Well its my second day blogging and I am writing one of those I probably wont be posting for a few days posts. Its the 4th of July weekend and things will probably be slow unless Lebron signs with the Knicks... But before I sign off to go BBQ etc a word about our founders.
For the past year or so there has been a group of people running around this country claiming to know what the founders thought when the embarked on the "great experiment" that became our nation.... Let me say this in no uncertain terms they have ignored a basic reason as to why we have a Constitution. The Constitution created by Madison, Hamilton, Jay and the other founders is a living breathing document designed to expand federal power. It took power away from states and local government and handed it to the feds. The reason for this was simple, the patchwork of laws created under the Articles of Confederation made it all but impossible to do business in the United States and one thing all the founders had in common was they wanted to do business.
So those people running around with tea bags stapled to their hats are greatly mistaken. The founders wanted the federal government to take a strong hand in commerce. Energy, banking and healthcare make up a large part of our economy. The federal government should create policy in those areas. We can disagree on what exactly the feds should or shouldn't do but it's the job of Congress and the President to set policy in these areas. A favorite chant of the tea-party set is to call President Obama and Congress Tyrants... Calling elected officials tyrants because they are doing what they said they would do when they were elected show a complete lack of understanding for what a tyrant is. They really should have watched the Tudors (Henry the VIII now he was a Tyrant (or maybe just a Despot but the show was great))or check out the definition at dictionary.com
Interesting point- but isn't the point of the Federalist Papers a basic argument about the *extent* of Federal versus State power? It's been a while since I've read them, so I could be remembering wrong.
ReplyDeleteNext time you're on SR- I'd like to toss in the topic of our incivility in politics spreading to the masses. I see more attempts to divide us along imaginary political lines than to join us along common needs and wants. Unfortunately, using scare and division politics then keeps us apart as communities and unable to sit and really discuss the differences rationally and find middle ground.
Besides which, I thought you majored in English.
Chris great points. The political discourse in this country has been on steady decline and there is a real lack of Comity among elected officials. As for the Federalist Papers, They were written to convince NY'ers of the benefits of a strong central government and a large republic. There is mention of states rights but in the end, Madison, Hamilton and Jay were true federalists and believed in centralized power. Oh and I majored in Political Science...
ReplyDelete