The Enabling Act

 In 1933 Germany found itself in an emergency and gave the Executive the power to make law and govern without the consent of the Legislature.  This became known as the Enabling Act and led to the rise of Hitler.  It's an over-simplification, but generally, it put all government power in the hands of one person.  That worked out poorly for Germany and should be a cautionary tale for the rest of us.

As we turn the corner of this pandemic, we learn that every state i the US has an enabling act.  Couched in various terms, and titled by different verbiage, these laws give the governors great power over the civil liberties of their citizens, and as we ask how that is working out for us, we surely must answer: Poorly.

What we have earned under this debacle is that governors will tend to fudge the data, as well as outright lie to their citizens in order to maintain power and influence.  I believe that history will judge this past yar as one of government excess, a poorly managed epidemic.  If we ask ourselves how that has worked out for us, the answer would be much the same as pre-war Germany:  Poorly.

This is not to equate the actions of pre-war Germany with the actions of our collective Governors, but in the final analysis, I believe that we will learn that may mistakes were made, citizens were injured, and that too much power in the hand of one person is always a bad thing.  It leads to excess and a erosion of civil liberty.

Louisiana's public health law can be found at RS 29:766.  I am calling on our Legislature to repeal it in its entirety.  And, to do so with an overwhelming super-majority that defies a veto.