A pretty obvious title for regular readers of this blog. But, good nonetheless. We’re grateful for the editors over at the Lexington Herald-Leader for giving some op-ed space to Kentucky TAC coordinator Michael Maharrey, and in limited space, I think he put together a fantastic article. Here’s an excerpt:

Progressives argue that the power to regulate interstate commerce grants Congress sweeping authority to regulate virtually everything, including health care. This represents a gross misunderstanding of what the framers meant by interstate commerce and the reason they included such power.

The framers granted Congress authority to regulate interstate commerce to prevent states from imposing tariffs on one another, thus inhibiting trade. It was never intended as a positive power, allowing Congress to implement regulations on things like health care.

James Madison, known as the father of the Constitution, made this clear: “It is very certain that [the commerce clause] grew out of the abuse of the power by the importing States in taxing the non-importing, and was intended as a negative and preventive provision against injustice among the States themselves, rather than as a power to be used for the positive purposes of the General Government.”

Read more: http://www.kentucky.com/2010/10/18/1484200/health-care-plan-violates-10th.html

Michael Boldin