In deference to America’s veterans on their official Day – God bless you all, thank you VERY much – let’s look at our nation’s cold civil war.
To quote Robert Shaw from “The Sting”:
“Temperatures are running a little high.”
Just about the only portion of Barack Obama’s legacy still standing – is the heightened anger of the radical Left.
Since Donald Trump began erasing Obama by almost single-handedly implementing a less government revolution – Obama’s Leftist supporters have been more and more turning their anger into violent action.
The Left didn’t even wait for Trump to be sworn in – they rioted, injured cops, burned cars and smashed store fronts on Inauguration Day.
It’s only gotten worse, and worse, and WORSE – ever since.
Our cold civil war has been brewing for at least a half century – since the very awful 1960s. When the radical Left began its march through our institutions – ultimately, totally conquering government primary and secondary schools, colleges and universities, the media on all fronts, Hollywood and the Silicon Valley.
Government schools indoctrinate the radicals – colleges activate them. And these new young radicals are amply augmented in their anger by the Leftist news, technology, movies and music with which they are inundated.
The Left has also totally taken over the Democrat Party. The national committee – is now run by an avowed Communist.
The Left has totally taken over the Democrat Party – because their voting base is made up of radical Leftists. And because the Party’s mega donors – George Soros, Tom Steyer, Michael Bloomberg, et al – are all radical Leftists.
A key fuel for the Left’s fire – is nigh everything is now political. And nigh everything is now political – because governments everywhere are so huge…they are involved in nigh everything.
Our entire economy – is $21 trillion per annum. The federal government all by its onesies – spends $4 trillion per annum. And in Obama’s last year in office – The Feds regulated at a cost of $2 trillion per annum.
Meaning The Feds alone control – nearly one-third of everything We the People do. State and local governments – spend $3 trillion per year more. And regulate even more.
Of course nigh everything is political. Because nigh everything bumps up against our massive governments. You can’t turn around in an elevator without hitting at least two governmental entities in the process.
The Founding Fathers wrote our Constitution – as the antithesis to all of this. They bequeathed us a small, delimited and delineated federal government. And left the vast majority of our collective decisions – to be made by the states and the People.
In no small part because the Founders knew different people in different parts of America – would live very differently. So they should make most of their collective decisions – locally. Separate and apart from the other, very different parts of America.
The Left certainly recognizes our regional differences. They criss-cross the nation on their private jets – flying between the politically ridiculous coasts. And the hundreds of millions of people in between – live in what they disparagingly call “fly-over country.”
The Founders knew this would happen. Thomas Jefferson duly noted:
“When we get piled upon one another in large cities, as in Europe, we shall become as corrupt as Europe.”
More than two hundred years later – Jefferson’s logic still stands. The Bandit – in “Smokey and the Bandit” – rightly observed:
“When you tell somebody something, it depends on what part of the country you’re standing in – as to just how dumb you are.”
The Founders inculcated us from the potential political problems this could cause – by limiting what government can do.
It worked great – until the Left started totally ignoring the Constitution. And demanding government get involved in everything.
Much of this government-overreach-tension – is exhibited in the cultural front of our cold civil war.
The Constitution demands the dramatic cultural differences between our different regions – be entirely left alone by government.
The First Amendment specifically prohibits government from any infringement upon the right of the People to assemble – or not assemble – any way they wish.
Which means a baker in San Francisco, California – can decide to make a homosexual wedding cake. And a baker in Lakewood, Colorado – can decide not to do so.
And both are supposed to be completely free from government interference or imposition in so doing. These are their private businesses – they are free to assemble them any way they wish.
If you were to exhume and revive anyone who helped found our nation – and explain to them government had forced the declining baker to knuckle under and bake anyway – you’d have on your hands an inordinately angry Founder.
He’d be throwing flour in the Snake River – and incepting another revolution. And asking all of us for what the hell we’ve been waiting.
This government-overreach-tension – also arises in the economic front of our cold civil war.
The Founders ensconced in the Constitution the Commerce Clause:
“[The Congress shall have Power] To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes.”
The purpose – was to have one voice when negotiating economics internationally. The Feds – in one voice – negotiate with the likes of Britain, Brazil and Bahrain.
The purpose – was to prohibit states from acting unilaterally to prohibit commerce:
“For the first century of our history, the primary use of the Clause was to preclude the kind of discriminatory state legislation that had once been permissible.”
Like everything else in the Constitution – the Commerce Clause was written to limit government. Which worked wonders. Until, again, the Left started wholly ignoring the Constitution:
“Then…Congress ‘ushered in a new era of federal regulation under the commerce power,’ beginning with the enactment of the Interstate Commerce Act in 1887 and the Sherman Antitrust Act in 1890.”
Told you this heinousness predated the very awful 1960s.
We are so far afield from where we are supposed to be – we get idiotic things like:
California Passes Far-Reaching Net Neutrality Rules
Vermont Takes Action on Net Neutrality
Net Neutrality is very stupid World Wide Web Policy. Get that? WORLD Wide Web.
Which means it’s a purview of the FEDERAL government. Per the Commerce Clause. The Congress passes our Internet laws – and negotiates with foreign nations how our Web interacts with theirs.
California and Vermont – have passed discriminatory state legislation. Which is specifically prohibited by the Constitution – per the Commerce Clause.
If you want Net Neutrality on the World Wide Web – you have to have the federal government do it. Not states. Per the Constitution.
Oh – and the federal government can’t impose Net Neutrality either.
Because the Constitution limits and delineates what the federal government can do.
And there is nothing therein remotely close to empowering the federal government to impose Net Neutrality.
If the Left would return to adherence to the Constitution – and its limits on government – our cold civil war would very, VERY quickly end.
Tensions will ebb – when governments everywhere give us a little more elbow room.
The federal government needs to weigh in on MUCH less.
And regional governments need to not overreach. Either by trying to nationalize regional desires – or by infringing upon federal purview.
That’s the simple answer.
Unfortunately, it ain’t an easy one.
This first appeared in Red State.