The
concentration of government power in America has two distinct aspects.
The first and most familiar aspect is the disintegration of state
government sovereignty. Senators, once chosen by state legislatures,
are now directly elected by voters, stripping from legislatures the
power to block congressional legislation and presidential appointments
which compromise states' rights. The federal bench has interpreted the
Constitution so that the "General Welfare Clause" of Article I allows
Congress the authority to do almost anything.
This destruction of federalism -- that balance of federal and state power which was the salient issue at our Constitutional Convention -- has destroyed the principal tool which citizens have to prevent government in America from becoming oppressive, unresponsive, and bullying. This ought to inspire all Americans who care about individual liberty to seek the dismantlement of every federal program which is not clearly within the intention of Article I, to dissolve the quasi-legislative independent regulatory agencies which act as a fourth branch of government, and to strip from federal courts the self-invested power to effectively legislate.
This destruction of federalism -- that balance of federal and state power which was the salient issue at our Constitutional Convention -- has destroyed the principal tool which citizens have to prevent government in America from becoming oppressive, unresponsive, and bullying. This ought to inspire all Americans who care about individual liberty to seek the dismantlement of every federal program which is not clearly within the intention of Article I, to dissolve the quasi-legislative independent regulatory agencies which act as a fourth branch of government, and to strip from federal courts the self-invested power to effectively legislate.
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