A cogent analysis of the past week, from Andrew Sullivan:
CONSERVATISM COME UNDONE: So it is now the federal government’s role to micro-manage baseball and to prevent a single Florida woman who is trapped in a living hell from dying with dignity. We’re getting to the point when conservatism has become a political philosophy that believes that government – at the most distant level – has the right to intervene in almost anything to achieve the right solution. Today’s conservatism is becoming yesterday’s liberalism.
Indeed.
Oh, Andy knows all the inner workings of her existence. I wish I had known…I would have left you two to handle it all. I wouldn’t even bother asking how he knows this, since it’s Andy.
Andy can recognize the improper abuse of Congressional power when he sees it, Scott: he’s a conservative, after all.
Well, at least Sullivan’s right about the impropriety of Congress interfering with MLB’s decisions about players’ use of steroids.
For one thing, the federal government has only those powers which the Constitution gives it, and the Constitution says nothing about any kind of drugs (steroids, alcohol, marijuana, or whatever). If people think it’s so imperative that the federal government prohibit or regulate drug use, they need to amend the Constitution to give the government that power.
As to steroids in baseball, the consumers (fans) can readily handle the issue without any level of government interfering. Simply contact MLB and tell them you’ll stop going to games or buying merchandise if they don’t crack down harder on steroid use, and carry through on the threat if MLB doesn’t do enough for your liking.
P.S. The 18th Amendment prohibited manufacture, sale, use, import, export, etc. of alcohol in the whole country. The 21st Amendment, however, repealed the 18th and provided only that alcohol use, important, etc. had to conform to the laws of the States. The 21st Amendment does not give the fed government any power over alcohol.