Quotes On Congress And 'We The People'

I thought these two quotes were worth passing along:

"Every president, every senator, every member of Congress and every Supreme Court justice takes an oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States. The way some of them behave, though, you have to wonder if they've ever read it. The Constitution is clear and understandable. It gives Congress, the legislative branch, the responsibility of passing our laws. It gives the president, head of the executive branch, the responsibility of enforcing those laws. And it gives the courts, headed by the Supreme Court, the responsibility of interpreting them. Yet in recent years, leaders of all three branches have expressed confusing—and incorrect—ideas about the Constitution... Members of all three branches of our government should do some light reading this summer, and refresh themselves on their proper roles. After all, you can't uphold what you don't understand."
-- Ed Feulner --

This is very true!  I don't recall the name of the guy at the moment, but there's a member of the House (a Republican, naturally) who introduces a bill with every session that would require all legislation to cite the specific section(s) of the U.S. Constitution which authorize that legislation.  It fails miserably every time.  This is because most of our politicians realize that most of what they do isn't specifically authorized in the Constitution.  To shed the kind of light on their practices that that bill would provide would be to remove most of their current activities and ***GASP!*** force them to get back to representing 'we the people'.

"I have always believed that America is strongest and freest and happiest when it is truest to the wisdom of its Founders. In Federalist 45, James Madison wrote that 'The powers delegated by the Constitution to the Federal Government are few and defined. Those which are to remain in the State Government are numerous and indefinite.' Or to put it another way, 'We the People.' As long as we remember these words—'We the People' —and make them our guide, so long as we remember that America has always drawn its inspiration from the people and has always been governed best when governed most by those governments closest to the people, America will remain strong and free, the envy of the world."
-- Ronald Reagan --

Once again, this is probably the most critical difference between liberalism and conservatism.  Where does the power lie: in the people or in the state?  Liberals always want the power to be placed in the state through control...control of money through taxation, control of actions through regulation, control of basic life necessities through universal health care and education, and even control of what can be said through measures like the Fairness Doctrine.  Modern day liberalism is actually very similar to the Stalinist tactics of decades ago, isn't it?

Hmmm...

There's my two cents.