Yesterday, I posted on the increasingly hostile Facebook, one of my unpatented self-made memes. I was attacked for being hyperbolic and for my meme being poorly written.
What did it say to create such lashes of disgust? I'm not quite precisely sure as I deleted it. I didn't want to get involved in an extended battle over it. To the best of my deteriorating memory, it said, "The US Constitution was a great and enduring document. It lasted 231 years and 224 days. What a great run."
An over the top reaction to the Senate Republican shenanigans of yesterday? You betchum.
What can I say?
Sometimes, I wear satirical shoes.
Sometimes, my middle name is Hyperbole.
And being a poor writer? Sure, I plead guilty. Doesn't stop me from writing. If it stops you from reading what I write, more power to you. Goodbye, and have a good day.
On the other hand, I do not think it is invalid to say that the Constitution is being shredded, or having parts of itself rendered meaningless.
TRUTH #1
The impeachment clause, especially as it relates to the President, and possibly to any partisan position, has been rendered meaningless. The kind view would be that the founders did not understand how strong our political parties and divisions would become. No one breaks ranks, regardless of the high crimes and misdemeanors committed by the President. In the two previous impeachments, no one crossed lines to convict a President of their own party.
In only Nixon's case did impeachment come close to working. And that was because of a group of Republican Senators that went to Nixon and told him he did not have the votes to avoid conviction. He resigned before suffering the humiliation and disgrace.
In yesterday's case, some Republican Senators indicated in their posted remarks that the House Managers proved their case against Trump. They really weren't arguing that Trump wasn't guilty, at least to some degree. More witnesses were not needed to convict him. They were going to acquit regardless because, blah blah blah, it didn't rise to the level of removal, blah blah blah, stuff and nonsense, poor excuses and assorted bull hockey.
So, whatever the founders had in mind, impeachment will never be a remedy for an abusive, out of control President, unless one party controls two-thirds of the Senate, and the President is of the other party. And in the highly unlikely event of that happening, they probably won't need much of an excuse to impeach and convict. One parking ticket or sexual dalliance should do it.
Truth #2
The separation of powers is being shredded. Congress has conceded far too much power to the President, and it's only going to get worse. With no check on the President - no impeachment ability, no subpoena power, no ability to get documents, the denial that a sitting President can be indicted for a crime - all this will be leading to what the founders were hoping to avoid - an imperial Presidency, a King, a George the 3rd style monarch. Our mad King, King Donald the Turd.
They have ceded much of the war powers to the President. He can now withhold congressionally mandated funds. He can allocate funds from their designated purpose to whatever he wants, including stealing from the military for his stupid wall. He can mislead and lie like a mother ducker. He can solicit help from foreign powers to aid him in his re-election. He can enrich his family businesses by shredding another part of the Constitution, the emoluments clause.
And for those looking for help from the judiciary to restore common sense and balance? Forget about it. That division has also been shredded. McConnell and Trump have conspired to stack the courts with young extremists, who are first and foremost loyal to right-wing causes, and the Christian Reich. McConnell gleefully used the rules to deny Obama judges and is now manipulating those rules to shove through anybody he wants.
Truth #3
Parts of the Constitution that need to be shredded (well - amended. There I go with the hyperbole again! Thomas Hyperbole Strait apologizes.) stand strong - too strong. Whatever the Founders intended with the Electoral College serves no purpose now. It was designed to mollify the slave-holding states, and give them a bit bigger of a say. There's no need to let the formerly slave-holding states to continue to have that outsize power.
Circumventing the Electoral College by an agreed-upon pac by states with a majority of states holding an electoral college majority will not work. I can just see Texas switching its electoral votes from Trump to Clinton because she won the national popular vote. Yeah. Not gonna happen.
The Electoral College needs to be eliminated and replaced by a new amendment. I recommend a French-style system (also done in the state of Georgia), where, if one candidate does not get a 50% plus majority, the top two candidates participate in a run-off. That way, we always have a President elected by a majority. Yeah. Also not gonna happen. You need three-fourths of the states to ratify, and some of the smaller states and formerly slave-holding states are not voluntarily going to give up that power.
Truth #4
The Constitution is not supposed to be a document frozen in time. It is supposed to be a living, breathing document. The founders were imperfect men, and their imperfections don't need to be preserved for all time. It is a good and right thing when the Constitution has been changed to expand rights, civic participation, and gradually become more democratic. It is an ineffective thing when it is used to legislate morality - the Prohibition of alcohol backfired super big time (so would trying to outlaw abortion). It is a terrible thing when it is misused for the abuse and consolidation of power, as is being done RIGHT NOW.
So, silly me, the US Constitution did not officially die yesterday. What a hyperbolic, silly man am I!
But it is mortally wounded, rendered in parts meaningless, perverting other parts, and impossible to change in yet other parts.
Is that still hyperbolic?
If so, I plead guilty.
