Tuesday, July 19, 2011

- The New Gorbachev



Why The Democrat Party Is Doomed.
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1 comments:

frithguild said...

The interests of each constituent group in the Democrat Party coalition shows how distorted our federal government has become, all due to the errors of the Supreme Court.

Swift v. United States, 196 U.S. 375 (1905) found that federal regulation of meat packing to prevent price fixing permissable because the regulated activity had an "affect" on commerce. And the trust busting Teddy Roosevelt smiled.

Justice Thomas filed a brilliant concurring opinion in U.S. v. Lopez 514 U.S. 549 (1995) discusing basically that engrafting a substantial effect or impact upon commerce "test" has given rise to an all encompassing federal police power (Not a very good one line summary - a project for another day - I highly recommend reading the whole thing). The interesting point is that, in argument, the government could not describe a limit to the power the effect or impact test implies. The Thomas concurrence states a belief that the effect or impace on commerce test should be limited, but that the Court lacks the power to sweep away 50 years worth of precident. So the emperor may have no clothes, but the tailor who made him that way can do nothing about it.

The Court's consideration of Obamacare will result in the revisiting of this issue. Amicus brefis have asked the Court to examine the limit of Commerce Power, with the substantial impact or effect test. I do not trust this Court to do the right thing.

Right now, the House has steered the debate to implementing a balanced budget amendment. That is fine, but it does not address the root issue. Comerce power, as the framers understood it, deprived the federal government from involving itself in 90% of what it does today. We need a 13 word "Commerce Power Amendment":

"U.S. Const. Art. I § 8, cl. 3 is amended to state: 'To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes (1) WITHOUT (2) CONSIDERATION (3) OF (4) AN (5) IMPACT (6) OR (7) EFFECT (8) ON (9) COMMERCE (10) WITHIN (11) AN (12) INDIVIDUAL (13) STATE."

Something like this will reach the public consciousness, only if things go pear shaped. So that is my rant for the day.

July 20, 2011 10:33 AM

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