Ignorance is not bliss
Richard Fulton
It seems appropriate to provide a simple civics lesson given the level of ignorance of the American constitution and government organization demonstrated by Donald Trump.
First of all, when he accuses Hillary Clinton of not passing particular legislation when a senator he forgets that any one senator is only 1/100th of the total body. Not to mention that the House must also agree to any legislation as well as the president.
Furthermore, the issue involved was a budget issue. The constitution of the United States notes that all money bills, and thus budgets, must originate in the House. Thus a senator could not be responsible for initiating a budget item it can only try to amend in the Senate.
Trump said that he would instruct his Attorney General to appoint a “special prosecutor” to investigate Hillary’s email deletes and later said that if he were president she would be in jail. Though this last might be a flip remark, it remains a chilling thing for a presidential candidate to say. Only dictatorships can and do put their defeated opposition in jail.
You might remember that President Nixon ordered his Attorney General to fire special prosecutor Cox (set up by the Attorney General) because he refused to withdraw a subpoena for information from the Nixon white house.
As a result the Attorney General and his deputy both refused and resigned. This was a crucial element in the impeachment process that was truncated when Nixon resigned. The criminal justice system is not at the specific command of the president.
Both Trump and Hillary Clinton seem to forget that the Federal Reserve is an Independent Agency set up by Congress to be independent of direction from either the president or congress. They make decisions on their own and can ignore entreaties from the president and/or congress.
When Donald Trump attacked Hillary Clinton for defending a rapist he was contradicting a fundamental criminal justice right of the constitution. Every accused, especially of serious crimes, has a right to a lawyer.
In the case involved Clinton was working for a Legal Aid Clinic that helps the poor get adequate legal protections (she was working for free, a concept alien to Trump). When the case arose, a judge needed to appoint a lawyer for the defendant. Hillary asked not to be appointed.
The judge insisted, thus she could not refuse. As the case continued it came out that the police had mishandled evidence and the defendant took a plea bargain. Hillary was doing her duty.
Federalism is often ignored by politicians talking about the issues of the day. It is, however, a fundamental part of our constitution. Certain powers are given to the national government, all other powers belong to the states (who have control over local governments).
Police powers, except in a very few cases, belong to state and local governments. The overwhelming number of police are local police. Thus you cannot blame the federal government for crime enforcement lapses.
The national government can spend money “for the general welfare” (constitution) and thus has programs to help state and local governments in policy area like crime. But states can refuse the money and the regulations that go with them. This is true in many areas where the national government spends money.
The large exception to this general rule is trade. Any trade across state lines (or companies doing that trade), “interstate commerce,” can be, and is, regulated by the federal government. Many regulations come from this power (e. g. the EPA).
The point is, a president needs to know the limits of their powers and to know where the federal government can act and how they can use their power to encourage states to act. Ignorance of these fundamentals can lead to disaster.
In a much more complex world since 1789, you need a president knowledgable about our governmental system and one anchored in comprehensive knowledge of the constitution. This does not describe Donald Trump.
