God Save the Queen! The Special Relationship and U. S. Federalism

AMAC Exclusive by David P. Deavel

This past weekend marked the end of the four days of celebration for the entire United Kingdom marking the 70^th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s reign—an event likely to bring much commentary in the weeks and months ahead. And for this American who loves his country but has more than a bit of Anglophilia it’s been a thrill to be in the U.K. celebrating this grand lady’s remarkable career. The dignity, gravity, and personal probity of Elizabeth II represents that older English understanding of duty, patriotism, sacrifice, and service that is both admirable and all too often lost in today’s world. A true Christian, she radiates a resilience that goes beyond the mere proverbial stiff upper lip. As I stood on the bank of the Thames and watched British military planes in formation fly over London—the last of them trailing red, white, and blue—in salute I couldn’t help but be moved to greater love for the old queen, the mother country, and my own.

But it’s not just that the tough, lovable old monarch is admirable. Those traditional values that she represents are seen in another aspect of recent British life. In the 2016 Brexit vote many of us saw some of the same spark of independence and rebellion against the forces of the global and national ruling classes—who want to erase individual liberty and melt nations down—that were present in President Trump’s 2016 electoral victory and his subsequent presidential action. That’s why it is disappointing even if it is not surprising that the Biden Administration has been giving the cold shoulder to the U.K. with regard to a trade agreement—a shocking thing in light of what has been seen for almost a century as the “special relationship” between the U. S. and the mother country. Nevertheless, there are some good signs that the special relationship will continue, and if perhaps less so at the federal level for these next few years, then at least at the state level.

As the Heritage Foundation’s Anthony Kim wrote at The Daily Signal: “Rather than standing still, post-Brexit Britain—which has been securing groundbreaking, innovative trade deals—has proactively decided to move ahead on its own.” What the U. K. has done is to engage in visits and direct talks with a number of states “including Arkansas, California, Georgia, Oklahoma, and Texas, among others.” And as a proud Hoosier native, I’m happy to say that the first bi-lateral economic deal (albeit non-binding) signed was on May 27 with Indiana. Kim wants all 50 states to engage in more of these talks with our allies.

It’s incredibly frustrating that the Biden Administration is not interested in talking to one of our allies, but as noted, it’s not surprising. For all the modern Democrats’ talk about democracy being in peril, all this means is that liberals are not getting their way—even, or especially, when they aren’t getting their way because of a popular vote as in Brexit or the election of Donald Trump. Thus, a post-Brexit Britain is an entity that cannot be trusted to go along with whatever progressives in the U. S. and abroad say The Current Thing is. The only special relationships they recognize are the ones in which submission is given to them and the international groups they acknowledge as legitimately superior.

This attitude is not limited to Britain and other countries unfortunately. It is the same attitude they take to the American states that do not do what they want. Like the special relationship, progressives think federalism is really only about the absolute supremacy of the federal government—at least when they are in charge—and those same international groups.

In addition to giving Britain a stiff-arm on trade, earlier this year the Biden Administration proposed 13 amendments to the International Health Regulations being pushed by the World Health Organization at their World Health Assembly meeting at the end of May. The amendments were all geared toward eliminating the approval and consultation of “the State party” in areas of public health. In other words, this was yet another push to end popular sovereignty on the pretext of saving lives. That these amendments were done in secret and only discovered by a researcher in April and opened for public comment in May indicates that the Biden Administration knew this was not something Americans or our allies would approve.

While they eventually withdrew 12 of the 13 amendments (all but one that allows the WHO to fast-track amendments), the WHO can continue to debate these amendments at hearings on June 16-17. They are also working on a separate Global Pandemic Treaty to be discussed in August. As Liberty Counsel Chairman Mat Staver observed, “. . .one amendment remains, the other 12 can return, and we know the WHO will hold more meetings on these amendments and on a new ‘Pandemic Treaty’ that will vest considerable global power in this agency of the United Nations. America’s sovereignty is not for sale.”

As with British trade, what has been cheering about this threat in the name of public health was that states were among the first to speak up. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis spoke up in a May press conference on the subject: “We in Florida, there is no way we will ever support this W.H.O. thing … that’s not going to happen.”

The special relationship may not be so special in the highest reaches of American government right now, but I think it has a good chance in the various American states where citizens and their governments are ready to trade with free peoples and stand up against the encroachments of international organizations to which we owe no obedience.

God save the Queen! God bless America! I’m raising a pint to Elizabeth and the British people who said no to the EU today. And I’m also raising one to the Hoosier state and the Sunshine state. May they lead the way in returning us to a situation in which we work together with the British People for good.

David P. Deavel is editor of Logos: A Journal of Catholic Thought and Culture, co-director of the Terrence J. Murphy Institute for Catholic Thought, Law, and Public Policy, and a visiting professor at the University of St. Thomas (MN). He is the co-host of the Deep Down Things podcast. Follow him on GETTR @davidpdeavel.