Please, tell it like it is -- we're adults

http://theamericanscene.com/2010/12/16/standing-up-for-limits-on-the-commerce-clause

Allow me to attempt an explication of what bothers me about Conor Friedersdorf's response to Jonathan Chait regarding the individual mandate for healthcare insurance, conservative hypocrisy and the Constitution. Chait criticized Republicans for opposing the mandate when they have supported such mandates in the past. Conor is right that conservative hypocrisy is one thing but the issue remains whether the mandate is unconstitutional. It's Conor's response here that troubles me:

If the Obama Administration’s health care reform bill stands, I do not imagine that America is going to cease to be free, or that a decisive blow in the battle between capitalism and socialism will have been struck. Although I would’ve preferred different variations on health care reform, I am not even expert enough to know for sure whether they’d have been more successful.

What does worry me is the notion that the federal government is no longer an entity of enumerated powers – that a limit on its scope purposefully established by the Founders no longer exists. It used to be a check and balance. Is it now completely gone?

If Judge Hudson’s ruling is upheld, I’ll celebrate not because I fear Obamacare – I’m cynical enough to suspect that whatever came next might well make me even worse off – but because a limit on federal power that I care about generally has been re-asserted.

Should his ruling be overturned, I’ll be disappointed because the precedent troubles me: if the commerce clause can prevent me from growing marijuana in my backyard and mandate that I buy a particular kind of health insurance that covers far more than emergency room care, what Congressional action can’t it cover? You’d think from Chait’s post that liberals never approach matters of constitutional law in this way, looking past the utility in a given policy area to ask what the long term implications are for state power.

Why wouldn't a decision to uphold the mandate signal decisively that we are no longer free? If government can basically regulate any area of our lives, isn't this justification for strong language and a clear delineation between freedom and tryanny? Chait called this type of language "hysterical" and Conor was trying to avoid "hysteria" -- but why allow Chait to set the terms for disagreement. This mild, measured response from Conor is indicative of an underlying lack of urgency regarding State power -- it's simply a mild statement of preference. Regardless of what the No Labels movement or centrists in general say about over-heated rhetoric, these issues require language which clearly makes distinctions and addresses the seriousness of losing freedom.

In the comment section, Noah Millman makes the claim that the Constitution is just a piece of paper and what is important is the separation of powers -- so, don't worry, even if government has all this power, it'll be worked out by the three branches. It's this type of apathetic disregard for limitations on government power which should cause all of us, including Conor in his cool rational center and concern to not be hysterical, to state the position of freedom in the strongest terms possible. Even if Conor was being a little sarcastic about "hysteria", he still failed to use language that addresses the real danger of statism -- the loss of freedom requires a spirited defense, and I've noticed that many current thinkers like Conor are concerned with what others think about the depth of their convictions, which is odd. Why is it now uncool to have deep convictions and to express them in strong language appropriate to the gravitas of the issue. I understand how someone expressing strong convictions could be seen as a hypocrite if they have held opposing positions shortly before with no explanation of enlightened conversion, but Conor says he's concerned about what can't be covered by Congressonal action if the mandate is allowed, but also says he does not "imagine that America is going to cease to be free". Perhaps Conor needs to work on his imagination, because I can imagine a government with unlimited powers, all three branches, killing freedom for good. I have no problem calling this government socialism, or worse.

Comments

[Diet Plans for Women]

Hypocrisy and politics go hand in hand whether it be conservative or liberal. It's part of the reason trust in politicians is at an all-time low.