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Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Current Event

http://www.hermancain.com/

I understood the thrust of the question to ask whether that I, as president, would simply "order" people to not seek an abortion.
My answer was focused on the role of the President. The President has no constitutional authority to order any such action by anyone. That was the point I was trying to convey.
As to my political policy view on abortion, I am 100% pro-life. End of story.
I will appoint judges who understand the original intent of the Constitution. Judges who are committed to rule of law know that the Constitution contains no right to take the life of unborn children.
I will oppose government funding of abortion. I will veto any legislation that contains funds for Planned Parenthood. I will do everything that a President can do, consistent with his constitutional role, to advance the culture of life."

Monday, October 24, 2011

Federalist Party

The Federalist Party was the first American political party, from the early 1790s to 1816, the era of the First Party System, with remnants lasting into the 1820s. The Federalists controlled the federal government until 1801. The party was formed by Alexander Hamilton, who, during George Washington's first term, built a network of supporters, largely urban bankers and businessmen, to support his fiscal policies. These supporters grew into the Federalist Party committed to a fiscally sound and nationalistic government. The United States' only Federalist president was John Adams; although George Washington was broadly sympathetic to the Federalist program, he remained an independent his entire presidency. The Federalist policies called for a national bank, tariffs, and good relations with Britain as expressed in the Jay Treaty negotiated in 1794. Their political opponents, the Democratic-Republicans, led by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, denounced most of the Federalist policies, especially the bank, and vehemently attacked the Jay Treaty as a sell-out of republican values to the British monarchy. The Jay Treaty passed, and indeed the Federalists won most of the major legislative battles in the 1790s.
Defining federalism has never been a simple task. As colonies, the states had developed independently and, even after the Revolutionary War, they remained "distinct, different and insular communities."1 Consequently, bringing the states together in a federal system was fraught with controversy. The states had become very jealous of their independence and autonomy and many people were suspicious of the new Constitutional arrangement that would require the states to give up power to the national government. Indeed, it was the states' reluctance to surrender even the smallest amount of sovereignty that had made the government under the Articles of Confederation so weak.

The events that had prompted the states to send delegates to the Constitutional Convention, however, had also made them much more willing to accept limitations on state power than they had been before. If a stronger national government could help solve the states' trade and commerce problems, they were willing to relinquish some of their independence. Then as today, however, there was controversy about just how much independence would have to be given up to make the national government strong enough to achieve the ends it was being created to pursue.

The Framers of the Constitution created a federal system with a national government strong enough to unify the states in their pursuit of common goals without completely robbing the states of their independence. If they had not done so, it is unlikely that the ratifying conventions in the several states would have approved the Constitution. Indeed, the inclusion of the federal principle in the Constitution was a critical factor in its ratification. The benefits of federalism, however, have reached far beyond the ratification debates.
The U.S. Constitution establishes a government based on "federalism," or the sharing of power between the national, and state (and local) governments. Our power-sharing form of government is the opposite of "centralized" governments, such as those in England and France, under which national government maintains total power.
While each of the 50 states has its own constitution, all provisions of state constitutions must comply with the U.S. Constitution. For example, a state constitution cannot deny accused criminals the right to a trial by jury, as assured by the U.S. Constitution's 6th Amendment.
Federalism



The concept of Federalism is one that underlies all concepts about the power of government in the US system. Federalism within the United States system is the balancing of power between a Federal Government and State Governments. Within this system the Federal Government is superior to the State Governments. For example, a state could not pass a law that directly contradicted a law passed on the federal level. Within these principles, power is divided among the federal and state governments.
Divided Powers in US Government


The US Constitution specifically states what types of powers are to be granted to what governments.
  1. Delegated Powers - To delegate means to specifically assign, in this case delegated powers are those powers specifically assigned to the Federal Government. The founding fathers feared a national government that would overstep its bounds, so they took care to only allow the national government very specific powers. These are also referred to as enumerated powers.
  2. Reserved Powers - To reserve is to save, in this case all powers not specifically delegated the Federal Government are to be reserved or saved for the State Governments.
  3. Concurrent Powers - Concurrent means "at the same time", in this case concurrent powers are those that both the federal and state governments have simultaneously.
  4. Implied Powers - These are powers that are NOT specifically delegated in the Constitution, but are understood to be necessary or allowed. The elastic clause or necessary and proper clause allows these by stating that Congress has the power "to make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers" (art. I, sec. 8). Examples include:
    1. Hamilton's creation of the National Bank - no power to create banks is delegated the Federal Government, however it was deemed necessary and proper to form a bank to aid in Congress's power to coin money and regulate the economy. (see McCullough vs. Maryland 1819)
    2. Regulation of Railroads, Shipping, Highways - Congress is delegated the power to regulate interstate trade and as such it is implied that Congress also has the power to regulate interstate transportation by which interstate trade is made possible. (see Gibbons vs. Ogden 1824)
  5. Denied Powers - These are powers that are are specifically NOT allowed to either the federal or state governments. Again, this listing of denied powers was a specific way in which the founding fathers attempted to create a limited government.

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Federalism

1. The definition of federalsim is a political concept in which a group of members are bound together by covenant.  To me, my version and the literal definition are roughly the same.

2. The three powers are legislative, judicial, and executive. 

Legislative (Congress)Executive (President)Judicial (Supreme Court)
  • Is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces
  • Executes the instructions of Congress.
  • May veto bills passed by Congress (but the veto may be overridden by a two-thirds majority of both houses)
  • Executes the spending authorized by Congress.
  • Declares states of emergency and publishes regulations and executive orders.
  • Makes executive agreements (does not require ratification) and signs treaties (ratification requiring by two-thirds of the Senate)
  • Makes appointments to the federal judiciary, federal executive departments, and other posts with the advice and consent of the Senate. Has power to make temporary appointment during the recess of the Senate
  • Has the power to grant "reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States, except in cases of impeachment."
  • Determines which laws Congress intended to apply to any given case
  • Exercises judicial review, reviewing the constitutionality of laws
  • Determines how Congress meant the law to apply to disputes
  • Determines how a law acts to determine the disposition of prisoners
  • Determines how a law acts to compel testimony and the production of evidence
  • Determines how laws should be interpreted to assure uniform policies in a top-down fashion via the appeals process, but gives discretion in individual cases to low-level judges. The amount of discretion depends upon the standard of review, determined by the type of case in question.
  • Federal judges serve for life
3.  The division of powers is a system of checks and balances that keep each power from literally having too much power.  IT is important because it helps prevent the creation of unfair laws.
4.  Article VI, Clause 2 of the United States Constitution, known as Supremacy of National Law , establishes the U.S. Constitution, U.S. Treaties, and Federal Statutes as "the supreme law of the land." The text decrees these to be the highest form of law in the U.S. legal system, and mandates that all state judges must follow federal law when a conflict arises between federal law and either the state constitution or state law of any state.  However, the Supremacy Clause only applies if the federal government is acting in pursuit of its constitutionally authorized powers, as noted by the phrase "in pursuance thereof" in the actual text of the Supremacy Clause itself.