I watched last night’s debate and one thing really stuck out at me. The right still has a desire to have an imperial Presidency.
First to take a swing at this danger ball was Rick Perry. He declared that if he was elected President that Congress would become part-time. That’s a very outrageous claim given that the President is in separate but equal branch of government than the legislature.
Then the zany kicked into overdrive with Newt Gingrich. Newt said as President he would eliminate courts and make it so that judges could be removed if they make a decision that neither the President nor Congress agrees with. Talk about taking our checks and balances and throwing them out the door.
This kind of thinking is something that has become synonymous with the Conservative philosophy. I believe life-time terms for our judges is an outdated system, but giving the other two branches the ability to remove a judge simply because they don’t like a decision? That would be a wrecking ball on what keeps our government in check and destroy the very premise that this country was founded on.
So I have to ask these very serious to all my Republican friends. How would you react if this was the law of the land right now with a President Obama? What if after the Citizens United decision President Obama said “that’s it – Alito, Thomas, Scalia and Roberts are out of there”?
Think about that before pushing for this imperial presidency meme. It might sound good if your guy is sitting in the Oval Office, but as soon as the other guy is, I guarantee that idea won’t be so great.