State's Rights Redux

On January 20, 2009 either John McCain or Barack Obama will take an oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States. Wouldn't it be nice if someone would ask each candidate if they stand by the long forgotten 10th amendment?

"The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited it by the states, are reserved to the states respectively or to the people."

There can be no doubt what this means. The powers of the federal government are delegated in the Constitution, period. What the Constitution does not specifically list as a power of the federal government belongs to the States and the people. Only someone with a Harvard law degree can turn this into something else.

The Constitution specifically lays out the powers of the U.S. government, and then, in the Bill of Rights, we are assured in the 10th amendment that the federal government can do no more. This is connected to the basic premise of our republic--that government is created by the consent of the governed to protect rights given to them, not by man, but by God himself. The Constitution, therefore, is document of the people consenting to be governed by a set of rules to protect their God-given rights. It is not, as Obama and other liberals believe, a "living, breathing document" that changes at the whims of each generation to mold it and shape it as it sees fit. The Constitution gives a method to change if needed. This is what we call the amendment process. It allows the governed to consent to changes to the document. Liberals prefer to hide under the guise of "judicial activism".

What did our founders think? Better yet, what did the one person who was most responsible for our Constitution think? Read the words of James Madison:

"The powers delegated by the...Constitution to the federal government are few and defined. Those which are to remain in the State governments are numerous and indefinite. The former will be exercised principally on external objects, as war, peace, negotiation, and foreign commerce...The powers reserved to the several states will extend to all objects which, in the ordinary course of affairs, concern the lives, liberties, and property of the people and internal order, improvement, and prosperity of the states." (Madison, Federalist #45)

Everything that Obama plans to do involves increasing the role of our already over bloated federal government. My guess is that 95% of all the federal government is involved in cannot stand up to the requirements clearly listed in the 10th amendment. The same can be said for McCain as well, unfortunately. Both candidates see a strong role for the federal government. The difference is that Obama is traveling at top speed toward socialism, while McCain is merely going the speed limit. Both, however are traveling in the same direction.

How can a government so involved in our personal lives and other extra constitutional roles truly function well at its main role as stated by the constitution which is to protect its citizens from enemies abroad and within?

The destruction of rights and freedoms don't always come at the hands of angry dictators. It can also come with a smile.