Voting for change?

In 2008, Barrack Obama rode the hope of change to the Presidency. Nearly four years later, the hope of any change has faded. This raises the question; can a president really change anything? Maybe a better question would be does a president really want to change anything? Relying on the federal government to restrain itself is like asking the sun not to rise in the east; it's just not going to happen. Not long after the ratification of the Constitution, the federal government has continued to grow. From Marbury vs. Madison, to the War Between the States, to the takeover of the railroads and creation of the Federal Reserve; from the New Deal and Great Society to World War II and USA PATRIOT ACT. There has been no era where the federal government has restrained itself or limited itself to its enumerated powers listed in the constitution. Federal politicians have established themselves as the American aristocracy and invent meanings in clearly written documents to support their grabs of power. The commerce clause, the so called "general welfare clause" and the supremacy clause are three of the biggest offenders. Robert Higgs wrote an excellent book examining the growth of government called Crisis and Leviathan. He shows how the government uses crisis, real or manufactured to increase the scope of their power and never relinquish it. Even during the Clinton years, when there was a supposed budget surplus, the national debt continued to grow. History has shown it does not matter who is in control of the federal government, it continues to grow almost completely unchecked. Since we can't count on the federal government to limit itself are we doomed to live under the ever growing leviathan of bureaucrats and career politicians who think they know how to run our lives better than we do? There are some options that provide a glimmer of hope. In my last article, I wrote about the importance of the 10th Amendment to the United States Constitution. States are going in both directions; several states are reasserting their Constitutional rights under the 10th Amendment, passing state laws that nullify overreaching federal laws. Other states, like Nevada are moving in the other direction, moving towards submission to the federal overlord. This makes it even more important to support candidates that not only support the 10th Amendment but also will stand up against the tyranny coming out of Washington D.C. With just about a month until the elections, instead of focusing on federal races, I will look at some state candidates that understand the constitution and the limits placed on it, as the states are one of the last options to curbing the leviathan we know as our government. If you’re voting for change it must start on the local and state levels where the politicians are held more accountable for their actions. For links and sources please click here.