It is not often that members of Congress openly – and approvingly – say that the powers of the federal government are nearly limitless. But U.S. Rep. Pete Stark, D-Calif., was extremely candid in some recent remarks during a town hall meeting with constituents.
Asked about ObamaCare socialized medicine and what restraints exist on the federal government’s ability to run Americans’ lives, Stark replied, “I think that there are very few constitutional limits that would prevent the federal government from rules that could affect your private life.”
In a follow-up question, he was asked whether there were, in fact, any limits on federal power if Congress can impose something as obviously unconstitutional as ObamaCare.
He replied matter-of-factly, “The federal government, yes, can do most anything in this country.”
What’s deeply troubling is, that did not seem to bother the extremely liberal congressman. He was not criticizing the federal government’s seizing of power. He was simply making a casual observation.
In fact, the Constitution explicitly restrains the federal government. It delegates some specific powers to Washington – such as national defense – and leaves all others to the states and to the people under the 10th Amendment.
The fact that a member of Congress sworn to uphold the Constitution sees nothing unusual in unrestrained federal power is an alarming sign of how our federal government has gotten out of control.