The People's Right to Self Defense

J. Robert Smith has an article today at the American Thinker entitled Washington, Arizonans, and the Primal Right to Self Defense that makes the case that the DoJ's lawsuit against Arizona is not just wrong headed, but fundamentally flawed; what he calls "moral abandonment." A quote to give you a feel for the article:

The Obama administration asserts the de jure paramountcy of the national government in the enforcement of immigration laws and border defense, yet de facto, the national government has been wholly inadequate in executing the aforementioned duties. Its inadequacy flows chiefly from political reasons, rather than reasons of resource or competence. The national government stands accused of a failure of will. Thereby, the Obama administration and the national government are defaulting in a basic duty to the people: to attend to their defense.

The Democrats in Washington look on illegals as future Democrat voters. The more that they can be kept poor, uneducated, and on various welfare programs and "free" handouts, the more they can be exploited for political gain. The Republicans are afraid of angering Hispanic voters. Both parties are lobbied by businesses that exploit illegals for cheap labor. In all this, ruthless drug gangs and petty criminals wreaking havoc on citizens is considered just the price of doing business by these feckless opportunists.

Meanwhile, if anyone notices the illegals in our midst and says anything about them, we are called racist and xenophobe and told to sit down. Now, conservatives and Constitutionalists have made it pretty clear that we welcome legal immigration. The analogy to a home is a pretty good one. Ring the bell, tell us your name. If you are selling something, and we are interested, we may invite you in. But don't break in in the night, raid the refrigerator, and help yourself to the silver. That sort of behavior is likely to get you shot around these parts.

If the Federal Government will not defend the borders, Arizonans have a right to defend it themselves. Indeed, as J. Robert Smith points out, the right to self defense exists prior to any government that may be established. I would argue that securing the peoples right to life and property is the first, and greatest care of a government. If the government in question won't perform that duty, but instead goes about trying to do what the people can and should do for themselves, the people may be forgiven for thinking they may not need that government. Congress has made itself irrelevant by handing over so much power to the executive branch. If it wasn't explicit before, the President made it so when he noted that if Congress wouldn't pass a Cap and Trade law, he would have the EPA write regulations to that effect. Now, with this lawsuit against Arizona, the Executive is making himself irrelevant as well.