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by If You Can Keep It | 2.10.20

Ben Franklin famously said America is “a republic, if you can keep it.” Can we keep America a republic? Should we? This is the first in an ongoing series asking significant, but controversial, queries about our system of governance.

What’s the story?

President Donald Trump recently declared: “Article II (of the U.S. Constitution) gives me the right to do whatever I want,” referring to the section of our founding document which outlines the powers of the executive branch.
Alan Dershowitz, who defended the president in his impeachment trial, crowned this statement, arguing that:

“[T]he president’s far more powerful than the king. The president has the power that kings have never had… He has a very, very powerful office, and the framers wanted it that way.”

Lead House impeachment Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), in his opening statements, also addressed the return of the king:

“Does the oath of office itself - requiring that our laws be faithfully executed, that our president defend a Constitution that balances the powers of its branches, setting ambition against ambition so that we become no monarchy - still have meaning?”

Ben Franklin famously said: America is “a republic, if you can keep it.” Can we keep America a republic? And if democracy is broken, should we?

March towards monarchy…or arrived a century ago?

Let’s start with this 1896 quote from the Knoxville Journal:

\"Great Britain is a republic, with a hereditary president, while the United States is a monarchy with an elective king.\"

Actually, let's continue with one more quote, this one by Thomas Jefferson:

“A constitution, like ours, wears a mixed aspect of monarchy and republicanism.”

\nThe Washington Post unpacked Jefferson's prescient statement:

“The Founders had forged a powerful executive, vesting it with extensive powers over law execution, foreign affairs, military affairs, and civilian officers. Indeed, the original presidency was more powerful than many 18th century European monarchs, or so John Adams insisted.”

What do you think?

Many countries have had multiple constitutions (the Dominican Republic has had 32). Many more have uncodified constitutions (Canada, the UK, Israel). Are you tired of congressional gridlock? Do you think the American system of government is broken? Would a monarchy – or monarchic principles – be the fix? Join the conversation.

–Josh Herman

Look for part 2 of this series - What Are the Benefits of a Monarchy? - on Wednesday. And be sure to comment as we want to include your thoughts in our upcoming posts.

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Supporter of the planet, humanity and the beauty of my country.","twitter_id":"@feistycoach","facebook_id":"","youtube_id":null,"google_plus_id":null,"website":null,"slug":"gfeiste","issue_count":16,"is_following":null,"influence_score":1110,"influence_level":30,"follower_count":12,"following_count":4,"position_count":253,"id":"A9GqrBXZ","partner_id":null},{"name":"Leslie","vote_count":460,"photos":{"large":"https://graph.facebook.com/10211586901854267/picture?width=150&height=150","small":"https://graph.facebook.com/10211586901854267/picture?width=75&height=75","tiny":"https://graph.facebook.com/10211586901854267/picture?width=20&height=20","facebook":"https://graph.facebook.com/10211586901854267/picture"},"links":{"following":"/api/users/Bmyny8a9/following","followers":"/api/users/Bmyny8a9/followers"},"about_me":null,"twitter_id":null,"facebook_id":null,"youtube_id":null,"google_plus_id":null,"website":null,"slug":null,"issue_count":13,"is_following":null,"influence_score":17440,"influence_level":40,"follower_count":794,"following_count":13371,"position_count":273,"id":"Bmyny8a9","partner_id":null},{"name":"jimK","vote_count":568,"photos":{"large":"https://assets.causes.com/user/avatar/9odrQBnb/large_9odrqbnb-1557000969.jpg","small":"https://assets.causes.com/user/avatar/9odrQBnb/small_9odrqbnb-1557000969.jpg","tiny":"https://assets.causes.com/user/avatar/9odrQBnb/tiny_9odrqbnb-1557000969.jpg"},"links":{"following":"/api/users/9odrQBnb/following","followers":"/api/users/9odrQBnb/followers"},"about_me":"Retired, Politically Independent. Won’t listen to slogans, chanted mantras or generally any kind of marketing spin or “rebranding” crap. I firmly believe that everyone else is entitled to their erroneous opinions. Citizen vigilance and due diligence is price we must pay to live in a thriving, functional democracy.\nI fear that our citizens are too easily swayed by politician’s pablum about “babies”, “jobs” and now, in particular, perceived “enemies”. I fear that a citizenry focused on the “here-and-now” is easily tricked by short term benefits that have negative long-term consequences. I fear that our legislators are more concerned about buffing their constituents than looking out for the long-term welfare of our country- and are way too eager to provide those short-term benefits to the “here-and-now” crowd.\nI fear that honor is generally being sacrificed/replaced by expediency. I hear politicians eloquently argue for one side of an issue and later, when it’s to their benefit, just as eloquently argue for the opposite side. OK, so they are good at arguing- but what is that they actually believe? What is it that they actually stand for? An honorable person has values that persist even when it is not convenient or expedient. An honorable person has a moral compass that stops them from doing something wrong even if it is not illegal. A foul is a foul- even if the referee doesn’t catch you.\nI fear that each of our federal governmental branches have devised or discovered shortcuts which tend to protect them from the checks and balances our founders intended.","twitter_id":null,"facebook_id":null,"youtube_id":null,"google_plus_id":null,"website":null,"slug":"jimk","issue_count":4,"is_following":null,"influence_score":48210,"influence_level":40,"follower_count":1631,"following_count":88,"position_count":565,"id":"9odrQBnb","partner_id":null}],"article_comment":{"flagged":false,"id":1192879,"body":"The powers that the man in the White House has given to himself, and then threatened every one who disagrees need to be taken away from this President, and then codified so that no future Presidents can run roughshod over our democracy again.","parent_type":"Article","parent_id":42135,"created_at":"2020-02-11T00:44:32.597Z","liked":false,"like_count":2,"links":{"self":"https://www.causes.com/comments/1192879","likers":"https://www.causes.com/api/v1/likers?likeable_id=1192879&likeable_type=Comment"},"article_id":42135,"shareable_image_url":"https://n.causes.com/share-images/comments/1192879.png","note":{"text":"No","color":"#4ac6ec","stance":"no"},"note_text":"No","note_color":"#4ac6ec","user_id":"A9GqrBXZ","liker_ids":["Bmyny8a9","9odrQBnb"]}}

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