Constitutional Limitations.....

Ed, an excellent article - limited government is not something we hear much of these days.

You've laid out, from how my memory serves, the exact list of powers that the president can wield.

One thing to add is the fact that the Constitution was written under what's referred to as "positive grant"  This means that the federal government is strictly limited to exercising only those powers that are specifically given to it in the constitution.

This was codified in law with the 10th Amendment, which reads:

"The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."

In short - if a power isn't listed, the president, congress, the judiciary, etc - can't do it.  period.

Nothing more, and nothing less.

It's high time that we start demanding that our politicians - our staff - start obeying the law that rules the government.....the constitution.

Some follow up reading on this:

"Beware of Politicians with Good Intentions" - click here 

by Populist Party (6 articles, 2 quicklinks, 154 diaries, 32 comments) on Friday, June 22, 2007 at 2:09:31 PM
 

and if...

the occupant of the office, exceeds the authority of his official capacity, it is by law the duty of the legislative and judicial branches to reign him in, is it not?

if, the other two branches (check/balance) do not fulfill their duties in this respect, they have broken the social contract with which we have given our consent to them to represent us w/in our government, they are in fact no longer our legal/lawful representatives, but rogue elements and should be routed by any means necessary.

by k kelly (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 182 comments) on Friday, June 22, 2007 at 5:12:44 PM
 

What's so great about curmudgeons

Mr. Martin makes the curmudgeonly mistake that systems can control people.

He is in good and honorable company, Hamilton and Madison the architects of the constitution made the same mistake.

When they wrote the constitution, they wrote it to be flexible, adaptable and to limit the powers accreting to the government.

What we are learning by our current travails is that personnel is policy.

Bush is failing because he keeps nominating and appointing pretty but empty headed neo-cons hangers on to positions of authority.

Congress has failed to provide oversight because key leaders were corrupt and were more interested in personal aggrandizement than public service.

The current congress is foundering because it represents the charge of the old old old guard.  The average age of the current congressional leadership is in the mid seventies.

People need to get involved, to get out and vote, to campaign and to put themselves forward for public office.

We cannot rely on others to provide government for the people, by the people and of the people. 

We are the people, we must be the change we are seeking.

by Robert Chapman (28 articles, 0 quicklinks, 2 diaries, 556 comments) on Monday, June 25, 2007 at 10:19:57 AM
 

Recess appointments

I also have to make a comment about the corruption of the constitution itself.

The constitutional framers added the clause regarding recess appointments to provide the President means to staff the government during the long intervals that Congress was out of session and away from the Capital,

In the 19th Century, when the constitution was written communications and transportation were slow and the government was small and if a key official died, the President needed the power to replace him.

The recess appointment only lasts a year,  a duration the framers saw as sufficient for Congress to return to Washington and weigh in.

Reagan and GW Bush, two to the prominent advocates of strict constructionism are the most prolific recess appointers.

This is because they view recess appointments as a loophole and a means of undermining Congressional oversight powes.

This is another example of the American Conservative movement's complete betrayal of constituional governance and lust for power. 

by Robert Chapman (28 articles, 0 quicklinks, 2 diaries, 556 comments) on Monday, June 25, 2007 at 10:27:09 AM