Political Self meets Legal Self

My thoughts on the constitution move on a sea-saw. Politically, I think we have an obligation to protect the disadvantaged, the environment, the minorities, the sick and all the homeless kittens. Because we have such a dichotomous system, with the media obfuscating any opinion that doesn’t fit with their two party, black and white, good and bad, ‘you’re either with us or against us’ American Ideal, I’m forced into a liberal suit that doesn’t even fit (modesty man! Don’t show so much skin). I don’t have a problem with the death penalty; I don’t think that the methods that the liberals are employing are golden. BUT….

After my first 3 weeks of law school, including a class in Constitutional law, it appears that 80% of the federal power to implement these laws saving the kittens evolves out of the Commerce Clause. Weird! And seemingly wrong. I mean what do human rights have to do with interstate trade? But that’s a rhetorical question, I have since associated human rights violations with inhibitions of trade, I wouldn’t want to travel in a state that was violently racist, or one where I couldn’t bring my minority friends. But it’s so EASY to side with the Justices on every issue, every opinion is a work of art- even Taney’s fatal blow was more poetic than my blog (not that I agree with that one).

So I’m faced with a problem, my politics verses what I think the constitution actually says. I really don’t want to give up the government’s protection of small cute kittens in need of shelter from the storm and a fair chance at life, but what does that have to do with commerce? Even if all the small kittens in the world were taken in aggregate, would that REALLY affect interstate commerce?

Yes. Yes it would. (Thank God!) Turns out that the kittens, when taken in aggregate, have an affect on the pet shop owners, or if the congress has a rational basis for passing the test (they don’t need to specify what they were thinking, and basically because they have a special rational juice drink before every session, they are rational), or if there is a large black market for kittens that we may be affecting by passing the law regarding kittens- CONGRATULATIONS- we can save the kittens, puppies, marijuana, minorities and the U.S. Bank! These powers have now been implied.

And so, I am back where I started. You can believe whatever you want. All beliefs are internally inconsistent. But, if you want to understand the law you have to understand this to some extent, as most lines are arbitrary, and hinge on the meaning of a word or phrase. Lines must be drawn, both to limit and extend federal power; to protect and to provide.