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Originally Posted by scaeagles
I was going to quote ISM but found there was too much to quote. I think JWBear, who somewhere else posted that Republicans act as if they have the moral high ground, needs to read that post by ISM and make a determination as to who believes they have moral high ground. Perhaps I will copy it to a word document and paste it whenever someone claims that Republicans act as if they are good and dems are evil. Apparently there are (gasp!) dems that have that attitude as well.
I don't really know what else to say about it. It would be pointless when I have been defined as supporting evil.
I can't really say why I am conservative. I have conservative leanings, but I consider myself to be a strict constructionist. I suppose Madison was evil when he said, when a small charitable appropriations bill came before him -
"I cannot undertake to lay my finger on that article of the Constitution which granted a right to Congress of expending, on the objects of benevolence, the money of their constituents."
Does this mean I don't support charity? Not in the least. I support charity from charitable organizations of which the government should not be one.
I have read the Federalist Papers. I love the Constitution for what it was intended to be. Before anyone jumps on me and talks about slavery and women voting and the like, the Constitution was only intended to be a "living, breathing document" in terms of the amendment process. It is what it is and to change it requires not the whim of a legislator or President or judge, but a process, and it has rightly been changed in the past. It is not my goal to open a debate on Constitutional philosophy, but more to describe why I am the way I am.
Like LSPoor above me, I also believe that "all people deserve as good a life as possible". I just think that is done differently than liberals do.
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This all begs the question.
Whether it is good, right or moral to outlaw abortion, criminalize gay sex or ban gay marriage does not hinge on whether the effort would surpass constitutional scrutiny.
Whether it is good, right or moral for businesses to refuse to serve people based on race does not hinge on whether the Civil Rights Act really was a valid exercise of power under the Commerce Clause and the Fourteenth Amendment.
Whether it would be good, right or moral for each state to enshrine one religion (which one might it be?) and ban all others does not hinge on whether Justice Scalia is right and the Establishment Clause only prevents Congress from establishing a national church.
By the way, why shouldn't the state or federal government be in the business of providing "charity?" By government charity, I assume you don't want to pay to help poor people. What else don't you want to pay for, directly or indirectly? Social security? Farm subsidies? Tax credits to industries? Public schools your kids don't attend? Maintenance on roads you don't drive? Government is just one form of organization and human action. If Jesus comes back and says, how're you doing with Matthew 25:31-46, I don't think he would be offended to see compassionate and charitable efforts being conducted through civil governments as opposed to megachurches.