The Constitution Forbids It

The Constitution is clear where legislation must be proposed; the House of congress. Article I section VII and VIII make clear that the responsibility for legislation at the federal level is the responsibility of the House. The idea that federal bureaucracies can make “rules” that become laws that include punishment for breaking such laws, is unconstitutional. The EPA, FCC, FAA, and every one of the other thousand agencies have no authority to set laws for the states.

Let’s take for instance the EPA that has bankrupted farmers in California to “save” a small fish that finds its way into the irrigation system or the recent FCC ruling to start regulating the internet. Federal agencies have taken the legitimate role of oversight to the unconstitutional role of creating rules and laws that have squashed businesses creativity and ability to expand operations.

Some may argue that the congress has already legislated the rules and the bureaucracies are just enforcing the laws they have created but this is simply not true. The federal bureaucracies have been expanding their roles and creating what is ultimately legislation by implementing processes that end run the congress and the legitimate creation of law…

Through intimidation, increasing barriers to entry into an industry, by using faulty science, regulatory bodies have become de facto legislators. These bureaucracies are unaccountable to the people and are a great excuse for legislators that agree with their leftist agenda to hide behind for political cover. It is rule by tyranny. They set the rules and we have to abide by them. But where is their authority coming from?

There are many levels to pick this apart but the first level is the constitutionality of any of these bureaucracies. Where in the constitution is the authority to meddle in the internal states affairs regarding the work rules (OSHA), irrigation and water to farm (EPA), and the free and open market on the internet (FCC). The commerce clause is the left’s answer but the abuse of the commerce clause must come to an end. Precedence be damned. We must take every case individually and apply it to the original intent of the constitution.

The commerce clause was created to make commerce regular among the states. When goods were traded and transported between and through states, it was determined by our founders that the confidence and stability of clear standards of conduct was beneficial to the economy of the United States. Making the rules regular would encourage commerce and break down trade barriers among the states and the countries the United States traded with. It was not intended to determine the hours of labor a man worked in a factory or on a farm in any particular state. Our founders understood the power that a strong and vibrant private sector was for the strength of our country. They were the biggest promoters of private business and trade. It seems our representatives are the biggest roadblock to private enterprise and free trade. How times have changed.

Even if you could make a constitutional argument that any of these regulatory bodies have a role in one of the federally enumerated powers, it is still unconstitutional for congressional representatives to pass on responsibility of creating rules that are truly laws to any other government body. If we follow this logic we would have no constitutional republic. For example, Congress could simply pass a law that said all legislative powers are herby handed over to the Department of Energy for the good of the country when the matter is energy policy. Would this be allowed if this was stated outright? There would be outrage, I would think. The people would no longer be in control of their government, bureaucrats would be in control.

We have too many federal bureaucrats with too much control of our lives at the federal level. We have failed to defend the constitution, and in particular the Tenth Amendment. We have for too long accepted the trampling of our rights by overzealous central planners who were the intended target of our founders in the Constitution. It is not surprising that the same people that defend central planning believe the Constitution is a “living” document that must be open to interpretation of the most current circumstances of the people. It is not surprising that these central planners would like nothing more than to continue to ignore the intentions of our founders and the new Tea Party movement.

The Tea Party is made up of people that believe that words mean things and our Constitution is our guiding law that was intended to keep control with the people and the states. The Tea Party is a movement to educate and protect the founding principles that encourage private business and limit government interference. The fact that we have allowed the Constitution to be ignored and federal bureaucracies to expand is not an excuse to throw constitutional government away.

The Constitution is there to be defended and used to bring this country back to the miracle it once was. It is not too late to defend it or enforce it. But we must understand it. Presidents have used uncertainty and hard times as an excuse to ignore the Constitution. We must use uncertainty and hard times to re-establish the foundational principles to return to greatness…