Candidate for Governor says Federalizing the National Guard is a Bad Idea

Starrett says the silence of Ted Kulongoski and Ron Saxton over the continued abuse of Oregon National Guard troops is absolutely deafening.

Salem-News.com

(WILSONVILLE) - Mary Starrett, who is running a campaign for Governor in Oregon, says state governors must fight the passage of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2007. "This thinly veiled attempt by the U. S. Congress to federalize the National Guard is a bad idea!" In response to this federal attempt to remove state power, twenty-four members of the National Governors Association wrote to the U.S. House Armed Services Committee to express their concerns. In the letter, they said, “The nation's governors feel very strongly about protecting our constitutional responsibility to take care of our citizens, and do not want that responsibility shifted to federal officials.” Constitution Party candidate for Oregon governor, Mary Starrett says, “The governors are correct in decrying this attempted power grab by the federal government. However, this is old news - there are tens of thousands of National Guard troops fighting and dying today in undeclared foreign wars. We need to put an end to this tragic abuse of our citizen soldiers.” Starrett continued, “The good news is that the law is, and always has been, on the side of the governors. Per Article 1, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution, the President has no authority to call up the National Guard. Only the Congress has that authority – and even then only to ‘execute the laws of the union, suppress insurrections and repel invasions.’ Clearly, this does not include suppressing insurrections or repelling invasions in other people’s countries. Which means the National Guard troops have been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan illegally. It is time to bring them home!” “This increasing centralization of power in Washington, D.C., is in direct conflict with our constitutional principles of limiting the power of the federal government and keeping power in the hands of the states, the local communities and the people.” Starrett said. The silence of Ted Kulongoski and Ron Saxton over the continued abuse of Oregon National Guard troops is absolutely deafening. The Mary Starrett for Governor campaign urges voters to contact their Senators and the Governor and tell them that the National Defense Authorization Act of 2007 is a bad idea!