PrintApril 22, 2011
What Do Light Bulbs Have to do with the Commerce Clause?
Rand Paul, freshman US Senator from Kentucky, at a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing last month, summed up in a few choice sentences the Democratic Party progressive agenda:You're really anti-choice on every consumer item that you've listed here, including light bulbs, refrigerators, toilets -- you name it, you can't go around your house without being told what to buy... You raise the cost of all the items with your rules, all your notions that you know what's best for me. A few days ago, in further hearings on more appliance regulations, Sen. Paul continued his assault on the "boot heel of the collective," drawing from Ayn Rand.Exhortations about light bulbs and liberty are good for a rally or entertainment for a cable news sound bite, or a late night comedy show. But there's more going on here. It's time for us to insist that there is no basis in the US Constitution for home appliance regulations designed to control the consumption of...(Read Full Article)
