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Posted on 12/18/2003 11:10:42 PM PST by JohnHuang2
States should oppose seatbelt mandate
© 2003 WorldNetDaily.com
Don't look now, but Congress is preparing more legislation aimed at blackmailing states into going along with another unfunded, unconstitutional mandate Washington has no original authority to issue.
Earlier this month, Sens. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., and John Warner, R-Va., teamed up to sponsor a bill that would create a national seatbelt law. The motivation is, of course, said to be noble. Advocates want the new law because they claim it will save countless lives. Auto insurance firms support it because they claim it will improve their bottom lines, though there is something wrong with using government force to shore up profits.
In any event, the bill calls for withholding a portion of federal highway funds from each state that a) does not pass a law requiring drivers to wear a seat belt; and b) not achieving a 90 percent compliance rate within three years of passage.
Perhaps this is naïve, but constitutionally speaking, legislators supporting this bill have their roles – and that of the federal government – backward.
There is no constitutional power granted to Congress to force American drivers to buckle up. It doesn't matter a whit if all the research in the world proves buckling up saves lives, saves money, or saves the whales – Congress has no authority to force drivers to make smart driving decisions. States, on the other hand, have the authority to pass or not pass such laws, but on the federal level, this authority does not exist.
On the other hand, Article I, Sect. 8 of the Constitution says one of Congress' duties is to "establish post offices and post roads." So when Congress threatens to withhold highway funds unless states enact federal seat belt laws, they are acting outside the scope of their authority.
In order to continue operating in the constitutional darkness, Congress always employs a number of useful idiots to sow propaganda, fear and anger among the population. So it is with the national seatbelt law.
"When people don't buckle up, all of society pays," says Phil Haseltine, president of the Automotive Coalition for Traffic Safety, or ACTS, a group pushing Congress to pass a national seatbelt law. "An estimated $26 billion is spent annually on medical and emergency response care, lost productivity and other injury related costs."
These half-truths are intentionally misleading. Insured drivers pay their own way, and the federal government was never authorized by the Constitution to get into the insurance business in the first place. If states want to tax their citizens for same, that's another story.
OK, so Congress acting outside its scope and authority is nothing new. But that's partly because political leaders are too infrequently challenged about their extra-constitutional actions and too frequently asked by special interests to violate their oaths of office.
Another reason is because local and state leaders have done nothing to stand up to Washington's power-mongering habits. Congress cannot impose its unconstitutional will on states unless states are willing to accept it.
Americans should know two things: It's never too late to reclaim lost liberties, and there is no reasoning with a political system whose sole purpose is self-perpetuation. Change, if there is to be any, must be forced on unwilling federal-crats who will continue to override the Constitution as long as they are permitted.
Thomas Jefferson once said, "A free people [claim] their rights as derived from the laws of nature, and not as the gift of their chief magistrate." This is entirely within the realm of possibility, even today. But it's up to us. Washington isn't going to surrender power willingly.
State leaders who don't have the intestinal fortitude to combat Washington's power greed should be replaced. They are only helping to perpetuate an out-of-control federal system contrary to that which was established by our founding fathers.
and for insurance cos who can jack your rates when you get ticketed. billbears, without looking anything up, could you give me a general idea about what to look about Mrs. Dole getting these mandatory seat-belt laws in states. Thanx
This ping list concerns matters of American Sovereignty and Individual Liberty. If you want on or off this list please let me know.
I would hope every conservative on the hill would join him and oppose it. That is unless you can find in the Constitution where it states the national government has the right to pass seat belt laws and other worthless legislation
Dole made an artful compromise: she issued a new plan stipulating that unless states with two-thirds of the nation's population passed seat-belt laws by 1986, manufacturers would have to begin installing passenger restraints in 1987-model cars. With the zeal of the newly converted, automakers undertook an expensive campaign to get seat-belt laws passed across the nation. Some consumer advocates saw Dole's solution as a devil's bargain. "She did not do the strong thing," says Benjamin Kelley, who was then senior vice president of the Insurance Institute. "She did the politically astute thing." In the end, the air-bag rule survived and more states passed seat-belt laws. "Exactly what we wanted," Dole says proudly. Whether the happy result arose from expedience, foresight or providence--or some combination of all three--no one can say.
This was no 'compromise'. This was Elizabeth Dole enforcing what she 'thought' would be good for us. This is also the woman that bucked the Reagan administration and the 55 mph federally mandated speed limit stayed in place. You can also thank Mrs. Dole for the raise in the drinking limit and those annoying third brake lights
Really interested in who Mrs. Dole actually works for, who her boss or bosses is/are. She has a lot of blood on her hands from those airbags.
Although I seldom drink alcohol, I recall the debate over 18 yr olds not abled to purchase A.B.'s but were being drafted into armed services. Legitimate reasoning - even for today's young ones, but folk like Dole only see the first digit of age and broadly associate that with competency.
I detest those darned blinking Dolamps.
Is WorldNetDaily another leftie publication along with National Review?
Would you happen to have a link to that thread?
Does the Federal government have the power to require everybody to think and act sensibly?
("I stopped running with scissors so it is not much of an issue with me.")
Can you think of any issue whatsoever that you couldn't turn into a anti freedom screed in 20 words or less?
And they haven't even scratched the surface yet !! Just wait till we have...
FEDERAL smoking laws
FEDERAL drinking laws
FEDERAL child care laws
FEDERAL hunting and fishing laws
FEDERAL gaming laws
etc, etc, etc, etc ,etc, etc...
The camel has his nose under the tent and the tent is stinking to high heaven.
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