Quotes: Federal Vs. State Governments

***Originally posted on 1/9/08***

Here are a group of quotes that I think are particularly appropriate as we get into the guts of the 2008 elections, where the role of federal government and state government is sure to be a centerpiece.

I think most Americans have very little understanding of how things were originally set up by the Founding Fathers, and why. Personally, I thought I had a good grasp of it, but until recently I actually didn't have a clue. I've often blogged about how liberals (primarily Democrats) want a large federal government with power centrally located (i.e. think 'universal' health care, mandatory insurance, etc.), whereas conservatives (primarily Republicans) want to see the power dispersed as much as possible to the people, which means in state governments, but I've never truly understood why. I'll post more on this in the next day or so, but for now, here are some quotes to get you thinking about the subject:



"The State governments possess inherent advantages, which will ever give them an influence and ascendancy over the National Government, and will for ever preclude the possibility of federal encroachments. That their liberties, indeed, can be subverted by the federal head, is repugnant to every rule of political calculation."

-- Alexander Hamilton --



"In each new Congress since 1995, Rep. John Shadegg (R-AZ) has introduced the Enumerated Powers Act (HR 1359). Simply put, if enacted, the Enumerated Powers Act would require Congress to specify the basis of authority in the U.S. Constitution for the enactment of laws and other congressional actions. HR 1359 has 28 co-sponsors in the House of Representatives. When Shadegg introduced the Enumerated Powers Act, he explained that the Constitution gives the federal government great, but limited, powers. Its framers granted Congress, as the central mechanism for protecting liberty, specific rather than general powers. The Constitution gives Congress 18 specific enumerated powers, spelled out mostly in Article 1, Section 8. The framers reinforced that enumeration by the 10th Amendment, which reads: 'The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved for the States respectively, or to the people.' Just a few of the numerous statements by our founders demonstrate that their vision and the vision of Shadegg's Enumerated Powers Act are one and the same. I salute the bravery of Rep. Shadegg and the 28 co-sponsors of the Enumerated Powers Act. They have a monumental struggle. Congress is not alone in its constitutional contempt, but is joined by the White House and particularly the constitutionally derelict U.S. Supreme Court."

-- Walter Williams --



Once you become a liberal, you can wax eloquent on the glories of the public schools while sending your kids to private school. You can wax prolix about the greedy rich while making a fortune on the side. You can even use the government to impose your values willy-nilly, from racial quotas and confiscatory tax rates to draconian environmental policies and sex-ed for grade-schoolers—all of which will paid for in part by people who disagree with you."

- Jonah Goldberg --

Posted by Heavy-Handed Politics