Tuesday, January 3, 2017

The Lame Duck Restraint Act

The American presidency has historically been accorded a unique place in national and international politics.  The office combines the head of state with the head of government, which no other major nation has done.  Moreover, we have retained the "Lame Duck" period between national elections, again something that no other major nation has done.  Finally, Congress has granted (I would argue beyond its power to grant) effective quasi-legislative powers to the president through a variety of means. 
Americans today see, in the hands of an infantile and dumb man like Barack Obama, just how dangerous that can be.  His recent designation of various areas as protected from exploration for energy and other mineral wealth after his party lost all power in Washington is evidence of the need for immediate change.
While it would be best to simply remove all quasi-legislative power from all federal independent regulatory agencies, all executive agencies, and the president and to require, instead, that actions with the force of law be made only by Congress and no one else, that may not be possible until the political power of constitutionalism is stronger.

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