UPDATE - HCR 6

Not unexpectedly, HCR 6 failed in the New Hampshire House earlier today:

The New Hampshire House killed a resolution affirming state sovereignty on Wednesday, dashing the hopes of conservative activists who say the federal government should quit meddling in local affairs.

The House rejected Republican Daniel Itse's resolution by a vote of 216-150. Itse's supporters booed from the gallery when the vote came down, briefly disrupting the session.

The resolution said New Hampshire could ignore any federal laws or policies that violated the Constitution. Itse had targeted many policies, including the stimulus bill[.]

As noted in an earlier post on this topic, Itse’s legislative focus here was on an issue much larger than the stimulus. However, the widespread discontent over the package surely contributed to the audience of “hundreds of activists gathered outside the Statehouse before the vote.”

HCR 6

The Associated Press yesterday ran a story highlighting the efforts of various state legislators, including NH’s Rep. Daniel Itse (Rockingham-9), against the stimulus.

Via the AP:

For small-government die-hards, the $787 billion economic stimulus bill recently passed by Congress isn't a life saver. It's the last straw.

Lawmakers across the country are sponsoring resolutions — most of them only symbolic — asserting state sovereignty, in effect the right to ignore any federal law or policies they deem unconstitutional, including the stimulus bill, the No Child Left Behind Act and any new assault rifle ban.

In New Hampshire, the House is scheduled to vote on Republican state Rep. Daniel Itse's resolution Wednesday. Supporters are planning a rally at the Statehouse before the vote.

"I think that the specter of some assaults on our liberty have become so real and immediate that there is a reaction," Itse said.

Lawmakers in at least 15 states are sponsoring similar resolutions. They say they're fighting back against decades of federal overreach, culminating in the stimulus package.

Itse’s legislation is about more than just the stimulus, as he explains in the clip below. However, framing the budget-busting package as the most recent front in a larger war appears to be winning a number of frustrated converts to the cause.