Month: April 2018

As a constitutional conservative, I don’t see the President exercising his constitutional authority over the executive branch of government as some sort of “constitutional crisis.”  Poppycock.   If you want a real crisis, look at the abuse of power by the FBI, under the authority of the Justice Department.

The Framers would have been appalled by the establishment of a national police force, which is all the FBI is.  Who do these people think they are?  Guardians of the Guardians?  They have no writ, no warrant for such a role in our system of government.  Law enforcement is a function of the executive, the President, and has no independent source of power, or authority.  Prosecutorial independence is inherently unconstitutional, a figment of some lawyer’s imagination.

There are only three branches of government, and all federal law enforcement power is the ultimate perogative of the elected chief executive.  The Framers would be astonished at the arrogance we see from Comey, et al.  Who the hell does this guy think he is?  If a President abuses this power, the constitutional remedy is impeachment.  The idea that a pack of self important lawyers, like Rubenstein and friends, have some independent role in our system of government is highly offensive.

Trump’s a one term President, and as such he doesn’t have to be concerned with his reelection prospects.  One of the most consequential Presidents in our history, James K. Polk, got the Democratic nomination for President only by promising his rivals that he would only serve one term.  That left him free to do what he thought was in the nation’s best interest, regardless of the politics.  This is the man Trump should model himself after.

I hope Trump fires them all, and replaces them with constitutional conservatives, who know their place in our system of government.  It’s subordinate, just as the Framers intended.

May no new thing arise.

As explained by Brad Worthen, it is a traditional benediction spoken on parting in Spanish speaking cultures.  It’s a way of wishing someone well, since all new things are, by definition, evil.  It reflects s deeply traditional culture, one which resists any sort of change.  I only know the phrase from the novels of Patrick O’Brian.  Worthen spent part of his childhood in Ecuador, where the phrase was commonly used.

That’s not our culture, though some of us have tendencies.  The Fix Article V Amendment is a policy innovation, a new thing.  So, of course, it has to be bad, in the minds of some.  Really, it’s just a different way to skin the cat.  But some people don’t like things that are different.  They’re not familiar with new ideas, and they make them uncomfortable.

Of the hundreds of state legislators I’ve encountered over the last five years, only a handful truly appreciated the meaning, and significance, of Article V.  One, in particular, stood out from the rest.  He’s the man I need to talk to.

 

 

 

This country seems like it’s on the verge of a nervous breakdown.  The markets are afraid of their own shadow.  Another Saturday Night Massacre could happen at any time.  We’re closer to war with Russia than at any time since then end of the cold war.  A Saturday Night Massacre could happen any day.  The President’s consigliere has been compromised, and his deepest secrets could be exposed.  To send him a signal that omerta, the rule of silence, should be honored, he pardons a felon.  Message sent, message received:  I’ve got your back.  A president under siege.  It’s not a pretty sight.

In the larger picture, this is all chaff.  Tweety’s just being the drama queen that he is.  Tweety seems to thrive in chaos, even to seek it out.  It makes him always at the center of the drama, the nation waiting curiously for the next tweet from the star of the show, Tweety Bird.

Look, lets resign ourselves, we’ve got over two more years of this left.  Would anyone want to extend it to six?  I don’t think so.  Trump is digging his own political grave, but he doesn’t care.  He’s not going to run again, and he’s got scores to settle, and he’s got two years left as President of the United States to settle them.  Heads will roll.  Lots of heads. Tweety likes firing people.  It’s kind of his thing.

 

In the late 90’s I was on Alaska GOP central committee, and I gave a present to the party, for it to display in the front window of its headquarters.  I called it a Clinton clock, and it counted down the hours left in his Presidency.  You could drive by, check the clock, and feel better that it was running down.  I want to get one like it for my office.  It’ll be my Tweety clock, and I’ll enjoy watching his time slowly expire.

There’s one phrase that applies to all human affairs.  This, too, shall pass.

Tweety has been in office 448 days, and has 1013 left in his term.  Tomorrow it will be 1012.  Think positively.

The country will survive him, barely.