25 comments on “Republican Reading of the Constitution”

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  Ahzpayne

  January 11, 2011 at 10:22 pm

  @megagagnon1 “decentralized power, strong states, which brought unparalleled prosperity to the US in the 19th century”? of course all this happened with a workforce that was essentially slave labor. chinese. irish. pol. all brought in by the boatload with no concern for their wealth or well-being. because in THAT america the best way to avoid excessive labor costs is to just have them die on the job. america was and is a nation built on the backs of those willing to do the most for the least

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  NOBS4321

  January 11, 2011 at 11:03 pm

  Justification : –“ … because it was impossible for the founders to anticipate all future exigencies”- Alexander Hamilton. The writers of the Constitution could not envision – multinational corporate oligarchies, Imperialistic [miltary industrial whores], necessary food and medicine laws, etc. But had the humility and wisdom to admit it; and allow US to adapt to it !
  –
  “ And “ – What ever is – Necessary and proper – to legislate for : General Welfare, Life , Liberty, property …

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  NOBS4321

  January 11, 2011 at 11:30 pm

  …
  Been settled law for over 200 years …
  Articles of Confederation did not include it; the Constitution does.
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  Foolish prattle … by a few – to grab power/wealth ! Epitome of voting against –“one’s best interest-“ …
  And you are ignoring that, they are manipulating – for their own PARTISAN POWER, financial and business benefit
  [push comes to shove – the majority are being screwed by it] by –“the real tyranny”- of the oligarchy !
  Cont

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  NOBS4321

  January 12, 2011 at 12:22 am

  colossus48 –“Foregoing powers don’t give the power to CREATE NEW legislation … “all other powers vested by this Constitution…”-
  –
  Since you conveniently dropped the “ and “ [conjunction – conjoining; combination] – “it almost”- makes you phony claim seem viable.
  And ignored the explanation : generally referred to as -‘Implied Powers’-
  … General Welfare, Life , Liberty, property …
  –
  Media driven – premise -‘fuck the majority …. favor the minority’- !
  Cont

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  colossus48

  January 12, 2011 at 1:13 am

  @NOBS4321

  Foregoing powers don’t give the power to CREATE NEW legislation, they are only powers to legislate over what is specifically mentioned in the US Constitution. General Welfare & Common Defense is Article 1 Section 8, and nothing more.

  “all other powers vested by this Constitution…”
  WHAT POWERS? WHERE IN THE CONSTITUTION? ARTICLE 1 SECTION 8, that is where…

  Why would the founding fathers give the US Congress the power of tyranny?

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  73849309378

  January 12, 2011 at 1:13 am

  @exenrontexas Thanks for that insight and revelations. It’s like a pattern with the neocons…it gets clearer when you think about it. And most all of them walk in lock step. Like a bunch of mindless drones with one central agenda. I’ve been listening to Thom on his daily radio show (along with the preceding Ed Schultz Show and the following Norman Goldman Show) and I’ve learned a lot from him.

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  exenrontexas

  January 12, 2011 at 1:47 am

  @73849309378 Prescott BUSH’s business partner was Fritz Thyseen who was the German industrialist who financed Hitler’s rise to power. The NEOCONS have continued the plan today under Bush 43 by starting unwinnable wars against the wrong countries draining the US treasury without raising taxes like every OTHER president had to pay for their wars and handing out hundreds of billions to his main supporters.

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  exenrontexas

  January 12, 2011 at 2:24 am

  @73849309378 The Republican fascist plot occurred in 1934 as a right wing reaction to the so-called socialist programs of FDR intended to turn the country around. It was those same fascists that plunged America into the Great Depression and they did NOT want the country to recover with democracy still intact much like Germany a few years before. The plotters were JP Morgan, the DuPont, Goodyear & Remington families and Prescott BUSH…all war mongers. Gen. Butler’s testimony is here on youtube

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  73849309378

  January 12, 2011 at 2:33 am

  @exenrontexas I never heard that one before but it comes as no surprise. “The liberty of democracy is not safe if the people tolerate the growth of private power to a point where it becomes stronger than the democratic state itself. That, in essence, is FASCISM –ownership of government by an individual, by a group or by any controlling private power. ” —FDR

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  exenrontexas

  January 12, 2011 at 2:34 am

  @megagagnon1 Decentralized fragmented governments are easier to overthrow. THAT is the GOP goal. Was it Lee Atwater who was Reagan’s campaign manager who said they wanted to make the Federal government small enough so they could kill it? Ever thus. Historical footnote: Marine General Smedley Butler exposed a Republican fascist plot to raise a private army to march on Washington, assassinate the sitting president, disband Congress and suspend the Constitution. The plotters were large corps.

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  exenrontexas

  January 12, 2011 at 2:44 am

  @megagagnon1 Hmmmm…so how do I reply to your revisionist view of the world. Tell the truth, you were home schooled? Examples of how big government aided industrial development in the period you mentioned. Land grants to railroads to encourage transportation and trade. Land grants to land developers to encourage settlements. The Panama Canal. Encouragement of immigration policies for large numbers of workers. ALL from strong FEDERAL government, NONE from state government. You got it backwards.

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  megagagnon1

  January 12, 2011 at 3:28 am

  @exenrontexas How should i reply to lunacy? And since you love centralizing power so much, i’m sure you’d be happier in a country with a king or a dictator – that’s centralized power for you. Me, i appreciate decentralized power, strong states, which brought unparalleled prosperity to the US in the 19th century.

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  exenrontexas

  January 12, 2011 at 3:45 am

  @megagagnon1 No reply? Since when I present a solid reasoning and historical facts, you always change the subject. Let me make a friendly suggestion. Stop listening to Fox News who is a foreign propaganda entity bent on undermining American democracy and learn to research and think for yourself. Study history so that you will not repeat the mistakes of the past. Farewell.

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  megagagnon1

  January 12, 2011 at 4:30 am

  @exenrontexas Have fun on your planet.

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  exenrontexas

  January 12, 2011 at 4:35 am

  @megagagnon1 WRONG. The problem is NOT large government while the PEOPLE control it but rather large government controlled by large corporations aka fascism. The power of corps has grown since the Civil War and was at a peak just before the 1890’s. Teddy Roosevelt reversed that and brought unparalleled prosperity and reform to America. Large corps continued to plan the end of democracy in America with the fascist plot of 1934 and the Great Depression and murder of JFK.

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  megagagnon1

  January 12, 2011 at 4:59 am

  @exenrontexas We’ve never had more regulations (millions of federal regulations) or more regulators – and yet we’ve never had so many disasters – enron, offshore oil explosions etc – coincidence? No. Throughout most of our history government had the role of sentinel – watching from a distance and prosecuting businessmen who break the law (send them to prison). Big gov and Big biz are in bed with each other, and as long as big gov exists that will always be the case.

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  exenrontexas

  January 12, 2011 at 5:55 am

  @megagagnon1 Divide and conquer is that tactic used by the NEOCONS. They want less government so there are fewer watchdogs to catch them at their evil deeds. If it was not for the DEREGULATION by Reagan of banking the S&L crisis and ENRON would not have happened let along the current economic collapse caused by the deregulation of derivitives by Mitch McConnell and Phil Gramm, the ENRON Senator. Put a few of them in prison and the rest will start to listen. It has worked before under TR.

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  exenrontexas

  January 12, 2011 at 6:08 am

  @megagagnon1 The problem is NOT big government but the secrecy of government and the dumbing down of the people. EXPOSE the criminals that you cited and prosecute them. The problem is poiltical parties that struggle for power rather than serve the people. George Washington in his Farewell Address to the Nation of people more loyal to ONE MAN or ONE PARTY than to the PEOPLE and the CONSTITUTION. If would like to see a man like Teddy Roosevelt or JFK with reform in mind and a vision to inspire.

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  megagagnon1

  January 12, 2011 at 6:38 am

  @exenrontexas Centralized power makes it easier for a corrupt government to ignore the people. If it’s decentralized, and the people just have to pay attention to what’s going on in their state, or their city, the people have a better chance of influencing the politicians. Politicians in DC are tone deaf and ignore whatever the people want – if that’s not obvious to you you’re a basketcase.

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  megagagnon1

  January 12, 2011 at 7:04 am

  @exenrontexas “It is never the size of government but only IF the government does the people’s will.” That’s laughable. We’re on the verge of insolvency, dollars are being printed by the trillion, and you don’t see any problem with big govt. Which angelic people are you going to elect that will govern by the will of the people? All the politicians i know do the bidding of special interests – they pay better. Give the govt more power, you’re giving the special interests more power.

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  exenrontexas

  January 12, 2011 at 7:21 am

  When a staffer complained to George Bush that his actions were unConstitutional he replied, “The Constitution is just a G D piece of paper”. That sums up the NEOCON view, but why are we surprised since the NEOCON guru was Leo Strauss who came to America on a Rockefeller grant arranged by the German lawyer, Carl Schmitt who was also the lawyer for Fritz Thyssen, Prescott BUSH and…ADOLF HITLER.

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  exenrontexas

  January 12, 2011 at 7:46 am

  @megagagnon1 Decentralized power makes it easier to overthrow a system of government based on democratic principles. Hitler did that in Germany. The Bolzeviks did it in Russia and Mao did it in China. Criminal bribers is what the Justice Department was invented for. The Texas AG got DeLay, Ford let Nixon go and slippery Reagan stonewalled until the head of the CIA died so he couldn’t testify. An alert and plugged in citizenry would not allow that.

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  exenrontexas

  January 12, 2011 at 8:42 am

  @megagagnon1 ABSOLUTELY NOT as long as there is good free public education that teaches the Constitution and civics. That is precisely why the NEOCON GOP has been attacking education for forty years. There IS no problem with an educated public. Now why don’t you tell me how many there were under Grant or Nixon or Reagan. ALL three grew government enormously but pledged the opposite. It is never the size of government but only IF the government does the people’s will.

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  megagagnon1

  January 12, 2011 at 9:02 am

  @exenrontexas Centralizing the power just makes it easier for the special interests. One-stop shopping for the bribe-givers.

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  megagagnon1

  January 12, 2011 at 9:50 am

  @exenrontexas Well then, explain why at the time Lincoln was sworn into office, there were 2000 federal employees – our population was 30 million. More than 100 years after the Constitution was in place, we had a tiny federal govt and no standing army. Now we have 10 times the population and 2.3 million federal employees – and you don’t see a problem?