The American Spectator

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Exclusion and Incorporation

8.9.07 @ 12:01AM

NOW WAIT A MOMENT
Re: Jeffrey Lord's McCain's Conservative Moment:

Jeffrey Lord can't tell the difference between Hillary Clinton and Ron Paul? Well, Jeffrey, why don't you do an experiment. Put the drunken sailor John McCain's voting record up against Ron Paul's. Who exactly has the voted for the most spending? Who is the one voting for government entitlement programs? If you do an experiment like that you will find out who exactly these drunken sailors are in Congress. You also will then find out there isn't much difference between Hillary Clinton and John McCain. Both of whom are drunk on socialist spending. No, Ron Paul is not the problem. My dream would be if the other Republicans followed Dr. No's voting habits and just vote no on a lot of this nonsense. You may disagree with Ron Paul's foreign policy, but he is the last person you should blame for out of control government spending and boondoggles
-- Sean Conness
The Colony, Texas

As I recall, John McCain voted against tax cuts. A conservative would loudly eschew earmarks and at the same time, would vote for cuts in the income tax rates. A true conservative would not practice class warfare, calling those cuts: "Tax cuts for the rich." A true conservative would never support McCain-Feingold which promoted censorship and stifled political speech. A true conservative would understand that an immigration bill containing amnesty is not good for the country and does not promote smaller government. Shall I continue? Except for his stance on earmarks, McCain would never be considered a conservative under any circumstance.

I am tired of reading about John McCain. I wish all of you would quit trying to shove him down our throats with pious writing about his tiny flashes of conservatism. Very clearly and often, he showed us who he is: A self-serving gasbag with delusions of grandeur who saw a president in the mirror every morning as he shaved. He did not walk the walk and finally is getting his just rewards with a dose of humility thrown in for good measure!

You need some new candidates about whom to write? Try Duncan Hunter, Mitt Romney (and not his church), Mike Huckabee and Rudy Giuliani -- not necessarily in that order. These are all interesting, vital conservatives who may someday actually lead our great country.

John who?
-- Judy Beumler
Louisville, Kentucky

"Sam Brownback or Ron Paul"

You're kidding, right? If not, get real or buy a clue. Your writers must not pay attention to this thing called the Internet. I'm sure you'll be getting some mail from it regarding this statement.

People are still writing stories about McCain's campaign? I guess it makes some sense, since that is all McCain's campaign will amount to. A story. Mr. "Bomb Bomb Bomb, Bomb Bomb Iran" is finished.
-- Chris Sinnard

The obvious way to fix our politician's addition to spending is to take away the politicians. Term limit all members of Congress!
-- Chris B.
Hackettstown, New Jersey

LONG, HOT SCHUMER
Re: Doug Bandow's Conservative Judges, Liberal Crisis and Quin Hillyer's Gerald Ford, Orator!:

Compare the content and tenets of what Quin Hilyer reports in "Gerald Ford, Orator!" with the first few paragraphs reported in Doug Bandow's "Conservative Judges, Liberal Crisis' and you have to question a lot of things of our ruling elites and corresponding wannabes these days. My, oh my what choices we don't have and boy the political 'leadership' that equates to mediocrity nowadays. Perhaps the reason why we all feel excited when an exceptional individual comes our way who touches us all with extravagant God-given wisdom is that they are just that -- exceptional. I cannot believe a country the size and energy of the USA is unable to make these exceptions the rule. Bring it on!
-- G. Constable
Sydney, Australia

I was in full agreement with Doug Bandow's article, "Conservative Judges, Liberal Crisis," until this paragraph appeared:

The post-Civil War amendments obviously expanded federal authority, but most obviously vis-a-vis the states, and for the purpose, most particularly, of ensuring that the newly freed slaves would be protected in the exercise of their traditional liberties. These amendments were not intended to provide the foundation for the 20th Century welfare/redistributionist/nanny state. Indeed, via the doctrine of "incorporation," that is, the application of the Bill of Rights to the states, backed by contemporaneous evidence indicating that supporters of the provisions desired this result, the post-Civil War amendments applied the Constitution's most explicit limitations on -- authorizations of -- federal power to states as well. [Emphasis added.]

In my opinion, Incorporation Doctrine was the primordial (and perhaps irreversible) heresy of modern day judicial activists. It is based on the notion that the mere words "due process," contained in the 14th Amendment, somehow magically operate to apply certain judicially cherry-picked provisions of the Bill of Rights (all of which were originally intended to apply only against the federal government) against the states. However, the original meaning of the due process clause is that no one should be executed (denied life), imprisoned (denied liberty), or fined (denied property) without being afforded some formal set of procedures that were traditionally recognized as "fair." Advocates of Incorporation Doctrine blew apart this original meaning, concerning a "fair procedure," and started identifying certain "results" or "ends" that state and local governments simply could not pursue (such as regulating speech), no matter how fair the process involved. As such, Incorporation Doctrine is simply a species of "Substantive Due Process," and its descendents include abominable decisions like Griswold v. Connecticut and Roe v. Wade.

I don't know what evidence there is that the framers of the 14th Amendment desired to incorporate portions of the Bill of Rights against the states. In my mind, that is irrelevant. The words the framers actually used ("due process") don't in any way articulate such an intent.
-- C.W. Brownell
Greenville, Wisconsin

"Indeed, via the doctrine of 'incorporation,' that is, the application of the Bill of Rights to the states, backed by contemporaneous evidence indicating that supporters of the provisions desired this result, the post-Civil War amendments applied the Constitution's most explicit limitations on -- authorizations of -- federal power to states as well."

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