The U.S. Constitution handily lays out the prerogatives of the Nation’s Federal governing body in its Articles and subsequent Amendments. Especially helpful are: Article 1, Section 8; Articles 2-5; and Amendments 13, 14, 15, 16, 19, 20, 23, 24, 25 and 26. However, it isn’t even necessary to read through all of the Articles and Amendments listed, for the Constitution’s Preamble offers a thesis statement of sorts that provide a summarization of the reasoning behind each. It reads: “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.” In a nutshell, barring the perversion of interpretation to the benefit of simple abridgement, the edicts laid forth in the Constitution establish the Federal government’s job description thusly: Provide common defense, manage foreign relations, establish and protect justice for all citizens, provide for the general welfare of the citizenry, ensure that American’s property rights are protected, coin money and establish a universal set of weights and measures, and collect taxes and budget properly in order to get the job done. In essence, by the standards of the Constitution, most of the Federal government’s employees should likely fall under the “non-essential” category. But it is no secret that the Constitution has been abused and negated by way of expanding the power of the executive branch and its agencies over the years. And the executive branch is clearly calling the shots. If, for instance, you believe that Congress is powerless to end the arbitrary closing of open air monuments and National Parks, consider Article 4, Section 3: “The Congress shall have Power to dispose of and make all needful Rules and Regulations respecting the Territory or other Property belonging to the United States; and nothing in this Constitution shall be so construed as to Prejudice any Claims of the United States, or of any particular State.” So Congress has the power to remove the so-called “barrycades” that have been appearing on public lands throughout the Nation. Unfortunately, this will not likely happen for the very same reason James Madison warned about in Federalist 51: “Men are not angels; their passions and self-interest often get the better of their reason and sense of justice, so we need government in order to protect our rights against those who would take them away.” “But for the same reason,” Madison writes, “government must be limited because people in government have passions and interests too.” Congressional Democrats and Republicans who have grown accustomed to the big-spending, big-government status quo simply aren’t going to give an inch until the small faction of conservatives who initiated the shutdown — in a bid to put the brakes on yet another unConstitutional big government program known as Obamacare — have been defeated. Their self-interest is certainly at stake: Democrats, because slowing Obamacare means giving up on a progressive dream of socialized medicine; and establishment Republicans, because if the conservative wing of the Party prevails, the disconnect between mainstream GOP rhetoric and actual action becomes forcefully evident.
Posted on: Thu, 10 Oct 2013 10:19:12 +0000
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