One more point. The "statements" of the "founding fathers" mean nothing. There is nothing in the Constitution that says any statement by any founder has any weight. All that matters is what the Constitution actually says, and how the powers created by it function.
Look at my tagline. That's a quote from a "founding father." A great American patriot. Should his thoughts have less weight than, say, Alexander Hamilton's? On what legal basis?
The Consitutional Convention was held in secret. They weren't allowed to publish their notes until after ratification. Madison didn't publish is until after his death. Therefore, their thoughts have no bearing, because the people, when they ratified the Constitution, were not aware of their thoughts.
The Federalist Papers? OK, but what legal basis is there for giving them more weight than the ANTI-federalist papers? And since they contradict, which one should be supreme?
Nope. At the end of the day, all that matters is what the Constitution says, and how it functions in reality. We've got 200 years of data, and I think it speaks pretty loudly.
Just so. Patrick Henry certainly was.
But so were Madison, Hamilton, Washington, Jefferson, and Jay, the patriots you regularly insult along with our beloved Constitution.