Speaker Pelosi was recently asked by a reporter whether the Constitution grants the federal government power to force all Americans to buy health insurance.  She dismissed the question by responding: “Are you serious?”  When the reporter assured her that this was a legitimate question, she refused to answer. 

We should all be shocked by Speaker Pelosi’s response.  Her primary duty as an elected representative is to exercise only those powers granted to her by the Constitution.  Yet she disdainfully refused to answer this fundamental question.  A question that she is compelled to answer given her role as an elected representative in our Republic.  The answer to this question is critical to our democracy and the principle, espoused by the founding fathers, that we must forever remain a nation of law, not men if we are to preserve our freedom. 

When the founding fathers decided to break their ties with England, they went beyond a mere statement of independence to make a more emphatic statement about the nature of government and the rights of a free people.  The founding fathers saw fit to declare: 

“We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness—That to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among men, deriving their power from the Consent of the Governed.” 

It is this belief in the inalienable freedom of people that led to the creation of the republican form of government embodied in our Constitution - a form of government that holds to the eternal principle that both governor and governed, ruler and ruled are subject to the same law.  Our founding fathers understood that all legitimate political power must stem directly from the consent of the governed.  To ensure individual liberty, the people lend certain limited powers to their government.  This is accomplished through adoption of our Constitution which serves as the supreme law of the land and the primary vehicle that ensures our freedom.  The principle of individual liberty as guaranteed by our Constitution is at the heart of what makes America both great and unique.  Our continued freedom depends on our elected representatives taking the limitations placed on them by the Constitution seriously. All of our elected representatives, including the Speaker, must recognize that they are empowered to act only within the confines of what the Constitution permits.   

Asking about the Constitutionality of a piece of proposed legislation is not a stupid question, nor a novel one.  It is a fundamental question that must be answered by our elected representatives.  Speaker Pelosi has been granted the honor of serving in the United States Congress by the people of her district.  In her oath of office, she solemnly swore and affirmed to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States.”  She should be excited to be given an opportunity to explain how proposed health care legislation fits within the confines of our Constitution.  If this question is not adequately answered, we run the risk of giving up our freedom in favor of oppressive government. We run the risk of destroying the very essence of what makes America great. We risk becoming a nation of men, not law.

Sam is an attorney currently working as a tax consultant and advisor to a variety of business clients located throughout the Midwest.  He is a native of Belpre, Ohio, and a graduate of Ohio State University (B.A. Political Science) and Capital University School of Law (J.D., LL.M. Tax and Business Law).  During his career, Sam has worked as in house counsel to a health care service provider and as an attorney in private practice.