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I don't think the parent is saying the commerce clause is, in and of itself, conservative, but rather that the reading that the reading of the commerce clause t

I don't think the parent is saying the commerce clause is, in and of itself, conservative, but rather that the reading that the reading of the commerce clause to mean that regulating interstate commerce is exclusively the province of the federal government (which it doesn't explicitly say) is. And while you can get into semantic squabbling about small-c vs. big-c conservatism, etc., this particular position arguing that the states' desire to regulate a market is preempted by a federal deregulatory impetus is pretty clearly well aligned with modern American conservatism.

chimeracoder 9y ago
> that the reading that the reading of the commerce clause to mean that regulating interstate commerce is exclusively the province of the federal government (which it doesn't explicitly say) is. Again, that's not really a partisan position either. If anything, there's an argument to be made (as has been made elsewhere in the comments) that this would be more of an ideologically liberal position to take. AEI is being very strategic here: they've found a legal position that is wholeheartedly aligned with mainstream liberal and left-wing ideology and which is supported by a century of case law, and they're using that position to advocate their favored outcome. The outcome notwithstanding, the legal position itself is emphatically not a partisan one, nor is it one that is particularly conservative ideologically. Of course, that doesn't mean that AEI is correct, either legally or morally. They could still lose on other grounds. (Or, they could still win, despite you and me agreeing that their position is morally wrong).
- dragonwriter 9y ago
  > AEI is being very strategic here: they've found a legal position that is wholeheartedly aligned with mainstream liberal and left-wing ideology Nope, liberal and left-wing ideology doesn't actually support the idea of federal regulatory agencies inventing preemption authority not granted to them by Congress.
- throwawayjava 9y ago
  Ask yourself: would this argument make sense and remain consistent with AEI's overall ideological commitments if Democrats controlled Congress and the presidency? If the answer is "no" -- and, seriously, the answer is most definitely "no" -- then your "AEI isn't partisan" claim goes out the window.

chimeracoder 9y ago

> that the reading that the reading of the commerce clause to mean that regulating interstate commerce is exclusively the province of the federal government (which it doesn't explicitly say) is. Again, that's not really a partisan position either. If anything, there's an argument to be made (as has been made elsewhere in the comments) that this would be more of an ideologically liberal position to take. AEI is being very strategic here: they've found a legal position that is wholeheartedly aligned with mainstream liberal and left-wing ideology and which is supported by a century of case law, and they're using that position to advocate their favored outcome. The outcome notwithstanding, the legal position itself is emphatically not a partisan one, nor is it one that is particularly conservative ideologically. Of course, that doesn't mean that AEI is correct, either legally or morally. They could still lose on other grounds. (Or, they could still win, despite you and me agreeing that their position is morally wrong).

dragonwriter 9y ago
> AEI is being very strategic here: they've found a legal position that is wholeheartedly aligned with mainstream liberal and left-wing ideology Nope, liberal and left-wing ideology doesn't actually support the idea of federal regulatory agencies inventing preemption authority not granted to them by Congress.
throwawayjava 9y ago
Ask yourself: would this argument make sense and remain consistent with AEI's overall ideological commitments if Democrats controlled Congress and the presidency? If the answer is "no" -- and, seriously, the answer is most definitely "no" -- then your "AEI isn't partisan" claim goes out the window.