Yes We Can

Can we further destroy the Constitution by claiming that Congress has the authority to pass a health care bill under the umbrella of Interstate Commerce? Yes we can. With the passage of Obamacare, the members of the central government think that they now can regulate not just health insurance, but health care as well. I don't know about you, but I get my health care locally from a doctor who does no business out-of-State. Furthermore, it is the individual States that license doctors, nurses, pharmacists, etc., not the Federal Government.

According to Judge Andrew Napolitano, the original intent of the Interstate Commerce clause was to insure that the individual States would allow commerce to take place between and among them. That, for example, Texas could not say to New Mexico, "Your businesses are not allowed to conduct commerce in this State."

Then, too, there is the issue (contained in the new health care law) of the central government being able to force individuals to buy a service from a private entity. The Constitution gives no such authority to the Fed Government. On that provision alone, the recently passed health care bill is completely unconstitutional.

Can we further destroy the Constitution by claiming that Congress and the Executive have the authority to regulate education under the General Welfare provision? Yes we can. Here's what James Madison, the Father of the Constitution, had to say (paraphrased) about General Welfare: to claim it covers most anything is to completely contradict the concept (to which we adhere) of a government of enumerated powers. The words "General Welfare" merely are an introduction to the powers listed in Article I, Section 8. Congress has only those seventeen powers.

[For those few who may not know, "Yes we can" was a familiar cry during the Obama campaign for the Presidency.]

Obama and many members of Congress are continuing and expanding the destruction of the U.S. Constitution by practicing Legislative Absolutism (a term coined by Justice Harlan in the very early 1900s), which is and has been done for decades by both Republicans and Democrats. Rather than amend the Constitution, which requires two-thirds of both Houses of Congress AND three-fourths of the States, they instead pass laws to get what they want...and apparently they don't care whether or not the law is constitutional. They are all violating their constitutional oath of office. For some odd reason, we keep electing them to office.