the genius of the American constitution and government

constitution american-flag-all-rights-reserved-by-jade-leyva

———

‘On great occasions every good officer must be ready to risk himself in going beyond the strict line of the law when the public preservation requires it. A strict observance of the law is doubtless one of the highest duties of a good citizen, but it is not the highest. The laws of necessity, of self-preservation, of saving our country when in danger, are of a higher obligation … to lose our country to a scrupulous adherence to a written law would be to lose the law itself.”

Thomas Jefferson in his “great occasions” speech

———-

 

Well.
When viewing American politics I certainly hesitate to use the word ‘genius.’

 

Absurd yes.

 

Genius no.

politics lies and truth and repeating

Politics has always been absurd to me … mostly because I think we all want the same objective <something better> and we all end up haggling over how to meet the objective so much and so often … we end up doing nothing <and I would rather do the wrong thing than nothing>.

 

 

Politics has always been absurd to me because even when a decision is made and implementation is in progress … it starts getting pecked to death by the ducks. Most governmental decisions … shit … most good business decisions … have limited short term successes … and need to be evaluated on the echoes of the decision. I would rather invest all energy in implementing well <even the wrong thing> than second guessing or ‘pecking’ which could affect the long term success.

 

And now politics has reached a whole new level of absurdity in that the current American president is so divisive among pundit views … that we are starting to act like presidents have never acted like the current one.

 

That President Obama is ‘more illegal acting’ than any president before <and therefore a dictator or imperial or some nonsense type wording>.

 

 

———

“President Obama’s rewarding of lawlessness, including his own, isyes or no crazy the foundational problem here. It’s not going to get better, and in fact irreparable harm can be done in this lame-duck term as he continues to make up his own laws as he goes along. It’s time to impeach.”

Sarah Palin

——–

 

 

Look.

 

Acting.

Decisions.

This is what presidents do.

 

Make decisions … popular or not … and let the chips fall as they may.

 

People may bitch and complain … but if they really do have a bitch or complaint … impeachment is the measurement of actions.

 

But … let’s be clear … all presidents <and I imagine all country leaders> “break” the law.

 

They do not rewrite the constitution or act like criminals … they simply do what leaders are supposed to do … take action for the benefit of the larger organization.

 

 

freedom and responsibility
Thomas Jefferson said it best in his “great occasions” speech …. ‘A strict observance of the law is doubtless one of the highest duties of a good citizen, but it is not the highest. The laws of necessity, of self-preservation, of saving our country when in danger, are of a higher obligation … to lose our country to a scrupulous adherence to a written law would be to lose the law itself.”

 

That said.

 

These leaders take these actions without moral dereliction of duty.

 

The decisions may be difficult and unpopular and unclear with regard to strict legality … and sometimes even come at the expense of citizens … but if anyone suggests an American president takes immoral action … well … they are the absurd ones then.

 

 

Suing a president? Silly <if not stupid>.

 

Bringing criminal charges against a president? Silly <if not stupid>.

 

Impeachment is the ultimate measurement of a president’s actions. And I would like to point out that talking about impeachment and actually agreeing to an impeachable action is very very different.

 

 

Anyway.

 

Serendipity is a funny character in Life.

 

Just as I listened to some mind numbing diatribe on some talk radio show I read some interesting words from author Martin Gross in a book he wrote in the late 80’s <I believe>.

 

I thought I would share.

 

 

<excerpts from words spoken in a court of law by one of the characters in a book of author Martin Gross>

———-

The commander in chief cannot declare war … that’s up to congress, but he can make war and he’s done that more than congress. We have had military hostilities over 200 times … maybe 20 or so considered ‘serious’ and congress has only declared war maybe 5 times. Andrew Jackson took Spanish Florida without congressional approval. We had invaded Mexican territory for 3 weeks before congress approved it. Truman made war in Korea without global unrest pining for a worldcongress approval ad Roosevelt started a sea war with Nazi submarines before world war 2. The Monroe doctrine was never authorized by congress. Reagan made war in Grenada and we bombed Libya … and congress did nothing. Bush did the same in Panama and most likely would have one the same in Iraq whether congress agreed or not. The president is far more than an ordinary person with regard to the law.

Presidents have always been sneaky. In a crisis they generally try and do what they can before congress can get their hands on them. President Tyler made a secret deal with the Republic of Texas to get them into the United States and almost got impeached for it. President Jefferson grabbed the chance to make the Louisiana Purchase from a poor Napoleon for 15 million dollars. When congress complained they hadn’t authorized the money Jefferson asked if he should give back the land. Even Lincoln was sneaky. Before congress could meet in the civil war he raised an army, spent money on arms and even eliminated habeas corpus.

I sometimes think the founding fathers made the separation of powers of the president and the congress somewhat vague so that this battle – a political one really, of public support, or lack of support – could go on.

The constitution outlines what is legal and what isn’t by a president by providing impeachment. Outside of impeachment where the people’s representatives speak, the president has been able to do whatever he can get away with. If you want him to stop doing something … whatever … you have to impeach him. If he is not impeached by default it’s apparently legal <or justified>. Constitutionally and practically.

This is what presidents do. Make decisions … popular or not … and let the chips fall as they may. People may bitch and complain … but impeachment is the measurement of actions.

———

Thomas Jefferson said it best in his “great occasions” speech:

‘On great occasions every good officer must be ready to risk himself in going beyond the strict line of the law when the public preservation requires it. A strict observance of the law is doubtless one of the highest duties of a good citizen, but it is not the highest. The laws of necessity, of self-preservation, of saving our country when in danger, are of a higher obligation … to lose our country to a scrupulous adherence to a written law would be to lose the law itself.”

———-

The constitution is almost perfect in this discussion. It rests in the people. And the people not only rest in the president , the only one elected by us all, but in the congress as well. So, the congress can always kick out an evil president. That’s what makes the perfection. The constitution accommodates both politics and legality. The people’s will within a framework of law.

 

Will we ever answer the question of what a resident can or cannot constitutionally do?

“Never if God grants us continued liberty someone will always be sitting in some chair a hundred years from now arguing the same battle and the same issues … searching for the right answer. That’s the genius of the American constitution and government.”

———-

 

Whew. What a great speech.

 

In the end.

 

We will never really answer the limits of any president.

 
And that is the genius of the American Constitution and government.

 

We will constantly be searching for the right answer and seek the right limits.

 

liberty freedomnotfortimidthumb

 

And we will do so because we have the liberty and freedom to argue about it yesterday, today … and 100 years from now.

 

 

And I hope we are still debating it 100 years from now.

 

 

I simply wish that politicians and right & left wing pundits would embrace the genius aspect of who America is rather than the idiot * absurd aspect. I wish they would think of it all as ‘work in progress’ rather than ‘faults.’

 

I wish they, and everyone, would remember one person will never destroy a great idea and great ideas do not just happen by themselves … nor do they occur as planned.

 

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Written by Bruce