(UPDATE) Is Senator Sherrod Brown an anti-constitutionalist?

Last September I wrote Senator Brown a email because his staff compared the actions of ACORN to those of the Catholic Church. I wrote asking Senator Brown what his official position regarding the Catholic Church and ACORN was? I received a personal reply in a matter of days.

More recently, I email Senator Brown a question regarding Constitutional Law and health care. I received the standard cut and paste response to a generic health care question. Senator Brown chose not to answer my questions so I now assume Senator Brown believes Congress has the power to over-ride Constitutional Law. Senator Brown also must believe our country did not have health care during the writing of our Constitution.

(I cut and pasted the following into an email to Senator Brown)

After several attempts to get two questions answered by Senator Brown via email, yesterday I called his office to ask my questions directly. 1). I asked, “Will Senator Brown please provide the Article and Section in the Constitution that grants the Federal Government authority to regulate and pass laws regarding health care?” 2). “Where in the Constitution is authority established to compel citizens to purchase health insurance or any other commodity or service as part of being a law-abiding United States Citizen?”

The person in Senator Brown’s officer told me the Constitution does not give government authority to regulate health care; BUT, congress has the authority to pass any law as long as the law was “for the good of the people”.

Following these anti-Constitutional statements I was told by Senator Brown’s representative, that health care was not addressed in the Constitution by the Founding Fathers because our nation did not have Medical Care back then.

Really! Senator Brown, is it your position that this nation did not have health care during the writing of our Constitution? And, Congress can pass any law as long as the law “is for the good of the people?”

Please Senator Brown; will you respond to this letter?

(Response from Senator Brown;)

Dear Mr. Smiley:

Thank you for sharing your views regarding health reform.

Deliberations are ongoing and the issues you have raised are included in these discussions. In particular, there is continued debate related to provisions that would establish a public option, insurance reforms, tax credits, and an excise tax on “Cadillac” insurance plans. Additionally, the Senate continues its dialogue on Medicare issues, including provider payment rates, program eligibility, patient access, medical malpractice, and further improving Medicare benefits for the more than 44 million current enrollees.

Ensuring that the health reform legislation is budget neutral is a firm commitment that Congress will continue to uphold now and in the future. These issues won’t be resolved until a merged bill is agreed upon by both the House and Senate. As Congress moves forward on health reform, I will certainly work to address the issues contained in your letter.

If you wish to learn more about my work on health reform as well as the most Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) that Ohioans have posed to my office, please visit my website at:

http://brown.senate.g....

Thank you again for getting in touch with me on this important issue.

Sincerely,

Sherrod Brown
United States Senator


Below is a post I made on Columbus/Central Ohio 912 Project Message Board. Please notice that Senator Brown wrote me a "personal" reply to my allegations. Apparently he wanted to set the record straight regarding his position on the Catholic Church/ACORN comparison his staff made during a phone conversation.


I called Sherrod Brown's office a few days back. I wanted to known if Senator Brown supported ACORN, and I also wanted to know what the senator thought of the undercover investigation and what was uncovered.

Senator Brown's spokesperson compared ACORN with the Catholic Church which made me mad as hell.

I wrote Senator Brown asking if he truly believed ACORN was on par with the Catholic Church when it came to community organizing.

Seems he is backpedaling quickly; I received the following. (First Personal Reply to date; I usually get a cut and paste reply)


Dear Mr. Smiley:

Thank you for sharing your concerns regarding the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN). I was disturbed by your comment relaying your conversation with a staff person in my Columbus office. I certainly do not equate ACORN with the Catholic Church, and in fact I voted yesterday to bar ACORN from receiving any funds, directly or indirectly, from the appropriations bill under consideration that will fund federal transportation, housing, and urban development efforts.

A number of Ohioans have contacted me concerned that ACORN may be receiving tax dollars for voter registration efforts or to promote affordable housing as a result of the recent Emergency Economic Stabilization Act (EESA). Many have also expressed concerns regarding the current situation involving the organization’s practices in Baltimore and Florida.

I certainly understand these concerns, however, ACORN is not receiving federal funds for voter registration or as a result of EESA. The federal government does not fund voter registration drives by any group.

As a former Secretary of State, I understand and value the importance of the integrity of the voting process. I strongly support efforts to investigate and prosecute voting fraud. For the most part, these law enforcement efforts are carried out at the state and local level. This is why local authorities have jurisdiction in the investigation of the 11 individuals accuse of fraud in Florida and Baltimore.

I will continue to monitor this situation. Should legislation regarding this matter come before the Senate, I will keep your views in mind.

Thank you again for getting in touch with me.

Sincerely,

Sherrod Brown
United States Senator