Limiting the Power of Government: A State House Report

Dear Friends,

Conservatives saw many victories this week, from the South Carolina House and Senate to the well-publicized victory for Republican Scott Brown in the Massachusetts Senate race.

We’ve all seen much press this week about Brown’s victory, but our state Senate took action on a resolution expressing our state’s support of the Constitution’s provision for limiting the power of the federal government.

The federal government is going through an unprecedented power grab and at the expense of states, your personal freedoms, and ultimately, your wallet.Fighting that power grab is the fourth plank in our Republican Caucus agenda this year.

A resolution expressing our displeasure with the power-grab was approved by the House last year and was on our “unfinished business” list. The Senate approved a resolution similar in tone to ours this week.

This isn’t an attempt to “cherry-pick” a favorite amendment to the constitution – an absurd criticism by some of our state’s liberal Democrats who support the federal agenda. South Carolina was the fourth state to ratify the Bill of Rights. We have always understood the importance of limited government and protecting the rights of the people.

Our Founding Fathers were fearful of a federal government that might grab infinite power. So they included two critical constitutional amendments at the end of the Bill of Rights. Amendment Nine states clearly: “The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.” Amendment Ten states: “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”

Ultimately, the people, and the states, created the federal government, and it is critical for us to be the ultimate check and balance to federal power. The voters of Massachusetts sent that message loud and clear to the Congress on Tuesday.

The state Senate approved a similar resolution that also included statements opposing several recent power-grabs that Congress has undertaken since the House approved the resolution last year: health care, cap-and-trade, and forced state spending. The House will now receive the Senate resolution and I look forward to the debate.

These are not meaningless resolutions, as Democrats criticized during the debate. Words have consequences and our constituents wanted us to make a statement to the federal government. The British government didn’t think resolutions by legislative bodies were meaningless in 1776.

This week, we also heard Governor Sanford’s final State of the State address. His conciliatory tone signaled a good session ahead. The House Republican Caucus has supported many items on the Governor’s agenda for each of his 8 years in office, and several of the items he highlighted in his speech – such as giving you, the voter, the choice about whether you would like joint election of the governor and lieutenant governor – have already been approved by the House and are currently being considered by the Senate.

This will be an exciting and eventful year in Columbia. Thank you for the privilege of serving you in Columbia. Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have an issues with state government, or have any comments on the Caucus agenda or any other issue. You can reach me at 864.595.1137.

Sincerely,

Mike Forrester

Spartanburg Area Chamber Focus

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