Biden Joins the All-Stars of Constitutional Contempt

“Partisan applesauce” is an apt phrase. The first casualty in all the major issues of the last few years has been truth… with nuance of any kind close behind.

For what it’s worth, I’m pro-vaccine. I think it’s foolhardy to be against lockdowns and masks and also be against vaccines. (It’s like being against poverty but also against inheritance, charity, welfare, and employment).

Employers strongly encouraging vaccination is a good idea, and requiring vaccination and/or testing of employees seems pretty easily defensible to me as well.

If Congress passed legislation requiring employers to require vaccination, we wouldn’t have any Constitutional grounds for objecting. But the executive branch doesn’t have the authority to decree that.

So, please, let’s separate two ideas that really are distinct:

• Being pro-vaccine
• Being pro-federal vaccine mandate

These aren’t the same thing at all.

… and no, it doesn’t matter if the president in question is ‘our guy’ or ‘their guy.’

[Aaron Blumer]

If Congress passed legislation requiring employers to require vaccination, we wouldn’t have any Constitutional grounds for objecting. But the executive branch doesn’t have the authority to decree that.

That’s not correct Aaron. If Congress did pass such legislation, there would be a strong Constitutional objection—Congress has no enumerated power to pass such a law. Given the current sorry state of Commerce Clause rulings, it might well stand judicial review if they did. But under the actual Constitution, Congress doesn’t get to unilaterally decree an outcome they desire any more than the President does. The quaint notion that the Constitution limits the power of government in order to protect individual rights may be out of style today, but it’s still correct. So Congress decreeing such a mandate wouldn’t be any more proper than the President issuing one.

Really, this is all about a failure to persuade the populace to do the things that are needed. If you can’t persuade, you try to force people to do it, and the trouble with that is, as Robert points out, that it’s flatly unconstitutional.

Regarding previous state and local mandates for masks and lockdowns, the interesting thing is that statistically speaking, they don’t work. For that matter, the protection afforded by a mask isn’t that good—about 25% reduced rate of transmission if I remember right. So if people wear a mask, but go out 30% more often than they would otherwise, you’re net negative in the results. (number may not be precise, but a mask is not exactly body armor vs. COVID)

Biden’s in a tough spot. If he doesn’t throw out red meat for his base (really the far left), his party hangs him out to dry. But it’s that very habit of throwing out red meat for his base that is alienating most of the country, and making it impossible for even a mandate to work. He’s got a lot of making up to do, and I don’t know that he has either the temperament or ability.

A parallel issue is that Fauci has messed up—arguably lied—about the likely links between WIV and COVID, about NIH funding of gain of function research, about the sending of COVID positive patients into nursing homes, and about the sending north of COVID positive illegal immigrants. He’s got some fessing up, apologizing, and really resigning to do over that. The thought I have is “if Fauci is going to mess up these huge issues, and he’s the supposed expert, exactly what am I achieving by wearing my face mask and working from home?” I’m guessing I’m not alone here.

I think what Biden is faced with is as follows:

• 55% to 60% of Americans support a vaccine mandate (depending on which survey you look at). Regardless of the exact number, it is clear that a majority of Americans support a vaccine mandate.
• More than half of US companies have implemented or are in the process of implementing vaccine mandates. A number of large business lobbying groups have been putting pressure on the administration to put into place a vaccine mandate. They are viewing this as providing clarity around a return to work scenario, which many businesses are having a challenging time navigating.
• Nearly 75% of adults (18 or older) have received a vaccine shot, clearly indicating that a large majority are not concerned about the safety of the vaccine and/or view any risk of the shot to be less than the risk of COVID
• A further @50% of adults who have not received the shot are ambivalent toward getting a shot and would be willing to get a shot if they were mandated to get a shot. This means there are just about 13% of adults who are highly resistant to getting a shot. As a result Biden has offered a reasonable exemption (weekly COVID testing at cost).
• There is strong support for vaccine mandates that have been tested by the courts, including the Supreme court over the last 117 years. There will definitely be challenges, but the footing is fairly solid.
• The unvaccinated is starting to have a heavy burden on our health care system. Kaiser Family Foundation, a non-partisan research group, has estimated that in June and July of this year, the cost of COVID that is not covered by insurance and therefore born by the system as a whole was $2.3B. It was also estimated that the unvaccinated contributed to 84% of those costs. Those costs are ultimately born by those individuals who purchase insurance plans through higher premiums.

I am not so concerned with this order. First, he did not mandate vaccines. He issued an order to OSHA to develop a vaccine mandate that follows a few of his key principles but is aligned legally with OSHA’s mandate. He seems to be directing the right agency to make a rule that is clearly in their scope of responsibility. Second, he has offered a very broad exemption. No one needs to fill out a form, they just need to get tested once a week. The costs of that testing has been negotiated by the federal government. With the exemption, it will probably be hard to indicate that this order from OSHA will be deemed illegal. Third, there appears to be broad support across the population, the legislative branch and it appears to be within the legal framework of the federal government as well as upheld by the court systems. I am struggling to see where this is an over reach, or as many vaccine hesitant people have stated, “a tyrrany that must be resisted at all costs.”

[dgszweda]

I am struggling to see where this is an over reach, or as many vaccine hesitant people have stated, “a tyrrany that must be resisted at all costs.”

First, I’m pro-vaccine. I took Moderna’s vaccine.

Second, I think the concern is that the federal gov’t is mandating its citizens and private companies put something into our bodies.

Pro-vaccine as well. Encourage everyone to get it. I got the Chinese Sinovac — which isn’t great, but it’s what was available to me. And I got it.
The mandate is a terrible idea. Frankly, it doesn’t matter if it’s only 40% that’s “against the mandate” if those 40% are violently against the mandate, if you follow me. And many of them are.

Let’s split the unvaccinated into two camps as well, before we make too many comments about them being the source of so much trouble: those who have had covid, and those who have not.

For those who have, leave them alone. If the latest studies are to be trusted, their immunity is better than yours.

[T Howard]

First, I’m pro-vaccine. I took Moderna’s vaccine.

Second, I think the concern is that the federal gov’t is mandating its citizens and private companies put something into our bodies.

First, state governments have been mandating school vaccines. For most people in the US, this has been a reality for their entire lifetime. I believe it is 5 states that offer no exemptions. Second, there is no mandate to put anything into anyone’s bodies. You have the option to 1) get the vaccine, or 2) get tested on a weekly basis. If someone is so concerned about putting something into your body than get tested.

[dgszweda]

With the exemption, it will probably be hard to indicate that this order from OSHA will be deemed illegal. Third, there appears to be broad support across the population, the legislative branch and it appears to be within the legal framework of the federal government as well as upheld by the court systems. I am struggling to see where this is an over reach, or as many vaccine hesitant people have stated, “a tyranny that must be resisted at all costs.”

Tell me you don’t understand the Tenth Amendment without telling me you don’t understand the Tenth Amendment. But don’t feel too bad. You are far from alone in that failing. Paul Harvey was right when he wrote, “A government big enough to give you everything you want is big enough to take away everything you have.” This is about way more than shots.

If the msm would actually report the many opposing views of highly qualified medical professionals like Dr. Robert Malone (who of course has been smeared) I might trust them a bit more. Malone and others have stated that you cannot vaccinate your way out of a coronavirus pandemic; it will mutate into worse forms if you try to do it. It is not like smallpox.

Here’s a brief article from someone that was deleted from all the main outlets: https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2021/sep/12/they-are-controlling-y…

Why ban it? What is going on? Why not allow MD’s to treat COVID with medicines like ivermectin?

I am not against vaccines, but we don’t even know what’s in these new vaccines, although some research has found that the spike protein accumulates in various parts of the body such as reproductive organs. The fear is it will make young people infertile.

I agree with Robert above. There’s more going on than “public safety.”

[Robert Byers]

Tell me you don’t understand the Tenth Amendment without telling me you don’t understand the Tenth Amendment. But don’t feel too bad. You are far from alone in that failing. Paul Harvey was right when he wrote, “A government big enough to give you everything you want is big enough to take away everything you have.” This is about way more than shots.

We will have to see what the courts decide. It is much more nuanced than just saying “Tenth Amendment”. You have the Commerce Clause the Occupational Health and Safety Act and others. The Supreme Court, if it decides, will have to determine it.

I would argue it is not about more than shots. If a state governor had enacted a vaccine mandate, the same people would be screaming. How do I know? Because the same people screamed about states imposing a mask mandate. The conservative side has no problem ignoring the 10th Amendment when the Administration is conservative and they are imposing a conservative aligned mandate. Why do I say that? Because when Trump stated, “When somebody is the president of the United States, the authority is total and that’s the way it’s got to be. … It’s total. The governors know that.” No conservative or Trump supporter batted an eyelash to his statement. Trump signed an executive order directing the HHS to require health care providers to provide transparency of costs. Most constitutional observers stated that this was a violation of the 10th Amendment. No one on FoxNews raised a concern, so it isn’t an issue.

I have no doubt that this will be challenged in court. And we will have to see what happens. My gut says that it will stick. We will see though.

[Paul Henebury]

I am not against vaccines, but we don’t even know what’s in these new vaccines, although some research has found that the spike protein accumulates in various parts of the body such as reproductive organs. The fear is it will make young people infertile.

I agree with Robert above. There’s more going on than “public safety.”

First, the spike proteins created by the vaccines don’t accumulate in the reproductive organs. That is generated from people who have absolutely no clue about how the mRNA vaccine works. I don’t have time to post all the links of the studies, but the mRNA in the vaccines have been tagged with radionucleotides in a broad range of studies to see where it goes. The vast majority is within 1cm of the injection site, practically all of the rest is transported into the local lymph node (under your arm). It is not injected into the bloodstream, so it doesn’t go around the bloodstream. The mRNA is absorbed into the cell via the lipid carrier. The spike protein is made on the cell that it is absorbed into and the cell is destroyed by the immune system. This is so well studied. Practically all spike proteins have been eliminated in less than 4 weeks.

BTW, we know what is 100% in all of these vaccines and we know exactly what happens to every piece of substance in the vaccine. The mRNA vaccines are unlike anything before in terms of understanding. Not only that, but they leverage each person’s natural mechanisms to create a defence mechanism.

Everyone, states, “there is more going on”, but no one can identify the underlying secret agency that is able to manipulate the federal government, over 100 foreign governments, health agencies all across the world and university and research centers. But somehow there is someone there.

They’ve worked in the schools at a state level for decades, yes, but with most states having conscience exemptions. I don’t see how you get around that. There is also the issue that the state has more authority in the schools it funds and mandates than in private workplaces.

And even so, I remember meeting an OB nurse who’d gotten whooping cough due to hippies around Boulder (where I lived at the time) not vaccinating their kids. So it certainly wasn’t foolproof.

So you’ve really got state/federal differences and the 10th Amendment, whether or not the CDC legislation even pretends to grant the authority the Biden administration says it has, and then the difference between public and private institutions. I wouldn’t be surprised if even the liberal wing of the Court said “no” on that one.

Probably worst yet is that those who haven’t gotten vaccinated yet really resent things being “forced down their throats.” What’s desperately needed is a dose of honesty and actual data, admit there is a real risk, but the alternative is the possibility of things going horrendously wrong with the disease.

Instead, people who were significantly put out of work by the lockdowns because you can’t do factory work from home are being told they’re to blame while they watch Fauci skate for his funding of WIV gain of function research on bat virii, and for his failure to speak up regarding nursing homes and sending illegals north with COVID. They “flipped the bird” at the political class in a major way by electing Trump in 2016, and they’re already ticked at what Biden’s done with the sacrifices their sons made in Afghanistan.

Even if by some odd chance the courts uphold this one, it was an incredibly foolish move by Biden. He’s throwing away the credibility of the public health system (with the help of Fauci and Murthy, sadly) in exactly the same way he’s thrown away the credibility of U.S. alliances with the disastrous way he withdrew from Afghanistan. As his former boss warned, never underestimate the ability of Biden to **** things up.

(but at least we don’t have mean tweets anymore….)

[Bert Perry]

Even if by some odd chance the courts uphold this one, it was an incredibly foolish move by Biden. He’s throwing away the credibility of the public health system (with the help of Fauci and Murthy, sadly) in exactly the same way he’s thrown away the credibility of U.S. alliances with the disastrous way he withdrew from Afghanistan.

Catastrophize much, Bert?

So do I believe you on mRNA vaccines or do I believe the guy who invented mRNA technology?

“This is so well studied.” These vaccines have been rushed and you say we have a lot of research? These vaccines (as opposed to most vaccines) do NOT stay in one place. Where are you getting your stuff from? A Viral Immunologist Byram Bridle (who has also been smeared) contradicts you! You say we know 100% what’s in these vaccines. Okay, that’s cool, what’s in them?

Look, I’m no anti-vaxxer. My wife has had it and I may have it. But I have doctor friends who tell me they would never give the vaccine to their kids. I just want to hear both sides. If one side is stopping the other side from being heard something fishy is going on.

[T Howard]

Bert Perry wrote:

Even if by some odd chance the courts uphold this one, it was an incredibly foolish move by Biden. He’s throwing away the credibility of the public health system (with the help of Fauci and Murthy, sadly) in exactly the same way he’s thrown away the credibility of U.S. alliances with the disastrous way he withdrew from Afghanistan.

Catastrophize much, Bert?

Read some overseas papers and tell me I’m overstating things. The British government is already on record as saying they cannot depend on the U.S. to honor their commitments after the Afghanistan withdrawal debacle. On the ‘rona side, right after Cuomo left office, they reviewed the records and added 15,000 deaths to their death toll.

I understand mistakes, but there is a certain point where public health officials are being caught flat out lying about the situation.