Dear Group,
It is no longer about a wall, it is no longer about immigration, and it is no longer about one side “winning.” Now the question is this: Do we respect the checks and balances we’ve been told are so essential to the durability of these United States or do we toss them aside in favor of the “strong man,” the guy who says he alone can “fix it?”
Article 1, Section 7 of the U.S. Constitution reads: “1. All Bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with Amendments as on other Bills.”
The Constitution is not holy writ, as some seem to claim, but it is the best we’ve got. It has been good enough to keep us from the excesses to which other democracies and republics have fallen. (Remember the Weimar Republic, 1920s Italy, and, recently, Venezuela were all representative democracies, democracies that fell to dictators who bent the rules.)
The Constitution in Article 1, Section 7 gives the “power of the purse” to the members of the House of Representatives for a good reason: The House is the chamber of the Congress closest to the people, the people upon whose numbers the States are taxed, the people (more or less) represented by the person they send to that House. The power of the purse is a check on the power of President and a check against the oligarchic tendencies of the Senate. That’s why the Framer’s put it in there. We ignore it at our peril.
At least one House Republican has actually read the Constitution and is willing to stand in its defense. You can read his entire text in a very conservative online source, RedState, in an article entitled “Read Justin Amash’s Spot-On Constitutional Explanation Of ‘National Emergencies’”
Trump has crossed the line in his pursuit of power. Our federal elected officials all swear to “defend the Constitution” when they enter government. Any Congressperson who fails to vote to curb Trump’s autocratic impulse has broken that oath. Even Mitch McConnell (R-KY) “warned against the emergency declaration before it was issued…” and then, tellingly, supported it after Trump ignored his advice. (Granted that McConnell was issuing a warning based on his sense that declaring an emergency might be a bad political move rather than an act contrary to the Constitution. McConnell is, after all, about nothing but political power, not statesmanship.)
The affirmation of the checks and balances of our Constitution is fundamental. It’s importance exceeds all else in the ever roiling news cycle, the wall, the Cohen hearing in Congress, the Trump chitchat with Kim Jong-Un. If we don’t stand for the rules that govern us what do we stand for?
5PM, Feb 26 update: The results are in. H.J.Res.46 passed 245-182 with every Democrat and 13 Republicans voting to “terminate” Trump’s national emergency. Remarkable among these Republicans were McMorris Rodgers and Herrera Beutler. Dan Newhouse was the only Washington State Representative to vote against the measure. I can only recall one other recorded vote in which McMorris Rodgers voted against the wishes of her “positive disruptor.” (The other was a measure that would have gutted the ADA.) Russ Fulcher of Idaho voted Nay. Apparently he and Newhouse both need to read the Constitution along with 182 of the other Republicans.
Research the House members votes on H.J.Res. 46: Relating to a national emergency declared by the President on February 15, 2019. Regardless of today’s vote, they may get another chance in an attempted override of the autocrat’s veto. It is worth your time to let your Congresspeople know how important this vote is and how carefully you are paying attention. Check out your Congressperson’s vote here.
CMR:
Spokane Office (509) 353-2374
Colville Office (509) 684-3481
Walla Walla Office (509) 529-9358
D.C. Office (202) 225-2006
Rep. Russ Fulcher (new R, ID)
(202) 225-6611
Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA)
D.C. Office (202) 224-2621
Spokane Office (509) 624-9515
Yakima Office (509) 453-7462
Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA)
D.C. Office (202) 224-3441
Spokane Office (509) 353-2507
Richland Office (509) 946-8106
Sen. Mike Crapo (R-ID)
D.C. 202-224-6142
North ID, 208–664-5490
Sen. James Risch (R-ID)
D.C. 202-224-2752
Coeur d’Alene 208-667-6130
Keep to the high ground,
Jerry