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Milton J. Madison - An American Refugee Now Living in China, Where Liberty is Ascending

Federalism, Free Markets and the Liberty To Let One's Mind Wander. I Am Very Worried About the Fate of Liberty in the USA, Where Government is Taking people's Lives ____________________________________________________________________________________________ "Extremism in defense of liberty is no vice. Tolerance in the face of tyranny is no virtue." -Barry Goldwater-

Monday, February 14, 2011

Limits on Federal Power?

If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary. In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself.

James Madison, The Federalist No. 51
I do not think that the modern interpretation of Federal powers includes the concept of limits or an obligation to control the reach of the central leviathan.

Furthermore, the Commerce Clause, 16 words where most of the modern Federal intervention authority is resting upon, is probably not understood in the context of what was intended by the framers. Who in their right mind would ever think that the intent of the Commerce Clause was to provide unlimited Federal powers to essentially intervene in any private transaction for a broadly defined general welfare purpose of the citizens? The Constitution and Bill of Rights was designed to protect citizens from Federal intervention not to be the security for meddling. And this is what it has become, a document that every leftist uses to justify many too many actions.

4 Comments:

At 3:39 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

The commerce clause was created to prevent states from blocking interstate commerce. It was supposed to be the opposite of interfereing. This clause has been abused several times in the past. It can be intepreted just about anywway you want as long as it seems to interfere with interstate commerce and if the Supreme Court agrees.

 
At 1:08 PM, Blogger glenzo said...

SCOTUS made a gigantic mistake when some of the New Deal interventions were challenged (Think the Dred Scott decision). This allowed continued creep of Federal intervention that will not stop. New interventions will be supported by the fact that there have been previous interventions. Nothing will be sacrosanct for the individual as we will just be tools of the government. We are all chattel of the State.

 
At 8:16 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Serfs of the state.
Euphamisims.
Same thing.

 
At 8:36 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Chettel.
Get used to it.

 

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