The framers agreed that the President would command the armed forces – with several explicit reservations.
Tag: republic
The Presidency 12
The President was to have five main responsibilities.
The Presidency 11
“All civil Officers of the United States” defines who is subject to impeachment.
The Presidency 10
The framers were clear that the President was to be accountable to Congress.
Civility
Two candidates for governor stand together, calling for civility among voters.
The Presidency 9
Some of the framers wanted an Executive Council to advise and bind the President.
The Presidency 8
The framers decided power was to be divided between the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government.
The Presidency 7
The framers agreed to establish a strong, flexible presidency that would be constrained against tyrannical behavior.
The Presidency 6
Insulating the President from election politics was a big part of the framer’s strategy.
The Presidency 5
The framers wanted a presidency that served the common good.
The Presidency 4
The framer’s fear of incapacity was balanced by their fear of tyranny.
The Presidency 3
The framers wanted to avoid the tyranny that absolute power brings.
The Presidency 1
When the framers created the presidency, they were intent on solving two trust-related problems.
The Value of Voting
Does voting make any difference? Is it worth the trouble? The answer depends upon you. If you and enough other people vote for someone who has pledged to represent your…
Keeping Our Republic
In general, constitutions are written by people who expect to live and work together for generations to come. It’s when enough people no longer feel this way that Constitutions are…
A Tale of Two Countries
Clashes in Berkeley and Portland bring to mind an interesting story about two countries where people who felt frustrated with each other and their governments. Citizens in Columbia and Venezuela…
Are You Well Served by the USPS?
The U.S. Constitution provides for nearly universal adult access to the ballot. The pandemic is making that difficult. Most voting precincts had historically depended upon retirees to administer the system,…
New Course on Trust & The Presidency
Take this short civics course about trust, distrust, and the presidency.
Declaration of Independence
Consider every citizen in this country to be an American, worthy of your support and help.
Trust and Our Police
To improve trust in our police, fairness and accountability must be more evenly distributed along lines of race and ethnicity.
Divided We Fall
History shows that one of the shortest paths towards dictatorship is to get the people divided against each other.
Our Leaders Don’t Want Us to Know
We get to have leaders who are accountable to us, and we get to choose our leaders peacefully – but only if …
Freedom of the Press
Thomas Jefferson said “Where the press is free and every man able to read, all is safe.” A free press is especially important in the coronavirus pandemic.
Urgent Attention Needed
It is hard to fight the corona virus without a healthy liberal, republican democracy. Urgent attention is needed.
In Need of Vigilant Defense
Liberal, republican democracy is precious for the freedom, peace, and better quality of life it can bring, but those benefits don’t come for free. Citizens need to do more to protect and strengthen their democracies – starting here at home.
Strongmen for Scared People?
Strongmen for scared people leads to failure. Democracies have the edge when it comes to health care. Read on.