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House Bill Would Eliminate Most Regulatory Functions Of Federal Government
Let's begin by understanding more about Dominion Theology, a term I'm using interchangeably here with the Christian Reconstruction movement. One of my favorite books on the subject is Dominion Theology Blessing or Curse? by Thomas Ice (published by Multnomah, 1988). Ice spent twelve years wholeheartedly supporting Christian Reconstructionism until he left the movement over theological disagreements and founded the Pre-Trib Research Center with Tim LaHaye. (LaHaye is co-author of the infamous Left Behind series. For more on Tim LaHaye, read Chip Berlet's The World According to Tim LaHaye at Talk To Action.) Ice remains to this day the Executive Director of the Pre-Trib Research Center. But back in the seventies and eighties, Ice was an enthusiastic follower of Christian Reconstructionism and, upon leaving the movement, wrote Dominion Theology Blessing or Curse?. He devotes one chapter to the following question: What Would A Reconstructed America Be Like? Christian Reconstructionists, Ice claims, limit the role of the federal government to only four "legitimate functions." They are:
restraining civil evil, Restraining, punishing, protecting and defending. That's it! Each one of the four "legitimate functions" deserves a lengthy discussion, but instead, we are going to look at what's missing from this list. The Texas 2004 Republican Party Platform spelled it out. The platform called for abolishing:
the Bureau of Tobacco and Firearms, the position of Surgeon General, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Departments of Energy, Housing and Urban Development, Health and Human Services, Education, Commerce and Labor. We also call for the de-funding or abolition of the National Endowment for the Arts, and Public Broadcasting System. p 19 Now for the new hot-off-the-press Texas 2006 GOP Platform The language changes and the strategy becomes sharper. They don't line-up all of those agencies for the chopping block. They'll just cut them down in one fell swoop. The new platform simply reads under "Downsizing the federal government":
We further support the abolition of federal agencies not involved in activities not delegated to the federal government under the original intent of the Constitution. p 23 What does "the original intent of the Constitution" mean? It begins to come into focus further down on page 23 under "Sunset Laws:"
We support a mandatory sunset law for the State of Texas that would automatically terminate all agencies or programs if they are not re-enacted by the legislature every ten years. We also support the establishment of a sunset policy for federal agencies patterned after the Texas Sunset Law. So every federal agency and program would be terminated unless re-enacted by the legislature every ten years. Whoa! In a country so polarized, what are the chances that Congress will agree to each federal agency and program every ten years? Basically none.
Back to the legislation currently under consideration:: GOP congressional leaders may bring to a vote within weeks a proposal that could literally wipe out any federal program that protects public health or the environment--or for that matter civil rights, poverty programs, auto safety, education, affordable housing, Head Start, workplace safety or any other activity targeted by anti-regulatory forces. Lord help us. (More to come on dominionism and the federal government. Stay tuned.) Part I of this series looks at the Constitution in Exile movement made up of legal scholars, lawyers and judges (including some on the Supreme Court) who would not only oppose the regulatory functions of the federal government, but also of state governments as well. While, to be sure, not all adherents of the Constitution in Exile movement are dominionists, they are creating the legal infrastructure that will enable dominionists to move us toward a theocracy.
House Bill Would Eliminate Most Regulatory Functions Of Federal Government | 13 comments (13 topical, 0 hidden)
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