Fresh from Michele Malkin's blog, Doug Powers gives us the low down.
Another Day, Another Congressional Constitutional Scholar
Good God.By Doug Powers • January 20, 2011 02:02 PM**Written by Doug Powers
A recent poll found that the general public knows more about the Constitution than elected officials, and one Congressman is on a mission to validate the poll’s findings:
Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) believes the Constitution justifies Obamacare’s mandate that people must buy health insurance. According to him, the Constitution’s reference to the “pursuit of happiness” specifically justifies that mandate. There’s just one problem, the pursuit of happiness isn’t in the Constitution.
“Well, when you start off with the Preamble of the Constitution, you talk about the pursuit of happiness,” Lewis told CNS News regarding the mandate’s justification. ”You go to the 14th Amendment–it’s equal protection under the law and we have not repealed the 14th Amendment. People have a right to have health care. It’s not a privilege but a right.”
The “pursuit of happiness” is of course from the Declaration. If Lewis would have first checked with his colleagues he would have known that the Preamble of the Constitution is the one that starts with “My country tis of thee…”
**Written by Doug Powers
Twitter @ThePowersThatBe
People like this guide the destiny of this country?
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And just for the trivia value - it was Ben Franklin who changed "property" to "pursuit of happiness" while he was editing the Declaration.
ReplyDeleteAnd let us not forget, anyway, that the Preamble is merely an introduction, laying out the purpose of the ensuing framework of rules.
ReplyDeleteIf an Employee Handbook has a little introduction that says that one of the purposes of the handbook is the 'betterment of employees,' does that mean that anything goes, as long as it can be construed as being for the 'betterment of employees?'
Of course not. So it rankles when federal politicians cite the Preamble as justification for what they do - even when they cite it correctly!
Right on all points, Martin and Michael.
ReplyDeleteTea Partiers are saying no spending option is off the table and their direct aim is at the defense department too.
ReplyDeleteLong but good AP article:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110123/ap_on_re_us/us_tea_party_defense_cuts
And there is some congressional references in it too.
Kelly, here is another one. A short from an interview between Katie Couric & Allen West that you have shown on your blog.
ReplyDeleteIts about 90 seconds but it is good! Its basically about the fate of the Tea Party in congress according to Allen's assessment.
http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7217190n