Mel Watt on Health Care

Are his comments in the paper today a reflection of genuine ignorance regarding the Constitution; artfulness and disingenuousness; or just plain old hypocrisy? 

Or do his comments somehow reflect a combination of all these items?

Sam at Piedmont Publius has more.

Comments

[Stormy]

"“I’d look at the preamble to the Constitution that talks about the health and welfare and national defense of our country,” Watt said. “You can’t make a compelling case to do national defense or some of the other things that are mentioned in the preamble... and then say the federal government has no role to play in the health of the nation. I just don’t understand that argument.”

Preamble
We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

The preamble states "promote the general welfare" and "provide for the common defense", and it makes no mention whatsoever of health of the nation. I suspect that Mel Watt doesn't even know what is in our constitution that he swore to support and defend when he took office. How can you swear that oath, if you do not know what is in it?

Mr. Watt should be reminded that he also took this oath:

"I do solemnly swear (or affirm), that I will administer justice without respect to persons, and do equal right to the poor and to the rich, and that I will faithfully and impartially discharge and perform all the duties incumbent on me, according to the best of my abilities and understanding, agreeably to the Constitution, and laws of the United States. So help me God."

He swore to administer justice and do equal right to the poor and rich, and then participates in the looting of the rich, and less rich for the benefit of the poor. Face it, ObamaCare is wealth redistribution at its best. When Mel Watt, Barack Obama, and the others try to "spread the wealth", they are breaking the oath of their office. Practicing Marxism is not legal under our constitution, so there is little wonder these people want to bend and break it.

[Joe Guarino]

Stormy, some great points. Watt and many liberals try to use the general welfare clause in the Preamble to justify all kinds of welfare test interventions at the federal level. But the Preamble is merely an introduction that provides context and purpose for the more specific language in the rest of the Constitution. It is not a license for the federal government to extort power, and engage in any kind of activity.

[Beau D. Jackson]

Mel Watt on Health Care

I believe Mr Watt was to have stopped by Thomasville also, I wonder what kind of a reception he received here, I bet not the same as in Greensboro. I had the best of intentions of going to the meeting but the "Honey-Do" list at the new house was just too long! Beau