Every day the minority leader of the US Senate, Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY), tweets out a message about President Donald Trump failing to implement a national testing strategy to combat the Chinese virus pandemic.
And every day my usual response goes something like this:
Apparently, Schumer has never read the US Constitution, something he took an oath to defend.
I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God. [emphasis added]
To support the US Constitution, especially for an elected Senator, means that you will abide by the limitations of power found inside the Constitution, and you will not argue for extra powers for the federal government that are not in the Constitution, unless you are in a Congressional session arguing for an Amendment to the Constitution, which is a path our Founding Fathers gave us for the federal government to ask the States for the permission to take said power away from them. That’s what the Amendment process is for, because outside of the 18 powers listed for the federal government, the States have every other power, even those that were not thought of yet. Donald Trump understands this, why can’t Schumer and others who have been in DC for decades?
And we don’t accept an argument like “well, this is the way things have been for so long…” That argument says that even though a political practice has been unconstitutional for a long time, because it’s been done for a long time, it’s okay. That’s asinine. The Constitution is still the Constitution, even in 2020, and surprising as it may be, the federal government does not have the almighty powers they want you to believe they do. That’s not the way the Constitution was crafted.
Don’t believe me? Read what James Madison, who scholars refer to as the Father of the Constitution, had to say about the powers of the federal government vs the States.
Among other things, Madison wrote in Federalist 45:
“The powers delegated by the proposed 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; with which last the power of taxation will, for the most part, be connected. The powers reserved to the several States will extend to all the objects which, in the ordinary course of affairs, concern the lives, liberties, and properties of the people, and the internal order, improvement, and prosperity of the State.
The operations of the federal government will be most extensive and important in times of war and danger; those of the State governments, in times of peace and security. As the former periods will probably bear a small proportion to the latter, the State governments will here enjoy another advantage over the federal government. The more adequate, indeed, the federal powers may be rendered to the national defense, the less frequent will be those scenes of danger which might favor their ascendancy over the governments of the particular States.”
Notice how Madison says that the powers to the federal government are few and defined while every other power will go to the States and are numerous and indefinite.
Madison even gets into examples for the federal government and the States. For example, he says “The former will be exercised principally on external objects,” which means that the federal government will only deal with nationhood issues. He goes on to give the examples of this such as “war, peace, negotiation, and foreign commerce.” These are issues of nationhood that the Founders didn’t want the States to be fighting over between themselves.
The future 4th President of the United States went on to mention the issues that the States will handle, being “all the objects which, in the ordinary course of affairs, concern the lives, liberties, and properties of the people, and the internal order, improvement, and prosperity of the State.” That means EVERYTHING else that is not specifically enumerated (that means numbered for those of you who claim to be liberals).
This means that whenever the federal government wanted to give itself a power that wasn’t already listed (enumerated) in the Constitution it needed to go through the Amendment process. And we used to do that, until the Progressive movement took hold at the very end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th century.
The 10th Amendment was written based on ideas related by Madison in Federalist 45.
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.
It’s as plain as day, is it not?
The ignorance of Democrats and how our government was designed by the Founders denies belief in a Benevolent Being. There should be a class at the beginning of every Congress that reminds those about to be sworn in what the Constitution means, what powers are divided up between the States and the federal government, and how complaining that the president of the United States not having a national testing strategy is an ignorant political ploy.
For that matter, not a single politician or lawyer can tell me where the provision inside the Constitution is that gives the authority to a president to force all American citizens to wear a mask. We just had Joe Biden claim that if elected, he will create a mandatory mask program that will affect everyone. And he would not have the authority to do it.
If Schumer or any of the other Democrats blaming President Trump for the pandemic ever read the Constitution he would know that the federal government does not have the power to create a national testing strategy. The Democrats and some RINO, Trump-hating Republicans, even told the president that he didn’t have the right to invoke the National Emergency Act. Remember when Trump invoked the National Emergency Act to build a border wall for national security and the Congress voted against it, even though numerous presidents have used it numerous times in the past?
Chuck Schumer’s own governor, Andrew Cuomo, has said on numerous occasions that the president cannot tell us when to open our state. Cuomo and other Democrat governors have cried “10th Amendment!” and “federalism!” to tell Trump he cannot order them to open up their businesses and to lift the lockdowns. And the thing about it is, the president hasn’t even tried. He simply gave his opinion. He never attempted to force States to do anything.
Democrat governors and mayors have also told the president that he did not have the authority to send federal law enforcement agents into cities and States, when he clearly does for things like protecting federal property and enforcing federal laws. But Democrat leaders have made a real spectacle of standing up with fists in the air on television defying a president has done nothing wrong, and accusing him of attempting things he hasn’t attempted.
The polling must be really bad for the Democrats, because as of this writing, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi just gave a speech where she FINALLY said that Democrats do not support looting, starting fires or riots. And she acted like it was the Republicans who were supporting riots and looting and violence all along. She went on to say that she was making a distinction between supporting peaceful protesters and rioters, and claimed the Republicans in Congress are the ones who don’t understand that. Then she said a poll came out today saying that the American people trust Congressional Democrats more than President Trump when it comes to dealing with crime. She didn’t provide any evidence that such a poll exists, but these days Democrats don’t have to provide proof of anything they say.
She went on to say that the Democratic nominee Joe Biden made the distinction very clearly. Biden remained silent for months, and only came out to condemn the violence when the polls starting showing the American people had had enough. The same goes for why Pelosi pulled this stunt today.
WATCH:
It was only two months ago that Pelosi responded to a question of what did she think about the toppling of a statue of Christopher Columbus by saying with a cavalier attitude, “People will do what they do.”
WATCH:
For goodness’ sake, Biden’s running mate Kamala Harris (D-CA) said that the protests (read riots) were not going to stop and that they shouldn’t. She never recognized the violence, the rioting, the looting. She is one of those on the Left who continues to call them peaceful protests. She even gave praise to Black Lives Matter, saying that some of the criminal justice reform we have achieved recently would not have been possible with them. This woman is a radical leftist who shouldn’t even be allowed near the White House.
WATCH:
As you sit back and take in everything that’s happened in this country since March, with lockdowns, business shutdowns, mandatory mask orders, riots, statues being toppled and businesses looted and burned to the ground, just remember that Donald Trump did not lock down a single person or family, didn’t shut down a single business or force a single person to wear a mask. And yet, the Democrats want him to have all the responsibility for the Chinese virus pandemic.
Trump has adhered to the Constitution and the rule of law and has state ad nauseam that the States have to ask for federal help before he can send federal agents in to help them stop riots. While the Democrats blame Trump for everything, they have controlled all the power in their respective States and they have all the responsibility for what has happened in their States, and it’s high time people start letting their elected representatives know that they are sick and tired of blaming the president for things he has no authority to do, while they shirk their own responsibilities to protect their own residents, be it the virus pandemic, looting, riots, or draconian lockdowns that are designed to make people pissed off at the president and vote against him.
Rich is syndicated opinion columnist for David Harris Jr. and owner of Maga-Chat.com. He writes about politics, culture, liberty and faith.
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Awesome Article!!!!!!! So well written and explained!!!! Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks for the kind words, Candace.
Slow Joe’s ads in the Twin Cities blame him for all the virus deaths, yet over and over the Dim governors tell him to step off because he has no power in their state. It doesn’t matter though. The low IQ types here will nod their vacant heads in unison and chant, “orange man bad!”
big thanks, well written,, will pass this around to all the young ones I know that do Not understand any of this!