Jonathan Turley, a constitutional law scholar, of George Washington University Law School, has proposed an alliance among conservative “red” states to counter-boycott any liberal “blue” state, such as California, which first boycott.
The proposal comes in response to attempts by blue states to ban state-funded travel to red states that enact conservative laws on things like transgender toilets in schools, biological men participating in women’s sports, and restrictions on abortion.
California, for example, currently bans state-funded travel to 22 states. Although such bans are difficult to enforce – indeed. California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) recently violated his state’s travel ban to Idaho — they are taking effect, because they can force private companies to follow the blue states’ lead. Red states are then forced to obey the whims of corporations — and not the democratic will of their own voters — by making their laws more liberal than they otherwise would have been.
Turley argued in an op-ed in The hill on August 6 that boycotts of blue states violate the basic tenet of federalism in the constitution, and that they prevent states from compromising on social issues:
In a system based on the principles of federalism, we have embraced the model where each state can draw its own conclusions on divisive issues. The result may be consensus on moderate positions that elude both sides, often driven by extremes on issues like abortion. … When states try to force other states to yield to their demands in this area, they hinder state experimentation and expression.
In response, Turley proposes a red state alliance based on the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and its Article V, which states that an attack on one member should be interpreted as an attack on everyone, triggering a collective response. :
While this would ideally be an all-state agreement, red states should pass legislation prohibiting state business or travel with a state engaged in boycotts. The key would be that the agreement must apply in principle, allow no exceptions, and create immediate reciprocity: A travel ban on, say, Nebraska would result in a cross-ban not just from Nebraska, but from every state in the alliance.
This way, when a state like California attacks a state like Utah, it will shoot itself with about half the country. Ultimately, the administrative and competitive costs of such measures would become prohibitive.
Read Turley’s full article here.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday nights from 7pm to 10pm ET (4pm to 7pm PT). He is the author of the recent e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 US Presidential Election. His recent book, RED NOVEMBER, tells the story of the 2020 Democratic presidential election from a conservative perspective. He is winner of the Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship 2018. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.