Malfunctioning Safety Valve

We can dance if we want to
We can leave your friends behind
'Cause your friends don't dance
And if they don't dance, well they're
No friends of mine
--Men Without Hats

After yesterday's passage of the health care bill by the House of Representatives, Republican senators have vowed to do their best to bog down the bill's revision in the Senate. Not sure what they can do at this point but little surprises me about our federal government's legislative 'process' (loose adaptation) anymore.

I am pretty sure that if this bill were passed by Congress prior to the 20th century, it would have had a difficult time making it to law. Prior to 1900, sitting presidents turned back most welfare-related legislation on the grounds that it was inconsistent with Constitutional principles of liberty and limited government. Democrat Grover Cleveland alone vetoed hundreds of welfare bills. Back then, it appears, president's took their oath to uphold the Constitution seriously.

If such a bill made it past the president's desk, then it was destined to face the scrutiny of the Court. Prior to 1900, judges were largely disinterested, meaning that they evaluated legislation against a relatively strict interpretation of the Constitution and the Founders' original intentions.

Today, we no longer have a disinterested Court. The Founder's check of judicial review has been rendered almost totally useless.

Without this properly functioning 'safety valve', escalation of State power and a subsequent meltdown seem inevitable.