At last week’s National Governors Association meeting in Charleston, Gov. Mike Huckabee apparently channeled his fellow governors’ pent-up frustrations with the federal government, according to Stateline.org.

“I think you’re going to find a universal disdain among governors, Democrat and Republican, with this attitude that the federal government continually has … that the states are mere satellites of a centralized federal authority,” outgoing NGA Chairman Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (R) said at the meeting’s opening press conference Aug. 5. “To be blunt, I sometimes wonder if people in Washington ever passed ninth-grade civics,” said Huckabee, who is considering a bid for the White House in 2008. …

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Governors’ most recent complaint is language in a defense authorization bill, recently passed by the U.S. House, that would allow the president to mobilize National Guard troops without consulting governors. Part-time soldiers in state Guard units serve at the direction of the governor except when called to federal duty, such as the war in Iraq. …

Congress’ inability to reform the nation’s legal and illegal immigration policies also was criticized by governors. More than half of states have passed laws to try to deal with illegal aliens, including denying non-emergency services and imposing sanctions for companies that employ undocumented workers. But border enforcement is a federal job. …

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The price of gasoline, now averaging more than $3 a gallon, and the nation’s dependence on foreign oil also came under fire.

Now, who controls the federal government?

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