Vice President Joe Biden has a very colorful history when it comes to public statements. When he opens his mouth, it is impossible to know what may come out. From F-bombs to irrational rants, he usually brings some entertainment and spontaneity. Sometimes he will speak the truth in a way that is certain to make his Obama administration handlers cringe. Like yesterday, when he spoke the truth about the rule of law and American exceptionalism. The AP reported that Biden said:
“The more I travel, the more I’ve learned, the more convinced I have become that this thing that we call American exceptionalism, which is controversial in the minds of some intellectuals and others, that this thing called American exceptionalism does exist,” he said. “It’s particularly found in one overarching area — in our deep commitment to the rule of law, in our courts. That’s the truly exceptional and distinguishing aspect of American democracy.”
American exceptionalism exists because our freedoms are protected from government infringement by our Constitution. It is this protection of our God-given rights to life, liberty, and property that allows Americans the privilege of making a better life for ourselves and those around us. When government violates these rights by excessive taxes and regulations, they remove our ability to spend our property as we see fit. Millions of individuals, each making countless decisions every day on how best to spend their time and resources, is a far better recipe for economic growth than Washington D.C. bureaucrat/puppeteers trying to control the economy through regulation, taxation, tax credits, and stimulus spending.
The rule of law is violated when individuals or corporations get government handouts or any kind of special treatment. The front of the United States Supreme Court bears the inscription “Equal Justice Under Law.” This is the rule of law: no one, from the President to the poorest citizen, should have any government-forced advantage over another. Yet we see government-favored special classes every day. Some college students can qualify for federally-subsidized student loans, others cannot. Some drug-addicted welfare moms may get subsidized housing when a hard-working young husband who did things the right way can’t afford a house for his family. Perverse incentives and special-interest-lobbyist-won loopholes do more to hurt our society than to help.
The Constitution grants the federal government a very limited list of powers, chiefly: national defense, regulating trade with foreign nations, guaranteeing that all states have a republican form of government, and the enumerated powers of Article I, Section 8. When the government exceeds its Constitutional limits, neither American exceptionalism nor the rule of law is able to exist as it should. Maybe Vice President Biden should request a meeting with his boss and explain some things to him. Spread this message to your friends, and help The 1789 Project elect leaders who will abide by the limits of our United States Constitution
