It's Easier Being Sheep

I thought I was going to write about the elections in Israel, but they have been upstaged by events in the oval office. Which got me to thinking about Richard Nixon. 

Nixon leaving the White House the day after
his resignation. Really

A little more than 47 years ago, on July 23, 1972, a tape recording was made in the White House. That tape came to be known as "the smoking gun." You can read the transcript for yourself. It's not very long, but it's important because it created an opening to view the depths of the deception taking place in the office of the President of the United States. 

The decision to bring articles of impeachment against Nixon was short-circuited by the recent appointment of Gerald Ford to replace Spiro Agnew as vice president. Nixon understood the Constitution provided a way for the new president to pardon him, but there was a problem: Article II section 2 of the Constitution gave a president the power to pardon, except in Cases of Impeachment. Here's the actual text:

Section 2

The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States; he may require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any Subject relating to the Duties of their respective Offices, and he shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offenses against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.

There's more, but it doesn't have much to do with the subject at hand.  

The Supreme Court, under the leadership of Justice Warren Burger (a conservative and Minnesotan to boot) stated:

To read the Article II powers of the president as providing an absolute privilege as against a subpoena essential to enforcement of criminal statutes on no more than a generalized claim of the public interest in confidentiality of nonmilitary and nondiplomatic discussions would upset the constitutional balance of 'a workable government' and gravely impair the role of the courts under Article III."                                          Wikipedia on Executive Privilege

Justice Burger also asserted "Those cases were crucial... because they endorsed the necessity of maintaining the rule of law in our system of government, even when this collided with the ambitions of a single president."

The court, however, was not finished. In a unanimous 8-0 decision, the court held that no person was above the law, not even a sitting president. (Supreme Court v. Richard Nixon.)

Because Nixon only held out for general confidentiality, SCOTUS further clarified:

Once executive privilege is asserted, coequal branches of the Government are set on a collision course. The Judiciary is forced into the difficult task of balancing the need for information in a judicial proceeding and the Executive's Article II prerogatives. This inquiry places courts in the awkward position of evaluating the Executive's claims of confidentiality and autonomy, and pushes to the fore difficult questions of separation of powers and checks and balances. These 'occasion[s] for constitutional confrontation between the two branches' are likely to be avoided whenever possible.     

United States v. Nixon

This stuff is from long before Feckless Leader and his full frontal attack on the Constitution. And it's important to note this is not the first time a sitting president has tried to end-run the constraints of this office. Justice Burger cited two specific cases as rational for the Court's decision: the trial of Aaron Burr, and the impeachment of President Andrew Johnson in 1868. Justice Burger had argued both cases in moot court during law school, and both cases had a profound impact on his thinking. In an interview several years before his death, he stated, "both cases were vitally important because they suggested that presidential power sometimes had to yield to the good of the system of government and the nation." 

Okay, that's the line that pays: yield to the good of the system of government and the nation.

The calls for impeachment of the current president are picking up steam and not without cause. The conversation with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky cannot be dismissed as blowhard bullshit. This is beyond unethical; it sets a dangerous precedent and intimates this president's influence can be bought.

Had President Obama been exposed as strong-arming a foreign leader, Moscow Mitch and his cabal would've been erecting gallows on the lawn of the White House. 

As much as I understand and, to a certain degree, agree with Pelosi's reluctance to instigate the process. The time has come to seriously consider the options.

But wait! That would make Mike Pence the new president. 

If you thought we were barreling toward Gilead before, Pence is the conductor on the bullet train. 

He really does have little hands.

This past week has been full of news of the weird, beginning with the revelations about Ukraine. People are carrying on about vaping, demanding bans but when compared to the number of children who have died at the hands of lunatics with semi-automatic weapons, you gotta wonder where our priorities are. And then Mike Pence drove in a motorcade on Mackinac Island. Really? Is nothing sacred?

No. Nothing is sacred. Not the lives of our children. Not the lives of our citizens. Certainly not the lives of refugee children and immigrants. Not the environment. Not the oceans or the skies. Once upon a time, We, the People of the United States led the way in the struggle to repair our planet. We were the innovators and the driving force pushing for making it better. Not so much these days. 

I'm not all that convinced we have the stomach for it anymore. It's much easier being sheep.

The Wifely Person's Tip o'the Week

Rosh ha'Shana, the Jewish New Year, begins next Sunday night.

May you be inscribed in the Book of Life for a sweet, healthy, and happy 5780.