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August 16, 2005
This Ain't a New Deal
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Edward Lazarus, a lawyer in private practice, is author of "Closed Chambers: The Rise, Fall and Future of the Modern Supreme Court." |
Marci writes as if the breadth of Congress' power — and, thus, the debilitating diffusion of its focus — is a new phenomenon. Actually, the broad view of congressional power has been settled constitutional law for almost 70 years (since the New Deal) — with the Rehnquist Court now turning the clock back to some degree. During these seven decades, the country somehow managed to muddle through and Congress even managed to pass lots of landmark legislation, including all the major civil rights and environmental laws. In short, it is ahistorical to blame recent congressional failings on the scope of congressional power.
Posted at August 16, 2005 02:32 PM