Constitution wins
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
August 8, 1998 Editorial
Chalk up a victory for constitutional liberty, and a rebuke to the despotic ambitions that define the Clinton presidency.
Executive Order 13083 is dead in the water.
Mr. Clinton's pretended reaffirmation of Executive Branch allegiance to the doctrine of federalism was contained in the EO, signed in May and scheduled to take effect this month. While the directive's wording was innocuous at the start, it took a tyrannical turn in Section 3.
That's when reaffirmation turned into reinterpretation. Yes, the 10th Amendment ("The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited to it by the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people") was to be obeyed - save for certain exceptions. The exceptions, thick with ambiguity, opened the door to federal intrusions in state and local affairs that were constitutionally indefensible.
We editorialized against this outrage last month, urging readers to contact their representatives and senators and demand congressional action to stem this attack upon the Bill of Rights. We weren't alone. Credit is due broadcasters such as Pittsburgh's Jim Quinn and scholars such as the Heritage Foundation's, two of many who contributed mightily to public awareness on this issue.
With the coup out of the bag, so to speak, organizations such as the National Council of State Legislatures, the National Association of Counties and the U.S. Conference of Mayors, thundered against 13083. Members of Congress were feeling the heat from constituents anxious that this attack upon our liberties be suppressed.
Not wishing to risk voter wrath a few months before a major election, the president Wednesday suspended EO 13083 indefinitely. The House took no chances, voting 417-2 to quash the measure.
Mr. Clinton's back door attempt to nullify the 10th failed. But he's as persistent an enemy of the Constitution as we've had in high office. He'll return to the attack. Of that you can be sure.
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