> “Constitutionally ignorant citizens DESERVE unconstitutionally big federal government.”
I am not so critical of my fellow citizens. I know how hard it is to keep up in life’s day-to-day struggles and responsibilities.
But there is a class of Americans who cannot escape your admonition. And that class comprises more than 7,000 State Legislators.
View this must-see video (all of it) of Mark Levin to understand the only recourse remaining should the Rule of Law in federal courts fail:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdZuV8JnvvA
And in fact even if the Rule of Law prevails in federal courts, the process in the above video should still forge ahead to set a precedent in redressing the tyrannical imbalance set in motion by what you already mentioned, the ‘ill-conceived’ 17th Amendment.
The bottomline is the American People do not today have an effective representational body in Washington DC, but they do have collective and faithful representation in the 50 Statehouses of which we should give thanks and gratitude to revolutionary patriot and statesman George Mason.
As evidenced by the video referenced below, it takes just three minutes to read Congress’s Article I, Section 8-limited powers.
Judge Napolitano & the Constitution
And while Judge Napolitano read Section 8 to argue against constitutionally indefensible Obamacare, he could have just as well been discussing federal immigration policy imo.
I don’t know why Levin didn’t refer to Congres’s Section 8-limited powers in the video that you referenced, or why Ted Cruz didn’t read Section 8 in his filibuster of Obamacare. But I agree with the following excerpt from Thomas Jefferson’s writings.
“Cherish, therefore, the spirit of our people, and keep alive their attention. If once they become inattentive [emphasis added] to the public affairs, you and I, and Congress and Assemblies, judges and governors, shall all become wolves. It seems to be the law of our general nature.” - Thomas Jefferson (Letter to Edward Carrington January 16, 1787)
Sadly, the Jefferson and Madison excerpts regarding immigration along with Section 8 would probably fit on three or four pages. So I respectfully disagree with you about how hard it is to keep up with the federal government’s constitutionally limited powers with respect to life’s day-to-day struggles.