The vertical separation of powers: Good for all

By Robert S. Sargent Jr.
web posted March 29, 2004

During, and since the presidency of Franklin Roosevelt, the
Democratic Party has sought to further its agenda at the federal
level. Through the use of the Commerce Clause and the General
Welfare Clause of our Constitution, the U.S. Congress has
successfully convinced the Supreme Court that almost any law
they pass should be approved. What the left couldn't link to
commerce, the Supreme Court linked to "found" rights not
enumerated in the Constitution. Today we find most policy issues
fought out at the federal level making one code for the whole
country. Hence, the very high stakes we find for every issue from
abortion to gay rights to doctor-assisted suicide. It's simply one
way or the other.

Coming before the President, which he has sworn he'll sign, is a
bill, the Unborn Victims of Violence Act which will make it a
crime, in federal matters, to injure or kill a fetus. Instead of one,
now there will be two victims.

This law, passed by big margins in both Houses, has alarmed
pro-choice groups. They have reason to be alarmed. When a
fetus is recognized as a "person," the reasons for Roe v. Wade
start getting chipped away. When this happens, one can see the
evolution of a federal code which outlaws any harm done to a
fetus, including abortion. If the left insists on fighting everything at
the federal level, they will die at the federal level. How do I think
the left should fight their agendas? Join us Constitutional-
Conservatives (Con-Cons) in insisting that our Constitution be
upheld in its original meaning, which includes a vertical separation
of powers (between the federal and state governments.)

By returning public policy issues to the states to decide, as our
Constitution mandates, the liberal agenda will be protected from
interference by the federal government. There will always be
states that are liberal, but under our Constitution, even the most
right-wing federal government couldn't interfere with those states
that have policies they don't agree with.

One of the main objections of Con-Cons is that the democratic
process is bypassed when policy is decided by the Courts or by
a central Congress. If the left doesn't want to happen to them
what's been happening to the right since FDR's days, they should
take a second look at the vertical separation of powers in the
Constitution. The Unborn Victims of Violence Act should be a
wake up call.

Robert S. Sargent, Jr. is a senior writer with Enter Stage Right
and can be reached at rssjr@citcom.net.

Enter Stage Right -- http://www.enterstageright.com