WaPo/ABC poll: Obama fading

With this drop in confidence, as well as the now-ironclad argument that can be made that a double-standard exists for what the liberals and media will accept from conservatives and independents and what they will accept from themselves, the time has almost come for the unthinkable–to demand that if legislative items are not grounded in Congress’ enumerated powers in the Constitution said items can not be done until amendments are passed giving Congress said power.

Now, this argument has been made time and time again, but does not often resonate–the people, unfortunately, have been willing to accept excursions from “theory” to achieve results in fact. They have been willing to sacrifice principle for security. But a change is possible now because the behavior of the political class in general, and the Democrats in particular, should have shown many that there still exists in the land those who would rule by imperious will, and that both principle and security may be lost. For those of a liberal persuasion loathe to admit wrong by their side, surely they can name instances of what they consider abuse of power by the former administration, and surely they will not argue that it is the rule of law that prevents these things. But for the rule of law to work the law must be followed even when it goes against what the majority would wish to do. The rule of law really means that it binds the powerful as well the powerless.

I thus simply argue that the time has just about come when the people are going to start intuitively feeling–if they do not already do so–that making laws with no other concerns than if the political will exists and if the voters will vote them out come next set of elections; i.e., not worrying about if they have the proper authority to do so; is merely the political class acting as lords of the manor and is a slow steady slide into Leviathan. I believe this may help explain why Ms. Sotomayor’s approval numbers began to drop–people perhaps saw a desired view of the law that relied less on the law and more on the desired.

In short, the people may start to understand that power in fact can be abused, that the politicians can be unresponsive, that politicians may actually not mind abusing power once in a blue moon if an extraordinary payoff for their side results, and that while elections can help correct the damage, they cannot prevent it from happening to start with, but that a rigid ethic that only that which is enumerated is allowed can. In short, the time may have come for a more rigid interpretation of the Constitution, as the people become concerned that Utopian idealists will never take no for no, but will always be plotting again to get their foot in the door for their desired program. The Constitution and the enumerated powers clause, then, becomes the bulwark of the people’s liberties against Utopian idealists.

So I believe the time has about come. But this is not to mean we are going to restore the “Constitution in exile”, for certain programs are here to stay. But it does mean that we should present amendments that legitimize programs such as Social Security, so that is does not have to hang on the “general welfare” clause of the Preamble, and that we should present amendments that are tightly worded so that future efforts in other fields cannot rely on these authorizing amendments.

Politically, doing this will cause problems for those who view the Federal government as the one stop shopping superstore for all their utopian needs–if they argue against it, then are they not arguing against the very programs (Social Security, etc.) they would support and expand? And if they argue for it, have they not then conceded the points that a.) Congress never had the power to do these things to start with, and these programs were merely the power of the majority enacting its will with no deference to any higher charter or idea of limitations upon their actions, and b.) that this means that unless the power is enumerated, Congress cannot do other things? It would seem to me that we of the classic liberal/conservative/libertarian grain have much to gain and little to lose by formally incorporating many of the items of the last 70 years formally into the Great Charter of the Republic and restoring the ideal that only that which is enumerated is allowed.

For an ethic that only that which is enumerated is allowed will go far in securing the liberties of the people, and the time has come to put the Constitution in line with the past actions of the Legislative Branch, so that future actions of the Legislative Branch may be in line with the Constitution and not the desires of whatever temporary and ephemeral majorities have been cobbled together for quick attempts to enslave posterity to their view of what is right via dint of a brief moment of unchallenged power that is quickly over. The government must be checked internally by the different branches, and externally by the Constitution itself and the people. The Constitution is a check, and must not be paid mere lip service to. If we wish the programs that are present today, then let us give Congress the power to do so via amendment, so that we do not have other programs tomorrow that we do not so wish.

Horatius on August 21, 2009 at 12:11 PM