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To: Gumption
"Wouldn't reading in the "general welfare clause" as you and all leftists do make the central governments constitutional powers UNlimited? I thought the constitution limited the powers of the central government but I can't think of one single federal program, real or imagined, that wouldn't come under the all encompassing "general welfare clause". Can you?"

Of course I can. Gambling, for instance, seems to have little to do with "general welfare", thus, it is left up to the States.

And now, since I politely answered your challenge above in bold, perhaps you'll have the courtesy and intellectual honesty to answer my own challenge to you, which is to *specify* what power, if any at all, you ascribe to the legal, written, codified "general welfare" clause in our Constitution.

I'll be waiting...

44 posted on 04/06/2003 6:27:51 PM PDT by Southack (Media bias means that Castro won't be punished for Cuban war crimes against Black Angolans in Africa)
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To: Southack
Of course I can. Gambling, for instance, seems to have little to do with "general welfare", thus, it is left up to the States.

Wrong answer - Think about it, if the gambling question came to prominence in the U.S. congress (because of the crime associated with it) and they decided to legislate the industry out of business, they would use "the general welfare clause" to defend this extra constitutional behavior. If you believe their is a "general welfare clause" then you would have to say "oh well, I guess it's constitutional because outlawing gambling is for the general welfare of the United States". Everything congress does, and will do, is for the general welfare, at least that's what they tell us. So try again to name ANY former, current, or potential government legislation that couldn't fit under "general welfare".

What do those written words mean? Lets look at it shall we ...

The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises, to pay the debts and provide for the common defense and general welfare of the United States; but all duties, imposts and excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;

Notice how this paragraph pretty much summarizes everything in Article 1, section 8? Well that's what it does. Every specifically enumerated power that follows can fit into either "general welfare" or "common defense". If the words "general welfare", and "common defense" were the actual enumerated powers they wouldn't have had to enumerate them any farther.

It's absolutely obvious that if "general welfare" was meant to be an enumerated power granted to the central government then constitutional limits are non existent. Do you think the founding dads wanted the constitution to limit the central government or grant unlimited powers to the central government.

53 posted on 04/06/2003 7:13:54 PM PDT by Gumption
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