It
goes without saying that our nation is politically divided. That division is demonstrated in many layers
of emotion; ranging from unspoken personal dislikes of a comment or event to
open and visceral screeds about the evils of the Democrats or Republicans (i.e. Trump). How many of us have wondered to ourselves….How in the world did we get to this
place? How can people be so inordinately
disposed to rabid behavior over something as arbitrary as politics?
In
my lifetime, I have witnessed the impeachment adventures of three
Presidents. Nixon resigned before his
inevitable impeachment occurred. Had it
unfolded, it would have been an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote in the Senate to
remove a sitting President for just cause.
Clinton’s impeachment was not only more partisan; it also involved the
difficult matter of considering abhorrent personal behavior as a function of
elected office conduct. Clinton was
ultimately impeached by the House for his personal indiscretions (and related perjury); but the Senate,
while acknowledging the irresponsibility and criminality of his behavior,
determined that this display of personal behavior did not merit his removal
from an elected office.
The
raw emotions that were unleashed during the Clinton impeachment left unhealed
wounds for many Democrats and they carry them even today. And to the discredit of many Republicans,
they have carried that impeachment around as a scalped trophy of political
victory. This underlying animosity had festered
for over twenty years; seeking an opportunity to rise and vent. Donald Trump offered that opportunity. To a very large extent, that is what lies at the heart of what we are currently witnessing
in WDC and the mainstream media.
But
the untold story, the elephant in the living room, is that the current
tumultuous events in WDC could not occur
unless our system of government and social consciousness were willing to allow
it. We as a nation have allowed this to
happen. To a large extent, we have done this
to ourselves. What changed in the years
that have passed from Nixon to Clinton to Trump? How did we get to a place where our
government could spy on private citizens for political reasons? How did we get to a place where it is accepted
behavior for federal agencies to be politically weaponized? How did we get to place where the President
regularly uses executive actions to bypass the legitimate rights and
obligations of Congress? How did we get
to a place where the legislative process that is supposed to rule this nation
has, in fact, become a blood sport? We
now stand at a point in our nation’s history where the impeachment of a sitting
President, an act that essentially
overturns a national election, has become a legislative tool to use against
a political opponent.
Not
only has the shallow and power-hungry ambitions of our elected officials been
emboldened, but the essential elements of standing government have been
corrupted. Those professional, career
employees who serve lifetimes working for both Democrat and Republican Presidents
have been revealed to be infected by rogue individuals who place their personal
beliefs and ambitions above their appointed duties and responsibilities. The combination of these developments has
resulted in a general lack of faith regarding the competence, credibility, and
fairness of our government as a whole.
Tragically, even our Judicial system has been drawn into this partisan
fever swamp of “the ends justifying the
means” rationale that has rendered our government dysfunctional. Rogue federal judges throughout our country
have openly defied the clear intentions and actions of both our Presidents and
the Congress.
The
Legislative portion of the
dysfunction that has its roots in past Presidential impeachments will simply
have to work its way out. I honestly
don’t know and do not see the solution to the Legislative partisan impasse that
currently exists between Democrats and Republicans. Neither Party appears to have sufficient
leadership to re-institute the statesmanship and civility that will be necessary
to get us back to some form of normal order.
And until citizens come to grips with their awesome power to vote and the
implicit obligation of self information that accompanies that right, that political conflict will continue
into the foreseeable future. We really
do need to think harder about the people we choose to represent us.
The
Judicial element of this problem is
perhaps on a path to solution. The
infusion of federal judges who honor and respect the Constitution as it was
written is slowly bringing our federal courts back to a place where they will
reliably serve as a compass not only for our society, but as a neutral arbiter
between Legislative and Executive disputes.
It will literally take generations to work rogue judges out of the
system; judges who have exercised their authorities and powers in ways that
exceed their duties and expose them as partisan hacks. But that slow movement back to a Constitution-centric federal court
system is underway and will eventually be realized.
And
finally, there is the part of the problem that deals with irresponsible and rogue federal employees who use their positions
as opportunities to implement their personal and political agendas. I have previously addressed the issue of
civil service reform here: http://centerlineright.blogspot.com/2018/11/a-place-to-begin.html . I continue to stand by those words. I have also vehemently argued for the
deconstruction of the FISA. The
corruption that we have witnessed from both Republican and Democrat Administrations
should convince any sentient being that we simply cannot continue to empower
government officials with the abilities to use discretionary authorities in the
violation of our constitutional rights and liberties as private citizens.
If
you have any interest whatsoever in how our government has evolved to its
current state of corruption, please take the time to listen to this
presentation: https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2020/01/ball-of-collusion-the-video.php
. This man is not a MAGA-wearing, over
the top enthusiastic, rah-rah cheerleader for Donald Trump. He has written a lot of print that is clearly
critical of both the man that is Trump, his policies, and his actions as
President. He is a professional,
intelligent, objective man that speaks with clarity gained from knowledge and
experience. I have not witnessed any
print or video that more clearly sums up what has brought our Department of
Justice to the place where it is today.
This is not a political presentation; this is a civics lesson.
This is a reminder that we cannot cede our personal liberties to elected
and appointed federal officials who do not have the capacity to safeguard and
honor those freedoms. If
you never read another word of what I or anyone else says about this
issue…listen to this.
Don’t
miss the next post!
Follow on Twitter @
centerlineright or Find on Facebook @ Jimmy Thomason or Just Google
centerlineright.
For
our government to get back to a place where it needs to be, there must be a reckoning that defines exactly what
the government should do and what the
government should not do. This perpetual identity crisis that our
branches of government are going through has resulted in a maelstrom of
overlapping ambitions, power grabs, ego contests, and paralyzing performances. Our government must return to a role of
serving for the people and not a
philosophy that requires the people to
serve them. This nation was founded
on personal freedoms, not on a premise of a government that controls and
mandates our individual freedoms of self determination and accountability. Government is not all knowing and has no business trying to micro-manage our lives. We
have a blueprint; we have a plan; we have a foundation to govern. It is called the Constitution. We need to get back to it.
No comments:
Post a Comment