In 1984, George Orwell portrayed in chilling detail how totalitarian governments use the power of language to manipulate the masses. This notion was not unfamiliar to the founders, as James Madison warned that changing definitions of words over time would create “a metamorphosis” that would destroy the original limitations of the Constitution.
An individual mandate to enter into a contract with or buy a particular product from a private party is literally unprecedented, not just in scope but in kind, and unconstitutional either as a matter of first principles or under any reasonable reading of judicial precedents.
Although often commonly referred to as the “sweeping clause” or the “elastic clause,” the “necessary and proper” clause is not in fact as expansive as its nicknames suggests.
An individual mandate to enter into a contract with or buy a particular product from a private party is literally unprecedented, not just in scope but in kind, and unconstitutional either as a matter of first principles or under any reasonable reading of judicial precedents.