Instapundit: Two Cheers for "Irish Democracy" on Obamacare and Pot
Glenn Reynolds writes in USA Today about two developments that fall under the heading of "Irish Democracy," or "the silent, dogged resistance, withdrawal, and truculence of millions of ordinary people" (in the words of James Scott).
When it comes to Obamacare, the Instapundit notes, the program has signed less than half the number it needs by March 31. Worse still, only about 15 percent of the expected number of uninsured people have signed up.
If the program fails, it won't be because Republicans stopped it, despite all the House votes and defunding efforts. It will be because millions of Americans' passive resistance brought it to its knees. Irish Democracy, indeed….
Meanwhile, on the marijuana front, the people of states like Colorado are engaging in an odd, 21st century variety of nullification. Unlike the 19th century John Calhoun version, state laws legalizing marijuana don't purport to neutralize the still-extant federal laws banning cannabis. But the state, and millions of Coloradans, are simply ignoring the federal law and, in essence, daring the feds to do something about it.
And before anyone gets their, er, Irish up at the invocation of an ethnically charged term such as "Irish Democracy," let me point to the oppressively large presence at Reason of lads and lasses with Irish surnames, starting with yours truly.
