Basic Social Studies Revisited

Steven Fried
Sep 6, 2018 · 3 min read

American government consists of three separate but equal branches: Executive, legislative, and judicial. Power is balanced between them. The president’s authority is checked by Congress’ ability to pass laws as well as its control of the federal checkbook. The judiciary curbs the other branches’ unconstitutional excesses. The people select the president, representatives, and senators. Elected officials appoint and approve judges.

American Republicanism is deliciously imperfect by design. The Founders intentionally devised a plodding, sometimes frustratingly inefficient federal government. A restrained capacity for quick action (except in emergencies) prevents any one person or political bloc from amassing too much power. The Founders’ greatest concern was an accrual of authority in the executive and a resultant slide toward totalitarianism. However, they never agreed on the exact scope of national government. Different views on centralization of power, epitomized by the distinct leanings of Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson, have led to centuries of debate on the limits of federal authority. Those lines are primarily drawn by a judiciary faced with an increasingly complicated task as new societal norms must be considered through the prism of a framework created almost 250 years ago.

Anyone with a rudimentary understanding of basic social studies should be horrified by the revelation in a New York Times letter from a senior White House staffer that unelected officials in the Trump administration have usurped the president’s role in a claimed attempt to curb his excesses. The author — who insisted on anonymity — and its cohorts in the “internal resistance” have assumed executive responsibilities for themselves. This cabal chooses what the president sees and which of his directives are ignored. They readily acknowledge active manipulation of Trump to achieve certain political goals of an unspecified agenda, touting accomplishments such as tax cuts and greater American security. We are supposed to be comforted that the ship of government is not rudderless and appreciative of these “heroes” for their efforts. The author even criticized the media for focusing too much on Trump’s behavior and not sufficiently recognizing the accomplishments of the never-elected.

The author and his cohorts are usurpers, not heroes, and their arrogance and hubris are appalling. If the president is as incompetent and dangerous as they claim — and that reality is growing ever-clearer — their responsibility is not to try to run the country in his stead as they deem fit. If invoking the 25th Amendment to remove the president is not practically feasible and other internal controls have failed, given the Republican Congress’ complete unwillingness to rein Trump in they should go to the press. But their case should be made not as anonymous shadow-rulers trying to soothe the public; instead, they should step forward, be named, and speak directly to the American people who can then use their voting power either to approve Congress’ recent abdication of presidential oversight or enable a new group of legislators. If that has consequences for a Republican Congress that has so enabled an incompetent buffoon as to put the country at risk, so be it. Political fallout is the least of a patriot’s concerns.

Instead, the author hides behind anonymity, pursuing an undisclosed agenda and expecting gratitude and a hero’s reception. It is entitled to neither. The letter smacks of opportunism, not patriotism. The goal is not to protect the nation from Trump’s whims, but the ongoing pursuit of unspecified policies by taking advantage of a president unfit to serve. It’s basic social studies. The people elect the president. No one voted for the author or any of his cohorts to be the top leader of this country.

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Steven Fried

Written by

CEO and General Counsel, OliverClarity Inc.

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