Senator Lincoln claims the constitution “charges congress with the health and well-being of the people”
Arkansas Senator Blanche Lincoln was asked, “What part of the Constitution do you think gives Congress the authority to mandate that individuals have to purchase health insurance?” She responded by saying the constitution “charges Congress with the health and well-being of the people.”
There is no provision in the constitution that “charges Congress with the health and well-being of the people” as Senator Lincoln suggests. The authority simply does not exist, but the liberals in congress really don’t give a damn what does and does not exist in the constitution. They only care about what they think the constitution should say.
These are two vastly different things, and I have to believe that the politicians that favor healthcare mandates know this. If they don’t, it is a sad state of affairs in this country when our elected officials have no clue about what is written in the constitution. Of course it is an equally sad state of affairs in this country if congress knows they don’t have this authority and they exert this non-existent authority anyway.
Several Democrats have been asked the question about where in the constitution they are granted the authority to mandate the American people buy healthcare insurance and none of them have been able to cite anything real and tangible. They either falsely claim the “general welfare” clause grants them the authority– a notion that I debunked using the authors of the Federalist Papers own arguments– or they just make up non-existent clauses.
This total lack of regard for the constitution, and its meaning, is very disconcerting to me and it seems that more and more politicians just don’t give a damn about the original meaning and interpretations of the constitution.
Perhaps they are just ignorant, but I don’t think so. I think there is a much more nefarious motive at work here.
America's Watchtower 
This is what I would say to her if I could.
According to Judge Napolitano (pg 11) in his book, The Constitution in Exile,
“The Founder’s limited Congress (and thus the progressives or Positivists as they used to be called) to eighteen specific, enumerated, and delegated powers. Those THREE WORDS are important .They are SPECIFIC, ENUMERATED, AND DELEGATED. Specific means something that is definite or explicitly set forth. Enumerated refers to things that are listed individually by their identifying characteristics. Delegated refers to a power that has been ASSIGNED by one party to another.”
Here is a list of the powers:
1. …to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and excises to pay the debts and provide for the common defense.
2. …To borrow money on the Credit of the U.S.
3. …To regulate commerce with foreign nations.
4. …To establish a uniform rule of naturalization and uniform laws on the subject of bankruptcy.
5. …To coin money
6. …To provide for the punishment of counterfeiting the Securities and current coin.
7. …To establish the Post Office.
8. …To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts.
9. …To constitute tribunals inferior to the Supreme Court.
10. To define and punish piracies and felonies committed on sea( not really applicable much anymore).
11. To declare war, grant letters of Marquee and Reprisal.
12-14 To raise and support armies/maintain a Navy/make rules for the gov and regulation of land and naval forces/ regulate military.
15. To provide the calling forth of the military
16. To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining of military.
17. To exercise exclusive Legislation in all cases.
18. To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers.
I know you know these Mr. Pink Eyes but I think the list really shows how far out of whack with the Constitution these people really are!
The only “thing” giving Congress any power to do anything at all is THEMSELVES. Really!
As you rightly state, no where in the Constitution is this power specified, enumerated or delegated! No where.
Her response is nothing more than a loose interpretation to justify her really bad decision to support this stupidity!
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The constitution gave congress SPECIFIC rights, as you pointed out, these rights were purposely spelled out right after the “general welfare” clause so that there could be no misinterpretation of the clause. That hasn’t stopped them from misinterpretting it anyway.
If the founders could have looked into the future and changed any one thing about the constitution I think they would eliminate the term “general welfare.”
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She just made it up! Dominique, maybe you should send that list over to Blanche. She obviously hasn’t seen it.
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I don’t think that she, or many of the others, have even bothered to read the constitution.
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I have seen many, many things in my lifetime written into law that have no basis in the Constitution. Most politicians claiming these came from the “equal protection” clauses of the 5th and 14th. Liberals or progressives as they now like to be called are always stretching the very fabric of that document so that in reality it has little meaning left. And where it is specific on those things they disagree with again they seek to change the true meaning. Moderm progressives do NOT like the Constitution and will seldom justify their actions by quoting it, while for many on the conservative side it is the only protection of basic rights left.
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Ron, I am sad to say that I agree with you on the Constitution.It really has very little meaning any more. Nobody ever stops to ask the question of whether a bill is constitutional or not anymore and there are very few bills that are even challenged any more. The healthcare reform bill is just the latest, and most expensive, example of this.
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