As I was saying . . .

[CO. Hoosier]

"The modern presidency is the framers’ worst nightmare, a flatly unconstitutional concentration of power. As the Trump era has made abundantly clear, the office itself — its size, scope, and prominence in American life — is the driving force of dysfunction in our politics."
​

There are amyriad of reasons for this, including:

• Congressional abdication of authority through the such things as creating a huge accountable administrative state in the executive branch and passing the War Powers Act;
• The politicization of judicial appointments
• The unending and infinitely growing news coverage of POTUS;
• The huge money and the nature of the campaign for POTUS;
• The trappings of the office, including the huge motorcades, Air Force One, and the entourage that always tags along;
• The common belief that POTUS "runs the country"--a belief held by people in office and by the rest of us;
• The surrender of our emotions and feelings to what POTUS says and does;

Can it this be made worse? Yes it can. We can elect POTUS by popular vote.

I was struck by the headline in the linked piece:

"Donald Trump's suffocating presence and unhinged executive power is the product of history"​

True, Trump is a product of history. But more true is that Trump is the product of the media who can't go two minutes without either writing about Trump or talking about him. Trump's "unconventional" approach to the job, and his abrasive personality, have caused him to be placed in a position of prominence in government, and our lives, far beyond what he or the office deserve.

The antidote to "Trumpism" is not him leaving office. More will follow. The antidote is for the public to understand and return to the notion that POTUS is not a very strong public servant and certainly should not be in a position of dominance in our lives.

Read the whole thing.

 

[twenty02]

"The modern presidency is the framers’ worst nightmare, a flatly unconstitutional concentration of power. As the Trump era has made abundantly clear, the office itself — its size, scope, and prominence in American life — is the driving force of dysfunction in our politics."
​

There are amyriad of reasons for this, including:

• Congressional abdication of authority through the such things as creating a huge accountable administrative state in the executive branch and passing the War Powers Act;
• The politicization of judicial appointments
• The unending and infinitely growing news coverage of POTUS;
• The huge money and the nature of the campaign for POTUS;
• The trappings of the office, including the huge motorcades, Air Force One, and the entourage that always tags along;
• The common belief that POTUS "runs the country"--a belief held by people in office and by the rest of us;
• The surrender of our emotions and feelings to what POTUS says and does;

Can it this be made worse? Yes it can. We can elect POTUS by popular vote.

I was struck by the headline in the linked piece:

"Donald Trump's suffocating presence and unhinged executive power is the product of history"​

True, Trump is a product of history. But more true is that Trump is the product of the media who can't go two minutes without either writing about Trump or talking about him. Trump's "unconventional" approach to the job, and his abrasive personality, have caused him to be placed in a position of prominence in government, and our lives, far beyond what he or the office deserve.

The antidote to "Trumpism" is not him leaving office. More will follow. The antidote is for the public to understand and return to the notion that POTUS is not a very strong public servant and certainly should not be in a position of dominance in our lives.

Read the whole thing.

Not really sure what's fixable at this point. Congressional reforms that strip such absolute power from leadership may help... but not sure. More often than not, leaders just operate to shield their members from ever taking hard votes.