berg80
Diamond Member
- Oct 28, 2017
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In Gorsuch’s Homage to Legislative Power, a Subtle Reproach of a Neutered Congress
Justice Neil M. Gorsuch’s concurring opinion released on Friday after the Supreme Court struck down President Trump’s tariffs concluded with a paean to Congress that read like a requiem for a bygone era of legislative power.“Yes, legislating can be hard and take time,” wrote Justice Gorsuch, a Trump appointee who is part of the court’s conservative majority. “And yes, it can be tempting to bypass Congress when some pressing problem arises. But the deliberative nature of the legislative process was the whole point of its design. Through that process, the nation can tap the combined wisdom of the people’s elected representatives, not just that of one faction or man.”
It was a description of governing completely at odds with what is currently underway across the street from the Supreme Court at the Capitol, where Republicans controlling the House and the Senate have ceded their power to one man — Mr. Trump — on a variety of issues. In essence, they are acting as if they have no wisdom to tap, or no business doing so.
Once in a while a simple comment is able to crystalize the zeitgeist of an entire enterprise in ways a thousand words can not. What follows was such a comment.
Asked at a news conference at the White House on Friday whether he now planned to work with Congress to impose the kinds of sweeping tariffs he prefers, Mr. Trump said he had no intention of doing so.
“I don’t have to,” he said. “I have the right to do tariffs.”
Undaunted after the SC told him he in fact does not have the right to unilaterally "do" tariffs he defiantly claimed he does. Because he believes his power to rule over the country is absolute regardless of what the Constitution says. Explaining why he refuses to go to Congress for their consent. Completely ignoring the Founder's intent as Gorsuch so eloquently points out. "But the deliberative nature of the legislative process was the whole point of its design. Through that process, the nation can tap the combined wisdom of the people’s elected representatives, not just that of one faction or man.”
It's time for congressional R's to end their abdication of authority to a man with no respect for its role in the governance of the nation. The fact that he believes he doesn't have go through the normal legislative process is reason enough to force him to.
