I thought I would talk a little bit about the “Commerce Clause” of Article 1 of the Constitution since there are obviously people that are oblivious to its true meaning. I come to approach this topic because of a comment that someone named “Dunder Hoof” made under a post where I addressed the fact that Rep. Joe Barton needed to be impeached for attempting to introduce and pass unconstitutional legislation that would dictate to the NCAA that they must have a playoff system if they want to crown a National Champion. This comment was made under this post “RINO Joe Barton Needs To Be Impeached” at the copy cross posted to American Conservative Daily.
Dunder Hoof’s comment was quickly moved by the moderators to the site’s repository for comments that express hatred towards the site’s opinion and are unnecessarily virulent without any real substance along with a short comment as to why such action was taken. You can see it at the official “I Hate You/I Think You’re An Idiot” thread if you care, but I will reprint it here for the sake of completeness.
Dunder Hoof
You guys are such a pack of idiot righties. Anything that is making somebody money must be in the right.
The authority you seek to have expained to you is not derived from Article 1. It is derived from the right of congress and the federal government to regulate interstate trade. The bill declares that it is a FRAUD to MARKET or to PROMOTE anything as a national championship that is not the result of a playoff system. Everything the NCAA currently promotes as such fits that definition with the exception of Division I football — now called by a corporatized, idiotized name.
Face it, UTAH should be the national champion, at 13-0 on the season. But the CORPORATION known as the BCS, which is not a part of the NCAA, is about to “crown” some team with one loss and less wins as a “national champion” — and you and the NCAA and all sorts of nimrods are ready to believe them!!
You righties are so in favor of profit that you accept FRAUD, and insist that attempts to eliminate it are ILLEGITIMATE!
This on IS NOT illegitimate, you asses.
Dunder Hoof’s misreading of the “Commerce Clause” is a laughable defense of Rep. Barton because the meaning of the clause was painfully expounded on by our founders. But let us start from the beginning shall we?
You guys are such a pack of idiot righties. Anything that is making somebody money must be in the right.
This is a typical knee jerk response from someone that has little grip on reality. To say that “righties” believe that “Anything that is making somebody money must be in the right,” shows a complete lack of understanding of conservative and libertarian principles and quickly shows Dunder Hoof as either a moonbat liberal or a radical anarchist. Either is bad and both are just as goofy as the other.
We “righties” do not, for an obvious example, believe that bank robbery is “right.” Someone is, after all, “making money” off that act. I think even I have espoused how illegal aliens who steal the identities of American citizens and the employers that hire them is also not “right” despite people making money off such actions. However I think confusing Dunder Hoof with the facts would cause his or her head to pop.
But it gets better as Dunder Hoof continues to blunder on in search of a thought:
The authority you seek to have expained to you is not derived from Article 1. It is derived from the right of congress and the federal government to regulate interstate trade.
Actually the Congress does not have the right to regulate “interstate trade” as Dunder Hoof proclaims. Probably due to a public school education and a lack of personal initiative is to blame for this belief. The fact is that Article 1 does give the Congress the right to regulate interstate “commerce,” hence the reason why it is referred to as the “commerce clause” and not the “trade clause.”
“Commerce” has two definitions and is much, much, much more narrow in scope than “trade” is. The first is “social intercourse : interchange of ideas, opinions, or sentiments” (source: Websters) Please note however that this is obviously not what the founders meant as they specifically forbade Congress from passing laws against free speech or freedom of the press for example (i.e. the First Amendment). The third definition of “sexual intercourse” is also highly far apart from what the founders meant. It is the second definition of, “the exchange or buying and selling of commodities on a large scale involving transportation from place to place,” that is what the founders meant. All Dunder Hoof needs to do is read Federalist 42 by James Madison where this topic is specifically descussed!
Federalist 42:
“The defect of power in the existing Confederacy to regulate the commerce between its several members, is in the number of those which have been clearly pointed out by experience. To the proofs and remarks which former papers have brought into view on this subject, it may be added that without this supplemental provision, the great and essential power of regulating foreign commerce would have been incomplete and ineffectual. A very material object of this power was the relief of the States which import and export through other States, from the improper contributions levied on them by the latter. Were these at liberty to regulate the trade between State and State, it must be foreseen that ways would be found out to load the articles of import and export, during the passage through their jurisdiction, with duties which would fall on the makers of the latter and the consumers of the former. We may be assured by past experience, that such a practice would be introduced by future contrivances; and both by that and a common knowledge of human affairs, that it would nourish unceasing animosities, and not improbably terminate in serious interruptions of the public tranquillity. To those who do not view the question through the medium of passion or of interest, the desire of the commercial States to collect, in any form, an indirect revenue from their uncommercial neighbors, must appear not less impolitic than it is unfair; since it would stimulate the injured party, by resentment as well as interest, to resort to less convenient channels for their foreign trade. But the mild voice of reason, pleading the cause of an enlarged and permanent interest, is but too often drowned, before public bodies as well as individuals, by the clamors of an impatient avidity for immediate and immoderate gain.”
Note the reference to “export” and “import” and nothing more.
So obviously, since it was the Federalists that supported and promoted the Constitution, we know what the Federalists understood the term to mean. It meant that Congress had the right to keep tariffs fair so that states could not inhibit other states from shipping products to or through them.
The bill declares that it is a FRAUD to MARKET or to PROMOTE anything as a national championship that is not the result of a playoff system.
This is a separate issue from the above but also linked in a general sense. “Fraud” is not covered under any definition of commerce as the founders understood it and codified it. Considering that, the burden now becomes Dunder Hoof’s to show where in Article I the Congress has the authority to define as a “fraud” someone’s (or some group’s) opinion on a private matter that does not affect interstate commerce in violation of the First Amendment He (or she) of course does not do this instead opting for superfluous rants against the NCAA:
Everything the NCAA currently promotes as such fits that definition with the exception of Division I football — now called by a corporatized, idiotized name.
Dunder Hoof appears to be, based on this and the opening comments, rather anti-business.
We go on:
Face it, UTAH should be the national champion, at 13-0 on the season.
So after all Dunder Hoof’s ranting we now get to the real crux of the reason why he or she is upset! Dunder Hoof is a Utah fan and feels jilted because other people were not impressed by their season, opponents and record against said opponents.
Now we get another anti-corporation rant:
But the CORPORATION known as the BCS, which is not a part of the NCAA, is about to “crown” some team with one loss and less wins as a “national champion” — and you and the NCAA and all sorts of nimrods are ready to believe them!!
I love how Dunder Hoof proclaims to speak for what I “believe.” Don’t you? For Dunder Hoof’s edification I think that USC is the best team in the league and should have been playing for the national title. For the sake of full disclosure, I did not go to USC so I am not an alumni and have no dog in the fight by proclaiming that. I completely disagree with the BCS system and have for years given support to a playoff. But because I dare to point out to Dunder Hoof that Rep. Barton is exceeding his Constitutional authority … well … you know, that is just too much for Dunder Hoof to handle and the false claims to sooth Dunder Hoof’s mind just flow like diarrhea.
You righties are so in favor of profit that you accept FRAUD, and insist that attempts to eliminate it are ILLEGITIMATE!
This on IS NOT illegitimate, you asses.
There is no “fraud” on the part of the BCS and the NCAA. The BCS is someone’s (actually a group of someone’s) opinion. Just because you do not agree with it does not make it a “fraud.” If that were the standard of “fraud” (i.e. disagreement) then I doubt Dunder Hoof would survive long without having himself hauled before a court for perpetrating a “fraud.”
But there is indeed a “fraud” being perpetrated here and it is being perpetrated by Dunder Hoof who claims that Congress has some mysterious authority to mandate to a private business how it conducts its business when that conduct is not infringing upon the rights of anyone else. Yes, Dunder Hoof you are indeed perpetrating a “fraud.” But I doubt you will ever denounce your own “fraud” as virulently as you denounce those that stand up against your “fraud.”
You just don’t seem like the type of person that deals well with the truth.
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