Senator Gillibrand on Democrats: “If we’re not helping people, we should go the f**k home”
Senator Gillibrand recently got herself into a bit of hot water, dropping an “F-bomb” in a political speech.
More interesting, I think, than the F-bomb itself, was the statement in which it was inserted, to wit (paraphrasing), If we are not helping people, then we should go home.
Presumably, this is her perception of the role of a United States Senator: to help people.
But try as you might, you will find nothing in Article I of the Constitution, or in any subsequent amendment that empowers the Congress (or any individual Senator) to “help people” in any way.
The U.S. Federal government has one general function, which can be broken out into a couple of specific functions, and taken together, it is supposed to secure for us a safe, ordered, secure society where we can exercise our own personal liberty to the fullest. That’s it.
The real specifics are itemized in Section 8 of Article I, and there is nothing that could even be remotely equated to “helping individual people.” Welfare, housing subsidies, food stamps, Medicaid, educational loans and grants, subsidized and guaranteed home mortgages and business loans, subsidized healthcare, and all things of a similar nature are NONE OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT’S RIGHTFUL BUSINESS.
The federal budget could be balanced in five minutes if only the Congress took our constitution seriously.
Senator Gillibrand recently got herself into a bit of hot water, dropping an “F-bomb” in a political speech.
More interesting, I think, than the F-bomb itself, was the statement in which it was inserted, to wit (paraphrasing), If we are not helping people, then we should go home.
Presumably, this is her perception of the role of a United States Senator: to help people.
But try as you might, you will find nothing in Article I of the Constitution, or in any subsequent amendment that empowers the Congress (or any individual Senator) to “help people” in any way.
The U.S. Federal government has one general function, which can be broken out into a couple of specific functions, and taken together, it is supposed to secure for us a safe, ordered, secure society where we can exercise our own personal liberty to the fullest. That’s it.
The real specifics are itemized in Section 8 of Article I, and there is nothing that could even be remotely equated to “helping individual people.” Welfare, housing subsidies, food stamps, Medicaid, educational loans and grants, subsidized and guaranteed home mortgages and business loans, subsidized healthcare, and all things of a similar nature are NONE OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT’S RIGHTFUL BUSINESS.
The federal budget could be balanced in five minutes if only the Congress took our constitution seriously.
