Quote:
Originally Posted by Pete F.
Most Americans think there should be a federally coordinated response, because just like interstate commerce the virus is not required to pay attention to state laws
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I had passed over this because it seemed silly. Of course, there was and is a federal response. But it is not supposed to override the states' responsibilities. At this point, most of the responsibility for handling covid rests with the states. You keep wanting the federal government to usurp the states' authority. I doubt if you think states are even necessary. Like the Constitution, they just get in the way of the central government being in total "coordinated" control.
You even seem to apply that notion to the Interstate Commerce Clause. Progressives would agree with you. They're the ones who transformed that clause from the limited federal power that is specifically expressed in the constitutional text into one which gives the Federal government nearly unlimited power. The Progressive "interpretation" of that clause and the Welfare Clause basically makes the rest of the Constitution an unnecessary waste of words. The "loose" and "elastic" Progressive interpretation of those clauses Just about gives the federal government total control of the country.
Contrary to what you say, interstate commerce does have to pay attention to state laws. The only thing the Commerce Clause was supposed to do was create a regularity in commerce between the states. Under the Articles of Confederation, the states economically warred with each other--imposed tarifs and made it more difficult and cumbersome with regulations on commerce from other states that competed with that in their own state. The ICC clause was made simply to stop interstate commerce wars. Otherwise, interstate commerce still must obey the same state laws that apply to all commerce in the states they visit.