"What the Father of the Constitution Thought"

I mentioned in the last blog Congress' forthcoming "mad cap" policy of "cap and trade." Sadly, many Americans do not even bother to question if such intrusion is part of Congress' job description. But how did our Founding Fathers envision the role of the Federal government? James Madison, our fourth President, and also known as the "Father of the Constitution" wrote in his commentary (Federalist 45):

"The powers delegated by the proposed Constitution to the federal government are few and defined. Those which are to remain in the State governments are numerous and indefinite. The former will be exercised principally on external objects as war, peace, negotiation, and foreign commerce; with which the last power of taxation will, for the most part, be connected. The power to the several States will extend to all the objects which, in the ordinary course of affairs, concern the lives, liberties, and properties of the people, and the internal order, improvement, and prosperity of the State."

Did you get that first line? The federal government (always written by Madison in lower case letters!) was to have very few, restricted powers. No ability to fund bridges to nowhere, or trains to Las Vegas (Sen. Harry Reids' favorite project). No ability to nationalize education, the health industry, or to tell a factory how much of a gas it can emit (a gas that appears in nature and is necessary for plants to grow). The States (always written by Madison in capital letters) could have indefinite powers. The Father of the Constitution says so! And if you don't like the laws in one state, move to another. If the State government mismanages, it would not have a devasting effect on the rest of the nation, and you could still have the freedom to move elsewhere in the country.

But Madison knew that a centralized government that tried to provide for or manage or restrict every aspect of private lives and/or business would become a tyranny over the entire nation. What do you think he would say today if he saw the activities, budget, and agenda of our present day U.S. House and Senate?