Elon and Vivek are about to enter a strange new world, the one where federal spending takes place. It’s the congressional appropriations process. The members of Congress who control this process, the “cardinals”, are among the most powerful people in Washington. Their favor is sought by every special interest group in the country, and they’re prolific fundraisers.
Musk and Ramaswamy want to reduce the spending that these Congressmen control. That would reduce their power and infuriate their donors. Republicans and Democrats alike don’t relish that prospect.
The President can veto a budget, and “shut the government down”. Over the last 40 years, beginning with Newt Gingrich, this has become a familiar Washington ritual.
But it’s the political equivalent of a sledgehammer. It doesn’t really work.
What the president ought to have, as the Governors of 44 states have, is the line-item veto. Only with such a power can an executive hope to truly restrain legislative spending. It works.
A constitutional amendment giving the President a line-item veto can only be proposed by the states, using Article V. Congress, needless to say, would never propose such an amendment, restricting its spending ability.
Under Article V, 34 states can call for an amendment convention, which can be restricted to a limited subject matter by the terms of the call. Once the 34-state threshold has passed Congress is instructed by Article V to call the Convention.
In 1979 the 34th state passed a resolution calling for an Amendment Convention. Congress ignored the states, and has continued to defy their constitutional authority.
The states need to enforce their Article V power by suing Congress and obtaining from the United States Supreme Court a declaratory judgment, ordering the Congress to call the convention.
Once the delegates to the Convention meet, they will try to draft an amendment which can be ratified by 38 states. It must have bipartisan support. The only fiscal restraint that will have Democrat as swell as Republican support is the line-item veto.
We’re fast approaching a fiscal cliff. The Attorneys General need to act, soon.
The New Versailles
Back in the day the French king liked to keep all the powerful nobles with him at his vast palace outside of Paris. He wanted to keep an eye on them, and they wanted to stay close to the power.
The new Sun King, DJT, holds court at Mar-a-Lago, with his newest BFF, Elon Musk. It’s where it’s all happening.
reaganproject.blog 