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May 12, 2005
Eisenhower on the Politics of Federal Social Programs
Kos follows David Sirota in quoting part of a November 8, 1954 letter from President Dwight David Eisenhower to his brother Edgar Newton Eisenhower. In this letter he defends the "moderation" of his presidency. The letter begins with a response to this statement in an earlier letter from Edgar.
I have faith in your inherent desire to operate this country on a constitutional basis giving to the states what are legitimately their rights, and assuming for the Federal Government only those limited powers which the Constitution intended that it should have.
The President famously responded,
I should like to point out that the meaning of the Constitution is what the Supreme Court says it is. Consequently no powers are exercised by the Federal government except where such exercise is approved by the Supreme Court(lawyers) of the land.
While Eisenhower expressed consternation at some of the Courts rulings, he non-the-less understood and supported their role. He then wrote the following, which Kos and Sirota quote in part:
Now it is true that I believe this country is following a dangerous trend when it permits too great a degree of centralization of governmental functions. I oppose this--in some instances the fight is a rather desperate one. But to attain any success it is quite clear that the Federal government cannot avoid or escape responsibilities which the mass of the people firmly believe should be undertaken by it. The political processes of our country are such that if a rule of reason is not applied in this effort, we will lose everything--even to a possible and drastic change in the Constitution. This is what I mean by my constant insistence upon "moderation" in government. Should any political party attempt to abolish social security, unemployment insurance, and eliminate labor laws and farm programs, you would not hear of that party again in our political history. There is a tiny splinter group, of course, that believes you can do these things. Among them are H. L. Hunt (you possibly know his background), a few other Texas oil millionaires, and an occasional politician or business man from other areas. Their number is negligible and they are stupid. [emphasis added]
He is for decentralization of the Federal government, but, and it is a big but, the Federal government has responsibilities that the "mass of the people firmly believe" belong to it. He sees a very great risk, even to the Constitution itself, if the Federal government tries to avoid these responsibilities.
Kos and Sirota correctly point out that we now have a Texas (well psuido-Texas) oil millionaire as President. What they don't say is that, better than some of his critics believe, George W. Bush and/or his handlers know that what Eisenhower wrote is still true. That is Bush's motivation for the attempt to demonize the courts including the Supreme Court and to replace it with another Court that defines the Constitution to his liking. It is also the motivation for his attempt to confuse and deceive the "mass of the people" as to what they can and should believe about Social Security, labor laws, etc.
The worry is that it will work.
Posted by Duane Smith at May 12, 2005 8:30 AM | Read more on Current Events |
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