It’s time Washington tended to national business and left the states alone

Has anyone stopped to wonder why the federal government seems so rife with dirty side deals? In great part, it's because it was never set up to preside over internal state affairs; it was to deal with national issues.

Take my home state, New Hampshire, as an example. We have 2 out of the 100 Senators. That means that at most 2% of the people voting on bills have the specific welfare of New Hampshire (or any other state) in mind. In the House of Representatives, we also have 2 Congressmen, but out of 435 this time. That means that less than ½ of one percent might have a stake in the good of New Hampshire residents. So, if we want something for my state, we are almost compelled to make deals with other states; I'll scratch your back if you scratch mine.

The reach of Federal power into state internal affairs also promotes state specific deals in exchange for the support of national legislation. The reason that such deals (read “bribes”) are so effective is because Washington has mutated its role to be inconsistent with the structure of government established by our constitution in 1787. In other words, if the Federal government could not get involved in internal state business or craft its legislation that treated some states differently than others, deals and bribes for votes would be much less effective and frequent.

Our Congress is intended to provide fair representation to each state for the discussion and passage of legislation affecting all the states; it is not intended to provide fair representation for the discussion and passage of legislation affecting one or a few states. This goes to the heart of the call for “limited” government. It is a call to once again align the role of the Federal government with its form and original duties.

It is time to get Washington back to its original purpose and let the states get back to theirs. In this way, each level of government will provide the truest representation of the people for the people.

Copyright © John Brandte 2009-2010 All Rights Reserved Related Websites

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