sexes (or lose federal funding) is succeeding at one thing: uniting the states. The army of opponents is growing now that Kentucky and Mississippi are signing on to the massive, multi-state pushback to the president's radical gender agenda. In the days since the White House issued its threat, the outrage is only growing. A total of 13 states are standing in between their students' privacy and a tyrannical White House, even if it means kissing millions of education dollars goodbye: Alabama, Louisiana, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Utah, Georgia, the governor of Maine, the Arizona Department of Education, Kentucky, and Mississippi.
And for the latter two, the road to the courts hasn't been an easy one. In both states, conservative governors had to override liberal attorneys general, who were determined to legitimize the president's overreach. "I strongly encourage our state leaders to shift their focus to issues that are directly impacting our citizens every day, such as education, mental health, roads and bridges, and public safety," Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood (D) argued. Fortunately, Governor Phil Bryant (R) has a better grasp of what's directly impacting his citizens every day – and boys infiltrating the girls' showers and locker rooms is one of them. In Kentucky, Governor Matt Bevin (R) had a similar clash with Attorney General Andy Beshear (D), who refused to lift a finger to fight the rule.
Fine, Bevin fired back. If his top law enforcer was "unwilling to protect" the state, he vowed, "my administration will... We are committed to protecting the Tenth Amendment and fighting federal overreach into state and local issues." Meanwhile, in North Carolina, where leaders fired the first shots against the Obama administration, Governor Pat McCrory (R) is sick and tired of seeing the states hung out to dry. If the president is going to steamroll the legislature, he thinks Congress should have the courage to stand up and do something about it. In a letter to GOP and Democratic leadership, McCrory wants to know when members will join his state and others in reining in President Obama.
"Once again, unelected officials within the Obama administration bypassed the Constitution, Congress, and administrative law procedures, unilaterally and unlawfully imposing their will and interpretations on each and every school district throughout the United States. The threat of any federal agency to withhold federal funding from any state based on its unilateral and novel interpretation of a federal law is unprecedented and indefensible. These funds were authorized and appropriated by Congress... Due to the inaction of Congress to define boundaries and provide clarity on this important and emerging issue, millions of Americans businesses, educators, and elected leaders continue to live and operate under a chaotic system of conflicting laws, regulations and judicial interpretations..."
Is it any wonder that McCrory has retaken the lead in his reelection polling? This is exactly the kind of leadership that voters are desperate to see. When a quarter of the United States has to sue its own government for holding it ideologically hostage, they deserve Congress's support. Otherwise, what's to stop the Obama administration from imposing its will on every issue?
