I've spent the past two years reading the Constitution carefully, with
no legislative duties to distract me, and what I see in the Constitution
is not something that should give comfort to small-government, state's
rights, hard-money, no-internal-improvement conservatives.
Conservative Republicans tend to go on and on about how the Constitution
puts shackles on Congress. Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) recently explained
that "although the Constitution does give some defined powers to the
federal government, it is overwhelmingly a document of limits, and those
limits must be respected."
DeMint has, usually, a very clear view of his own eye. The intention
to limit Congress is, to me at least, pretty hard to actually find in
the Constitution itself. Article I, which sets up the House and Senate
and lays out their powers, is the longest Article in the document. Its
2500 words amount to fully one-third of the Constitution, even today
after 27 amendments. In Article I, about 450 words are devoted to
specific powers of Congress; about half that many to things Congress
can't do. And in case you begin, Ron Paul-style, to claim that Congress
can do only what is in Article I § 8, please look carefully at Article I
§ 8 cl. 18, which gives Congress the power "to make all laws which
shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing
powers, and all other powers vested by this Constitution in the
government of the United States, or in any department or officer
thereof." (Italics mine.)
If in fact you are Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX), please volunteer to read the
specific text that gives Congress the power to conduct the kind of
investigation of the Federal Reserve you plan. You can take the day off,
Dr. Paul; it isn't there. To most readers, though, it is clearly
implied--as are a lot of other powers Rep. Paul claims to find
illegitimate, including the power to issue Federal Reserve notes instead
of gold or silver certificates.
New members: Please don't leave the floor after George Washington's name
is read either, because the Constitution has actually been changed
since 1787. The following amendments all add to Congress's power: 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 19th, 20th, 23rd, and 24th. To the extent that you really care
about the text, it's hard to discern Sen. DeMint's "overwhelming" list
of limits.
There really are significant limits in the Constitution, of course--but
the majority of them are limits placed on the states. The Constitution's
text forbids the states from conducting their own foreign policy,
printing their own money, taxing goods shipped in or out of their
borders, or engaging in military operations. Many things they can only
do by asking Congress's permission; states can't even negotiate among
themselves unless Congress consents. In fact, the federal government
retains veto power over each state's constitution, which must create a
"republican form of government."