Posted on 01/09/2010 8:00:23 AM PST by Loud Mime
Mr. MADISON. If it be a fundamental principle of free Govt. that the Legislative, Executive & Judiciary powers should be separately exercised, it is equally so that they be independently exercised. There is the same & perhaps greater reason why the Executive shd. be independent of the Legislature, than why the Judiciary should: A coalition of the two former powers would be more immediately & certainly dangerous to public liberty. It is essential then that the appointment of the Executive should either be drawn from some source, or held by some tenure, that will give him a free agency with regard to the Legislature. This could not be if he was to be appointable from time to time by the Legislature. It was not clear that an appointment in the 1st. instance even with an eligibility afterwards would not establish an improper connection between the two departments. Certain it was that the appointment would be attended with intrigues and contentions that ought not to be unnecessarily admitted. He was disposed for these reasons to refer the appointment to some other source. The people at large was in his opinion the fittest in itself. It would be as likely as any that could be devised to produce an Executive Magistrate of distinguished Character. The people generally could only know & vote for some Citizen whose merits had rendered him an object of general attention & esteem. There was one difficulty however of a serious nature attending an immediate choice by the people. The right of suffrage was much more diffusive in the Northern than the Southern States; and the latter could have no influence in the election on the score of the Negroes. The substitution of electors obviated this difficulty and seemed on the whole to be liable to fewest objections."
Madison feared factions; we now are contending with the greatest anti-constitutional faction in the history of the United States. Soon we will be the federalized states.
Historical Documents ping
The check provided in the 2d. branch was not meant as a check on Legislative usurpations of power, but on the abuse of lawful powers, on the propensity in 2 the 1st. branch to legislate too much to run into projects of paper money & similar expedients. It is no check on Legislative tyranny. On the contrary it may favor it, and if the 1st. branch can be seduced may find the means of success. The Executive therefore ought to be so constituted as to be the great protector of the Mass of the people. — It is the duty of the Executive to appoint the officers & to command the forces of the Republic: to appoint 1. 3 ministerial officers for the administration of public affairs. 2. 3 officers for the dispensation of Justice. Who will be the best Judges whether these appointments be well made? The people at large, who will know, will see, will feel the effects of them. Again who can judge so well of the discharge of military duties for the protection & security of the people, as the people themselves who are to be protected & secured? — He finds too that the Executive is not to be re-eligible. What effect will this have?
“Wealth tends to corrupt the mind & 1 to nourish its love of power, and to stimulate it to oppression. History proves this to be the spirit of the opulent.”
This is not true of all wealthy people but when you look at our billionaires and their agendas for population control, abortion, imposed immorality, anti-freedom, internationalism, socialism, etc. you can see that this is true for many. Soros, Gates, Winfry, Bono, and other entertainment biggies, Geithner (banksters), the Ford foundation and other wealthy foundations... All these people and their money work against our Nation, freedom, indpendence and ethics in their desire for petty causes, power to control the US and world.
And Pelosi, Reid and Obama sit together in a room drawing up plans for national deathcare.
Our Founding Fathers didn’t quite get it right. They merely came closer than had anyone before or since.
“The merit of the founders of our Republics lies in the more accurate views and the practical applications of the doctrines [of self-government]. The rights of man as the foundation of just Government had been long understood; but the superstructures projected had been sadly defective.”
. . . . . Letter to N. P. Trist, February, 1830 (Madison Center Archives, JMU)
No matter what the machine (BMW, Porsche, Mercedes, Honda), it has to be put in the hands of a human. That driver can destroy the best built machines. The same is true with government. No matter how well constructed it is, the humans who pilot it can crash it.
Yes, just so. As an example, certain present day characters come to mind.
What better way to seek to ensure this quality in a President, than to require that he (or she) be of The People, himself (or herself)?
Is the child of a foreign citizen really of The People? Allegiances will have formed elsewhere, for such a child. Empathy will be lacking, for what Madison termed "the great Mass of the people."
So, the Framers sought to preclude such individuals, from ever attaining the highest office of the land, for this reason. They were prescient in their concern. We're now living the consequences of having ignored them.
If you look at the Constitution’s requirements of the president, one stands out: that he shall take good care that the laws be faithfully executed.
Let’s start with his oath of office, where he swears to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution. = FAIL.
certain = the whole administration
That's true. But if you crash a golf cart, you do a lot less damage than if you crash a Ferrari. Therefore, if the drivers at large are incapable of handling the awesome power of a Ferrari, it's best not to give them one. The Constitution erred not by granting too little power, but by granting too much.
Ambigious to the point of meaninglessness. How does one measure faithfulness?
Thanks for your input!
Thanks for the pings. I’m always interested in these posts from/concerning the founding period.
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