Comments about ‘Both Demos and Republicans show contempt for Constitution’

Beautiful article by Williams. This is the core principle that he speaks of in every single column, but today's column was very precise: Congress does not have the power over the Constitution.

It is alarming, indeed, what our values have become. God bless the USA.

answer a simple question from an inquisitve reporter indicates either arrogance or ignorance, perhaps both. Certainly, this is a legit question and I, for one, would like to hear the answer, if not from her, from any of our elected officials from Utah. And why do we allow this kind of constitutional abuse (if that is what it is) to occur? Where are the statesmen of this country? And why do we and they all stand by an simply watch it all happen?? I suppose the ageless combination of power, politics, and arrogance are still very much alive and well at the highest levels. Enough already!

Peaceable assembly is a really poor choice of an example, because it is Constitutionally protected. Using that line of reasoning, protesters would have to show where in the Constitution it says Congress *can't* do the health care reform.

Anyone? Anyone?

An answer is appropriate. From the Preamble to the Constitution: "promote the general welfare" is certainly a justfication for improving the delivery of health care.

Show me in the Constitution where we are "Forced" to buy car insurance?

Lets all not forget our prior president called our constitution only a PIECE OF PAPER! That was a slap in the face for the original writers who were many points ahead in inteligence!

No problem. The enumerated powers provision is there to specifically say what Congress CAN do, and they aren't supposed to do anything that's not on that list. See The Federalist Papers, where Madison explains this in depth. If you want to argue it, I'll look up specific quotes for you. And the 9th and 10th amendments, which together state that everything else belongs to the states or the people. The whole point of the Constitution is to give the federal government specific, limited powers, and acts as a restricting document.

And don't go to the general welfare clause either. For the first 150 years the general welfare clause was understood to mean general stuff that benefited the nation as a whole, not benefits for individual people. There are also plenty of quotes from the Founding Fathers specifically explaining this, and that to do otherwise would completely gut their intent, leaving us with an unrestrained monster of a government with no limits on it.

Hmm, sort of describes what we've got now, doesn't it?

The big lie, often propagandized by people like Walter, is that government is bad and government by the people is especially bad.

And even worse than that is big government by the people.

The role of government is to govern, that’s why it is called “government”.

Our government was created with the welfare of it’s people in mind. And the welfare of people means that some control must be exercised over individuals.

The purpose of government is to provide that control. And that control is what makes our live so rich and pleasant.

The American Constitution is a great help in managing the growth of our nation and government.

But I don’t think the Constitution was created to be an iron cast mold in which we all must fit. I think the Constitution should grow as the nation grows.

We are not ever out of the control of government. At the start of our lives, the government is our Mom, then Dad. Then school government, city government, county and state government, the military, our national government, and our employer. The finally life itself enforces the final rule, we die.

Williams is wrong, of course.

As with Medicare and Medicaid, the federal government has the
Constitutional power to reform our health care system.

The 10th amendment to the U.S. Constitution states that the powers not
delegated to the federal government by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it
to the states, are reserved to the states... or to the people. But the
Constitution gives Congress broad power to regulate activities that have an
effect on interstate commerce. Congress has used this authority to regulate many aspects of American life, from labor relations to education to health care to agricultural production. Since virtually every aspect of the heath care system has an effect on interstate commerce, the power of Congress to
regulate health care is Constitutional.

Apparently it is constitutional to provide healthcare to someone who is 65, but not to someone who is 64.

That was great, I will remember that and post it the next time some nut makes the same dumb argument.
Thanks for that good answer!

The Constitution is pretty darn short--the instructions to your last small kitchen appliance are probably longer. So no, the founders did not specifically enumerate each and every thing the federal government can do.

@RL 7:54 a.m.:

"Show me in the Constitution where we are 'Forced' to buy car insurance?"

It's in "promote the general welfare." Everything they do is in that phrase.

Unfortunately, that phrase also contains the seeds of our demise as a nation.

DO you think they give a rats-behind, about both Demos and Republicans show contempt for Constitution, when they are all corrupt and are getting rich over oil and the Middle East?. OPEC says demand for crude oil will slip in the industrialized nations next year if oil prices climb and are sustained above their current level. The warning Wednesday came as the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, supplier of about 35 percent of the world's crude, revised its 2010 global crude demand up to 85.07 million barrels per day 75,000 barrels per day higher than its assessment last month. OPEC said in its November report that if prices climb and are sustained at higher levels, it would result in a 1 percent decline in demand in industrialized nations.

sue.

Forced insurance was Mitt Romney's plan for Massachusetts.

guys like "UltraBob" really scare me. He seems to know what is best for all of us, as with any dictator. I treasure the freedom guarantees in the constitution. But they are being trampled by our politicians.

"Promote the general welfare" has almost nothing to do with individuals. "General" means "the nation", like Mormons use the word "General" authority meaning someone leading the whole church. The word "welfare" means "well-being" or "good condition," not hand-outs.

The 10th Amendment clearly limits Federal powers to those specifically enumerated. Health care and welfare are NOT enumerated.

Williams is right that Congress and the Obama administration routinely ignore the Constitution. Pelosi's dismissal of the question is good evidence of her contempt for the Constitution.

Williams is correct in his assessment. I can definately see that there are very few politicians in Washington that really care about the Constitution and what it stands for. They are continually doing whatever they can to create bigger federal government and minimize the state governments. This is all contrary to what the Founding Fathers had in mind for this country. Our current government has forgotten that it is the States that make up our country not the federal government. The States are supposed to have the powers to govern their own people with some support from the federal government, but not a total takeover. The governors of each state needs to make a stand against the federal government and take back their rights as guaranteed by the Constitution. We as citizens cannot continue to ignore these huge power grabs by the federal government that are slowly taking away our freedoms.

"Promote the general welfare" is a statement explaining the purposes of the enumerated powers in Article I section 8. But it is NOT a power in and unto itself. Nor can it be a source of legislation.

The argument about car insurance is non sequitur. States require car insurance, not the federal government. That is why different insurance laws apply in different states. States can require it under their state constitutions. And the 10th amendment to the federal constitution points that out.