Republicans in Congress fiddle while Trump burns
In a 1949 Supreme Court case, Justice Robert H. Jackson wrote a famous dissenting opinion warning that the Constitution’s Bill of Rights is not “a suicide pact.” He meant that the First Amendment does not absolutely protect speech and should not be seen as preventing the government from maintaining ordered liberty.
Whether or not Justice Jackson was right about that particular case or that specific understanding of the First Amendment, his words ought to serve as a practical reminder in other contexts as well. For instance, we are not compelled to play the role of passive spectators while unforced errors by one branch of the federal government create a national emergency. The Constitution provides tools necessary for national self-preservation and does not prevent us from taking the kind of action needed to respond to a crisis.
Americans face such a crisis today. Donald Trump’s presidency is careening out of control. U.S. markets are having their worst month in decades. Investors may be rattled by any number of events or concerns, including a government shutdown, reports that the president has considered firing Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, a strange Treasury Department statement that Secretary Steve Mnuchin has been checking in with the CEOs of major banks to confirm they have ample liquidity, and of course the ongoing trade war with China.
Investors and non-investors alike took notice when Secretary of Defense James Mattis resigned. Former George W. Bush aide Michael Gerson reports that one Republican senator said simply: “we are in peril”. Gerson tweeted that “many in DC, including [Republicans are] now unsure if [the Trump] administration can be relied upon to carry out its most basic [national security] duties.” Tom Nichols of the Naval War College wrote that “our enemies are [now] openly gloating.” In recent weeks, we have read publicly available excerpts from heavily redacted court filings related to the prosecution of Trump insiders Michael Flynn, Michael Cohen, and Paul Manafort. These documents make clear that the president faces the possibility of impeachment and legal jeopardy related to his involvement in criminal activity. We know that there is more to come, and that the president will continue trying to interfere with or even shut down Robert Mueller’s investigation.
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/republicans-in-congress-fiddle-while-trump-burns-2018-12-24
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