“Capitalism is a lot
more important than democracy.”
-Stephen
Moore, co-founder of the Club for Growth and former Trump campaign
advisor-
The
Heritage Foundation and the Fraser Institute, both conservative
research organizations, have ranked Hong Kong number one as
the “freest economy” in the world. Apparently the millions of
protesting residents of Hong Kong didn't get the message.
The
ideal and fanciful world of so many of these conservative
organizations often seems like a tour through Alice in Wonderland
but the influence they exert across the globe cannot be ignored. See
Democracydoesn't matter to the defenders of 'economic freedom.'
The
start of the impeachment hearings in the House Judiciary Committee
last week offered us a glimpse of how American capitalism and
democracy interact in the United States. Four constitutional scholars
spoke to the committee about the Constitution and what it means to
all of us.
A
Democratic member of the committee asked one panelist what would be
the result if, based on the current evidence, the House did not
impeach the president. The response was precise: “We would no
longer have a democracy.” The Republicans on the committee claimed
there was nothing to investigate. John Adams, our second president,
once said that, “There is never a democracy that did not commit
suicide.”
Yes,
words do matter. Two, “Originalism” and “Textualism,”
familiar to constitutional scholars, were words that came up several
times in the hearing when discussing the meaning of the text and its
interpretation. In brief, Originalism and Textualism narrow the
interpretation of the Constitution and claims that it means no more
or less “than what it meant to those who originally wrote and
ratified it,” – the Founding Fathers. For some scholars it
becomes less of a living document and more like a sacred totem to be
decoded. (see “The Scalia Problem” below).
While
unknown to most Americans, the consequences of narrow judicial
interpretation could profoundly affect the average person in so many
negative ways, including in areas like discrimination, voting
rights, health care, corporate personhood and environmental
regulations. The twenty-first century, sadly for many, has arrived.
At least
once, the innocuous sounding term “unitary executive theory”
was brought up. The unitary executive theory offers an expansive
belief in the power of the president to control the entire executive
branch of government and surely would be supported by most autocrats
on the planet.
William
Barr, Trump's current Attorney General, appears to strongly subscribe
to this view. There is a clear and compelling reason why Republican
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell wants to confirm staunchly
conservative judges, with lifetime appointments, as fast as possible.
To strengthen democracy is not the reason.
Of
course we've never had a literal democracy in this country but part
of the American narrative--and myth--says that we do have a
democratic republic with representative government and three
separate but equal branches with distinct duties and
responsibilities. The ultimate power is vested in “we the
people.”This was the genius of the American experiment in
self-government when our Constitution was ratified on June 21, 1788.
Democracy
was not on the top of the “to-do” list for our Founding Fathers
in the 18th century. James Madison, the author of the
first draft of the U.S. Constitution and fourth president of the
United States said that, “Democracies have ever been spectacles of
turbulence and contention; have ever been found incompatible with
personal security or the rights of property...”
A
recent poll by the Pew Research Center, Republicans
Now Are More Open to the Idea of Expanding Presidential Power,
indicates that while most Americans would be uncomfortable giving
more power to our presidents, conservative Republicans -- by more
than 50 percent – believe we could more effectively deal with
“problems” if the president had more power. This number has
doubled since March 2018.
In
another poll, Trumpgreater than Lincoln?, ordinary Republicans said Trump was a
better president by 53 to 47 percent. One respondent said, “Lincoln
only freed the slaves.”
Whether
or not we commit national suicide remains to be seen. But we are
tempting fate, with a significant portion of Americans more inclined
toward authoritarianism and less inclined toward democratic
institutions.
In the
early 1930s the German industrialists and the military considered
Herr Hitler a useful idiot that could be controlled -- but the German
lumpenproletariat considered Herr Hitler their savior.
Additional
Reading:
