Brett as President: The Other Two Branches

One of the most important aspects of the job of being president is how the other two branches of the government would be dealt with. I think it's time I wrote an article about how I would work with the other two branches to "get things done," since everybody seems to believe that's what we want. It is a three part government at the top, so all three of these parts need to understand one another if they are to operate effectively.

First I've got a chain of logic that I want anybody who would ever consider me as a presidential candidate to understand. I would follow the Constitution under all circumstances; that's the main point, but it is necessary to cover the basics of what is expected of a president, so I ask the forgiveness of those who already understand the line of logic I'm about to cover. It becomes necessary to cover the basic ground rules because if the basics of anything aren't correct there's no chance of accomplishing anything beyond that.

The Constitution is written to give the federal government only specific and limited powers. There are two basic parts of it that deal with what powers they are supposed to have. The first of these is Article One, Section Eight, which lists the specific things the federal government—specifically Congress—is allowed to deal with. In short there are only the following nineteen powers: taxes, borrow, regulate commerce, naturalization, bankruptcies, money and weights and measures, punishment of counterfeiting, post offices and roads, copyright laws, establishing tribunals, punishment of piracies, declaration and regulation of wars, raise armies, provide a Navy, make rules for the military, call forth the Militia, regulate the Militia, maintain federal property, and make laws with regards to the foregoing powers.

That's it. That's all the powers they have. There is nothing more than that. Notice some of the "issues" being discussed today seem somewhat beyond that scope. Notice there is no federal power over health care, social security, funding for cowboy poetry, providing child care for workers, redistribution of wealth, labor laws, funding for shrimp on treadmills, marriage regulation, light bulb regulation, energy regulation, environmental regulation, or any other kind of silly thing the federal government is currently involved in. If the States wish to involve themselves in that sort of activity there is no federal power to stop it, so that is their business.

The next link in my chain of logic is the 10th Amendment, which is part of the United States' Bill of Rights. "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." This amendment limits the powers of Congress and the federal government to only the powers above, forever and for all time. Period. Only this far and no further, under any circumstances. Otherwise, even by amendment, to give the federal government new powers, this right would be a totally purposeless waste of words and ink. It is a right of the People of the United States that this amendment never be violated. Thus, any power the federal government has taken beyond the nineteen listed above is a violation of your rights as a citizen of this country.

Moving on to the next link in the chain I give you an excerpt from Article Six. "This Constitution ... shall be the supreme Law of the Land." There is no higher law. There is no higher organization. There is no opinion above it that holds any legal force or binding. Most importantly, anything that does not comply with the Constitution is by definition, patently illegal.

The next thing to be dealt with is the oath of office. For the Senate, House of Representatives and Supreme Court the oath is as follows; "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God." Notice that this oath is not to the country, "the United States," it is to, "the Constitution of the United States."

So the bottom line is that Congress and the Supreme Court are by oath of allegiance and law, bound to only follow the powers specifically listed in the Constitution. Any circumstance where they take on powers not granted to them by the Constitution are violations of the highest law in the land.

Title 18 U.S. Code § 2381 provides us with the legal definition and penalty for treason. "Whoever, owing allegiance to the United States, levies war against them or adheres to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort within the United States or elsewhere, is guilty of treason and shall suffer death, or shall be imprisoned not less than five years and fined under this title but not less than $10,000; and shall be incapable of holding any office under the United States."

Please notice the use of the word allegiance in the oath and U.S. Code.

Now I ask you; what would be a domestic enemy of the United States or its Constitution, if it is not a person who violates his oath of office, and the supreme law of the land, by not following it? An enemy, by definition (Encarta Dictionary), is something that harms or opposes something else. Thus, any person holding office in the Supreme Court or Congress who votes for or rules in favor of any law beyond the constitutional limits granted in Article One, Section Eight and the 10th Amendment is guilty of treason against the Constitution and People of the United States.

The basic job description of the president is dealt with in Article Two of the Constitution. Briefly described the most important part of it is in the last paragraph of Section One, as the presidential oath. "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States." That, simply put, is the president's primary job. It is his responsibility in all circumstances to hold the line against violations of the Constitution in any part of the federal government.

That is precisely what I, if elected to be president of this nation, intend to do. This also implies that if I sign a bill that is unconstitutional, I, by not taking action against it would be guilty of Misprision of Treason per Title 18 U.S. Code § 2382. This basically means guilt by association.

So if Congress sends me a bill they expect me to sign, my legal team will go through every line of it to make sure that there is a corresponding power from Article One, Section Eight, that applies to it. If there is even so much as one single sentence of it in violation of Article One, Section Eight, I would be forced to veto the entire bill.

From here on out it would be best to use an example.

Let's say I receive a bill for military spending. If everything in it is constitutional and it doesn't have anything unreasonable like, "four hundred trillion dollars for the next aircraft carrier," I would sign it and there would be no problem. However, if there is a clause that provides funding for Harry Reid's Cowboy Poetry Festival I would be forced to veto the entire bill. There is no line item veto for a president and there is no power of Congress to provide funding for cowboy poetry. My message to Congress and the media would be, "There is no power in Article One, Section Eight for the funding of 'Cowboy Poetry Festivals.' Such spending would also violate the 10th Amendment and thus the rights of American citizens under the Bill of Rights. Please remove the offending unconstitutional clause and promptly return the bill to me or face the consequences of having an unfunded military."

Now it might happen that Congress would override my veto, if by two-thirds they could pass the law in spite of my objections to the unconstitutional clause. So military spending would continue. However, I, as president, would do two things. First, I would issue an executive order to the Treasury Department to stop payment on all checks to the support of Cowboy Poetry Festivals as they are based on an unconstitutional law. Second, I would issue an order to the Justice Department to have everybody involved in the passage of this bill charged for contempt, perjury or treason against the Constitution. Oh yes I would!

In the meantime it is very likely that someone will file charges against me for not following the law (unconstitutional, therefore not a valid law in this country) regarding the funding of Cowboy Poetry Festivals. Let them. Sooner or later there would be a ruling, maybe even from the Supreme Court, that I'm not following the law. My statement to the press and the Supreme Court would be, "While I thank the Court for their opinion, if the Court thinks that's what the law is under the Constitution, let them try to enforce it. In the meantime the Justice Department will be investigating any justice who supported this ruling for treasonous activities against the Constitution and violation of their oaths."

I will, in other words, always and in all cases take the text of the Constitution as if it were the highest law in the land. I don't care what the Supreme Court, Congress, lawyers or scholars say, because they are not the highest law in the land.

Neither am I. However I would be the guy whose job it is to make certain the Constitution is followed.