Scott Brown’s victory inspires confidence that no campaign is hopeless for a candidate willing to take a principled stand, maintain a simple and direct message, and reject the preconceptions of conventional wisdom.
Such inspiration matters to those of us who struggle against the preconceptions that the Constitution doesn’t mean what the words of the document clearly state, that no aspect of our public or private lives is exempted from federal regulation, and that state sovereignty is an outdated historical irrelevancy.
Amid all of this electoral euphoria, however, tenth amendment supporters should be careful not to assume that changing faces in Washington will secure our constitutional guarantees of state sovereignty.
Much as he or she might agree with the principles articulated in the tenth amendment, there is little incentive for a senator or congressman in Washington to support policies that restrain federal over-governance. Quite the contrary, there are tremendous pressures for each legislator to fight for his or her state’s place at the federal trough, delivering the goods by “bringing home the bacon”.
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