We all know the phrase. We’ve heard it uttered by countless politicians. Have you ever paused to think about what exactly the phrase means? Simply put, everything that our government does is guided by a law. Every dollar it spends, every action it takes, every statement it makes must adhere to a set of principles set forth in law and subject to Constitutional scrutiny.
The law is the iron clad rule of our society. If you’ve ever played Monopoly, you know the rules. You land on a property, is it owned? If not, you can buy it, but if so, you owe rent. How much rent is determined by rules. There are rules that apply if you cannot pay. If you pass “Go” you collect $200. If you go to jail, you do NOT pass “Go.”
I was thinking of this watching Morning Doucheboro (h/t Jon Stewart) the other day. Mrs. Doucheboro was interviewing Senator James Lankford (R-OK). She asked him about President Trump’s declaration of a National Emergency, and was it really an emergency. He responded by saying that you can call it an “emergency” or a “crisis” or a “problem”. Only, no you really can’t.
When Donald Trump “declared” the National Emergency at the southern border, he was doing so by law, in accordance with the National Emergencies Act. That law enables him to temporarily assume powers normally reserved by the Legislature. The Law also sets for the process by which the Legislature can say, “No, this is NOT an emergency, and you have overstepped your authority.”
When a President declares a Federal Disaster, it is a law. It triggers other legal conditions that allow for agencies to take steps to deal with the disaster that otherwise require legislative approval at a moment when time is of the essence.
Notice that he didn’t “call” it an emergency. He had to declare one in accordance with law. He did this to redirect money that Congress appropriated for other purposes to his wall. Two comments about that- First, the money was appropriated by Law. Congress passed a law directing how money was to be spent, and the President signed it. Second, the President’s oath of office requires him to see that the laws are faithfully executed.
The President is claiming that conditions at the southern border have changed in a way that immediate attention is demanded. That is either true or it is not. He is saying that he MUST have an appropriation of funds NOW to deal with an emergency that cannot wait for Congress to approve. That, too, is either true or it is not. By his own admission, “I didn’t need to do this.”
Republicans love to wave their pocket copies of the US Constitution almost as much as they like to wave the flag (both that of the Union, and the Traitors). They also claim to believe in the “strict construction” of The Constitution. I wonder how they are able to hold the founders in such reverence when they wrote an intentionally ambiguous document which also specifically invites future generations to feel free to change it as needed.
We are a Nation of Laws. The President’s actions clearly and demonstrably violate those laws. Republicans MUST rebuke him or they can take those pocket Constitutions and stick them where the sun doesn’t shine.