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It is de rigueur for some politicians to declare themselves believers in constitutionally limited government.
It seems this belief is limited, all too often, when the principles of constitutionally limited government conflict with something they believe to be a “great idea.” Apparently “great ideas” trump the constitution.
Many Republicans are proponents of tort reform. They believe frivolous lawsuits drive up the cost of doing business and that capping damages in civil lawsuits is a great idea.
There is such a bill pending in Congress. It would
“…put a three-year statute of limitations on medical lawsuits, cap non-economic damages at $250,000, and limit punitive damages to $250,000 or twice the economic damages, whichever is greater. It would apply to lawsuits in federal and state courts…”
Apparently this is such a great idea it trumps the Constitution.
Nowhere among the enumerated powers of Article I, Section 8 is Congress given the authority to tell states how to run their civil justice systems. To argue that the Commerce Clause authorizes Congress to do so is a purely progressive notion. It is a repudiation of the Tenth Amendment. It is repudiation of a constitutionally limited government.
Yet it is Republicans, the party that proclaims itself the “limited government” party, that is behind this bill.
Those Republicans in favor of this bill believe tort reform trumps the Constitution.
They either do not understand what they are doing or they have very malleable principles.
Likewise, any congressperson proclaiming to be a believer in the Tenth Amendment should be working to defund the DEA’s effort to crack down on medical marijuana providers in states that have legalized the plant for such use. To the extent marijuana is planted, cultivated, harvested, sold and consumed entirely within a state, one cannot be consistent and support both the DEA enforcement of these federal laws and the Tenth Amendment. The federal government has zero legitimate authority to enforce federal laws against such medical marijuana. (Yes, I know the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled to the contrary. However, the Supreme Court can declare the sun is the moon, but it does not make it so.)
The current conflict between the DEA and state law presents an excellent opportunity for states to assert their sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment. Colorado, for example, should tell the federal government that enforcement of federal marijuana laws in Colorado is ultra vires and msut be stopped. If the feds persist, the federal agents acting unconstitutionally should be arrested by local or state law enforcement.
Of course, such action in Colorado would require not only a principled belief in the Constitution, it requires balls. Sadly, both are entirely lacking among state officials.
“The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary.”
H.L. Mencken
See Warming, Global; Terrorism, War on; Drugs, War on; Fracking, Oil; Social Security, Checks Withheld; et al.
What kind of sick individual gives his brother, just one day removed from drug rehab, an oxycodone pill? This kind: “Brother charged in Boogaard death.” Aaron Boogaard gave his brother Derek an oxycodone pill in preparation for a night on the town. The next day, Derek was dead.
No doubt the sad death of Derek Boogaard will prompt calls for an increase in government resources to fight the Drug War. This is akin to a blackjack player deciding he needs to place bigger bets to recoup his losses.
We all know how that works out.
Until we get past the absurd notion that more of a failed policy is needed to fix the failed policy, we will just make the problem worse.
The “War on Drugs” is the conservative version of the progressive “War on Poverty:” Great intentions. Disastrous results. An absolute, mindless and stubborn refusal to acknowledge the failure.
From the movie Con Air: An exchange between Pinball, played by Dave Chappelle, and undercover DEA Agent Sims, when the agent’s cover is blown on the transport plane full of the most heinous murderers, rapists and assorted criminals in the federal prison system:
Agent Sims: I’m DEA, d’you know what the **** that means?
Pinball: It means you’re the most crooked ****** on this plane!
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Add the federal Drug Enforcement Agency to the long list of unnecessary, duplicative and wasteful government programs. What does the DEA do that multiple other federal and local law enforcement agencies do not?
Nothing.
So it is with some irony that the DEA recently executed a drug raid among wealthy Aspen residents without bothering to inform either the local sheriff or Aspen police. From the Denver Post article “ Federal drug raid in Aspen irks cops:”
Acting DEA Agent-in-Charge Steve Merrill said agents purposely didn’t tell locals about the investigation in part because former Sheriff Bob Braudis, who left office in January, and his successor, Joe DiSalvo, knew the suspects. Merrill didn’t want the investigation compromised.
So the DEA was concerned about local corruption? That’s rich. No, the DEA has to justify its expensive, wasteful, duplicative and unnecessary existence, so it replaces local law enforcement policy with national policy dictated from an unelected lifetime bureaucrat in D.C.
That’s tyranny.
This DEA action is just the latest in the federal government’s intrusion into purely state and local matters. It is a perfect example of why the model “Sheriff’s First” legislation is needed.
… would make it a state crime for a federal officer to arrest, search, or seize in the state without first getting the advanced, written permission of the elected county sheriff of the county in which the event is to take place. Locally-elected sheriffs are accountable to the people and are supposed to the the chief law enforcement officer of the county, bar none. This bill puts teeth into the expectation that federal agents must operate with the approval of the sheriff, or not at all. It also gives the local sheriff tools necessary to protect the people of his county, and their constitutional rights
The Pitkin County Sheriff is elected by the people of Pitkin County. He is directly answerable to them. The DEA is not elected by anyone in Pitkin County. The DEA is not answerable to anyone in Pitkin County.
By intruding on the local sheriff’s autonomy and jurisdiction without his knowledge, the DEA demonstrates its disdain for local law enforcement. The DEA is arrogant, unaccountable, and out of control.
I encourage the State of Colorado to stand up for its sovereignty, to reject federal overreach into purely local matters and to enact the Sheriff’s First Act.
Thank you to the seven state Senators on the Health and Human Services Committee that voted to protect individual freedom and against expanding the massively failed drug war yesterday.
On a 7-2 vote, the committee killed Senate Bill 196, which would have made it illegal to purchase Sudafed (and similar over the counter medicines) without a doctor’s prescription. Law enforcement was the driving force behind the bill, saying it was necessary to combat meth-amphetamine production.
It is always good when senators from both parties recognize that looking to the government, and giving it more power over individuals, is not the answer.
Thank you. I encourage everyone to send an email to the seven senators that stood up for freedom. They are:
Neither war can be won.
Both wars exacerbate the problem it tries to solve.
Both wars create massive, monstrous and corrupt government agencies.
Both wars have wasted gazillions of dollars.
And neither group has the ability to recognize their abject failure.
According to the Denver Post, “[s]tate law enforcement officials . . . have broken up an alleged marijuana-trafficking organization that was using Colorado’s medical-marijuana laws as cover.” (See “Marijuana growers create smokescreen for trafficking ring.”)
As “law-and-order” types revel in their pointless little “victory,” I ask small-government types to consider:
How much tax money was spent on this?
Where else could that money have been spent?
What could you have done with your share of that money?
How much money could the state make by taxing the sale of marijuana?
It is hypocritical to profess a belief in individual liberty, limited government and personal responsibility and at the same time advocate the use of government resources – and force – to stop marijuana growers.
The war against marijuana is based on the belief that individuals should not have liberty, that big government is necessary to impose public policy for the “common good” and that people are too stupid to be personally responsible.
Is there any other conclusion to be drawn except that a belief in criminalizing marijuana is antithetical to the liberty movement?
If not, please help me understand.
In a massive waste of taxpayer money, Colorado law enforcement busted a cocaine ring. They have therefore raised the profits of rival drug dealers. (See U.S attorney: Indictments, arrests put big dent in flow of cocaine into Denver.)
According to the Denver Post, the U.S. Attorney for Colorado, John Walsh, said “taking 20 kilograms of cocaine on a weekly basis off the street puts a substantial crimp in the flow of cocaine into Colorado.”
Walsh’s statement is just as true as an assertion that building a sand berm puts a substantial crimp in ocean tides. It does not. However, taking supply of any product off the market makes the remaining product more expensive. When the price rises, the profit goes up. A rival drug organization would have been happy to pay for the police to take a competitor’s product off the shelves.
Thanks, cops! And thanks taxpayers!
We don’t need money for schools, we need to drive up the profits of drug dealers!
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