Phil Hare is Not Worried About the Constitution
Hot Air's Allahpundit pounced.
"Note well: He doesn't mean 'I don't worry about it because I've studied the Commerce Clause and I'm confident we'll win in court.' When pressed, he flatly says he doesn't know which part of the Constitution justifies the law, which is his way of saying he doesn't care and hasn't thought about it. In fact, the best he can do by way of legal authority is to cite life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness - which of course comes from the Declaration of Independence. His response, when corrected? 'Doesn't matter to me. Either one.'
This is yet another example of the political gaffe that consists of telling the truth when one really ought not to do so. When the YouTube of Phil Hare saying these things went viral, Phil Hare cut a YouTube video of his own explaining what he really meant. No, he explained, I really meant to say that health care reform, in my opinion, will pass Constitutional muster otherwise I would never have voted for it.
That remains to be seen, as the matter is being litigated in the courts. But Phil Hare's original statement, before he revised and extended his remarks, illustrates the attitude of too many politicians toward the dictates of the Constitution, which is filled with admonishments about what the government can't do. To politicians like Phil Hare, what is Constitutional is not so much what is written and the meaning of what is written, but what politicians like Phil Hare think they can get away with.
Note also that the tendency is bi-partisan. John McCain still likes to justify campaign finance reform, even though it is in clear violation of the First Amendment, the Supreme Court notwithstanding.
Mind, part of the problem is that people keep being elected to the Congress who know nothing about what is in the Constitution or, conversely, know a lot the better to find ways around it. A true representative of the people in our Democratic Republic would use the Constitution as a cleric would use the Bible, to judge every line of proposed legislation and then be proactive in making sure that anything that passed adheres to what the Founders, who were much wiser than most people even in the 18th Century, clearly meant. Sadly there are few enough in the Congress in the 21st Century who are able to do that.
Sources: Illinois Democrat on O-Care: "I don't worry about the Constitution on this", Allahpundit, Hot Air, April 1st, 2010
Phil Hare Revises and Extends His Remarks on the Constitution and Health Care Reform, YouTube, April 2nd, 2010
Published by Mark Whittington
Mark R. Whittington is a writer residing in Houston, Texas. He is the author of The Last Moonwalker, Children of Apollo, Dark Sanction, and Nocturne. He has written numerous articles, some for the Washington... View profile
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5 Comments
Post a Comment(con't) that last great Texas president, Texas' gift to the nation and the world, George "W" Bush, who got us into 2 wars and drove the economy into critis. When a smart Harvard grad comes along and tries to "fix" the problems "W" created, the opponents decide they won't play nice (or at all) and he has been too willing to meet with and listen to these unreasonable folk. At least there is SOME good news today: Tom DeLay could spend the rest of his life in prison. Hopefully, he will take Newt with him, he of the 22 bounced checks. President Newt or President Palin are 2 very scary thoughts, and with Deep Thinkers like the Tea Party group coming in, Heaven Help Us All!
(con't) serve our country. The current tactic on the Republican side seems to be to be as uncooperative as possible in order to keep anything from getting done or fixed, and then to blame the incumbent president when he runs in 2012. This is the counter-productive strategy known as "cutting off your nose to spite your face" when my mother used the term, in the years I was being brought up to be polite and carefully think through a candidate's positions on issues. This article does not mention the stands on issues like a woman's right to choose (the Republican Tea Party candidate has 10 kids and is leaving them all home with the wife as he leaves for Congress); he is endorsed by Glenn Beck; he is a "Republican Young Gun" (and, yes, he is totally pro guns), endorsed by Joe the Plumber (like THAT makes for a good endorsement) and has very old-fashioned backwards stands on the environment and clean energy. It's almost like stepping back to the days of &q
Mr. Whittington lives in Texas. He does not live in Illinois' 17th Congressional District, as I do. His bias clearly shows and the snippet of video goes a long way towards explaining why our campaigns get dirtier and dirtier every day, The Tea Party folk questioning Congressman Hare are obviously trying to 'catch him out" by harassing and insulting his attempts to answer their pointed and incredibly rude questions. Then, the remarks are taken (the video operator even says, "Jackpot!") taken out of context, blown up into something they were not (a la Dr. Howard Dean's 'scream heard round the world') and used against the candidate who, I do believe, had read the Health Care bill 3 times. The Health Care bill may not be perfect, but it's the first time that ANY President has gotten anything done to stop insurance companies from refusing care to those with pre-existing conditions, etc. It's a wonder that ANYONE of either party steps forward to ser
How can someone like that become one of 435 out of 300 million?
We, the electorate have to be wiser in our selections at the polls.