There Will be Blood

[Mishka]

I agree with you on this point, but time after time the interstate Commerce clause makes states rights its bitch. What do you propose to do about this federal loophole?

The clause does not grant Congress exclusive power to regulate all commerce; it grants Congress power to regulate interstate commerce, such that states regulatory powers do not extend to interstate commerce (thus preventing states from erecting protectionist regulations; e.g., Baldwin v. G.A.F. Seelig, wherein New York had tried using alleged health concerns as a pretext for keeping out products from other states in order to protect their own industries).

Biut the courts are granting expanded powers to the Feds through the Commerce Clause. A judge in Va. affirmed the health care mandate due to his belief that a person will need health care at some point in his or her life. Talk about stretching the Commerce Clause.