There seems to be a fairly significant downside to a “living” Constitution: you can’t keep it from growing uncontrollably! In the latest Constitutional Guidance for Lawmakers essay, David Forte outlines the staggering expansion in the reach of the Commerce Clause under the Progressives, from “The trafficking and trading of economic commodities” to “Any human activity or other phenomenon that has any ultimate impact on activities in more states than one.”
Under the latter interpretation, the Commerce Clause has been invoked to validate most of the vast regulatory expansion of the national government since the New Deal. It is the responsibility of the 112th Congress, however, to restore the original intent of the Constitution – including the proper limitations of the Commerce Clause.
