No, it's not the end of the story. It's all the more reason to recall why America’s founders designed a constitutional republic with a federal government of limited, enumerated powers. And it's why we should be deeply concerned that these constitutional limitations have been systematically undermined by court decisions over the years, resulting in the runaway government and debts we have today.
The nation's founders were realists, cynics if you prefer, regarding what to expect from human behavior.
They understood that unbridled popular democracy can lead to the very tyranny they escaped from and from which they wanted to protect their new nation. A republic, with a constitution limiting the powers of the federal government, could be our only protection from lascivious power seekers like Weiner and the liberals that have re-elected him seven times.
There's perhaps irony in that, the very week that Weinergate hit the press, a federal appeals court in Atlanta heard arguments on the constitutionality of the biggest federal government power grab in our nation’s history – Obamacare.
Twenty six states are challenging the constitutionality of the "individual mandate" provision of the new health care law that holds it all together. This provision forces every American to buy health insurance, defined and designed by the federal government, from private firms.
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Once the federal government can mandate what you purchase, what's next?
It would be nice to think that power in our nation is held by omniscient, God-fearing men and women, whose priority was the pursuit of truth and the good.
But, even the most idealistic among us understand this is not realistic and that our only possible protection from the many Anthony Weiners is limiting the power of government.
The individual mandate issue aside, Obamacare still accumulates massive new power in the hands of the federal government and bureaucrats. To believe it can be successful is to have faith that massive social engineering, which has never worked anywhere, will defy the odds this time.
To get back to the human factor, consider the case of Peter Orszag.
As head of President Obama's Office of Management and Budget, Orszag was the chief economist and numbers cruncher for Obamacare. He oversaw the models which churned the multi-trillion dollar projections predicting the outcome of this legislation and which were key in selling Obamacare.
I think most of us would like to believe that someone with this much power is a man of character and integrity.
In the midst of it all, Orszag announced his engagement to a journalist. While at the same time, he and a former girlfriend announced the birth, just weeks earlier, of their out-of-wedlock child.
Along with his new out-of-wedlock baby, Orszag had joint custody of two children produced in his first, failed marriage.
I wouldn't trust this guy to run errands for me, let alone trust him with trillions of dollars and designing a health care system in which bureaucrats will determine who gets what health care and ultimately, yes, who lives and who dies.
Now that we learn that Weiner’s wife Huma is pregnant, I guess we're supposed to shed crocodile tears for her. But she's part of the Weiner culture, working for years as an aide to Hillary Clinton. Maybe she can find solace in Hillary's wisdom, stated during her presidential campaign, that "Fairness doesn’t just happen. It requires the right government policies."
Huma was also comfortable having her wedding ceremony officiated by the serial sleaze par excellence, Bill Clinton.
The founders were right. Limited government enforced by a functioning constitution is our only hope.
Star Parker is an author and president of CURE, Center for Urban Renewal and Education. She can be reached at parker@urbancure.org
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