The President’s pardon of former Sheriff Joe Arpaio is a chilling reminder that despite the claim that our governmental structure is constrained by numerous checks and balances a considerable amount of discretion and executive power can circumvent the best intentions of the founding fathers. So while Trump has been totally neutered with respect to the passage of legislation by an increasingly hostile Congress, his penchant for making significant changes in policy direction via executive order combined with the appointment of Executive agency personnel invested with an almost revolutionary fervor for either dismantling or destroying the administrative state ensures decisions that will adversely affect large numbers of the nation’s citizens. In keeping with the hopeful and positive nature of the events which led to our evolution as a beacon of freedom we are not well-equipped to deal with an authoritarian leader who is more interested in his own advancement at the expense of the nation. This is particularly problematic when one party controls both the Executive and Legislative branches of government. Hence, we are staring down the barrel of a constitutional crisis.
The Presidential pardon was never intended to be used as a weapon of tyrannical discretion, rather it was inserted into the constitutional framework almost as an afterthought by Alexander Hamilton, a strong proponent of centralized government. But he attempted to justify the pardon power with certain caveats that reflected a desire to achieve a unifying effect upon the nation. In Federalist #74 Hamilton writes that “the principal argument for reposing the power of pardoning…in the Chief Magistrate is this: in seasons of insurrection or rebellion, there are often critical moments when a well-timed offer of pardon to the insurgents or rebels may restore the tranquility of the commonwealth; and which, if suffered to pass unimproved, it may never be possible afterwards to recall.”
In other words, equipping the Chief Executive with the power to pardon allows for the possibility to take advantage of the ability to calm the waters of insurrection for the betterment of the nation. The underlying argument is dependent upon the notion that our President will place first and foremost in his actions protection and advancement of the nation not his or her political fortunes. President George Washington pardoned those involved in the “Whiskey Rebellion”, Andrew Johnson pardoned Confederate soldiers, Jimmy Carter pardoned Vietnam draft dodgers, and Gerald Ford pardoned Richard Nixon to help heal a badly divided nation. In the case of the Nixon pardon Ford paid a very heavy political price and his long political experience advised him that that would be the case.
But the potential for political chicanery has always been present and over the past several administrations there have been some questionable uses that beg the question as to whether the power to pardon, in the wrong hands, may be abused for strictly political considerations, in contravention of the original intent of Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution. And the recently blatant maneuver by Donald Trump smacks of political chicanery that has the potential not to unify but rather to further divide an already severely polarized nation. His refusal to abide by certain procedures and processes embedded in the Department of Justice to provide guidance on pardons only aggravates the political nature reflected in his actions on Sheriff Joe.
Quite simply, the best intentions of the founding fathers to invest power in the Chief Executive only works when the President has a keen appreciation for and commitment to the democratic ideals inherent in the governmental foundation of the nation. Trump exhibits no inclination to either acknowledge or comprehend devotion to the concept of public service, raising serious questions on whether he is capable of fulfilling the responsibilities of the Office of the Presidency. The danger of positing significant powers into the hands of such a reckless individual is not merely manifested in the power to pardon, essentially to ignore the rule of law in this case, but becomes particularly problematic with respect to access to the nuclear codes, and governing through executive orders that unravel regulations put in place to protect our citizens.
The Arpaio pardon is emblematic of a seriously disconnected leader who has little respect for anything or anyone that does not profess unconditional fealty to his whimsical intuition. He treats the constitution with contempt, is loyal only to the narrow and shrinking constituency that pays homage to his faux bravado and imbecilic personality, is disrespectful to friends and foes alike, and exhibits a profoundly disturbing inattention to basic intellectual curiosity that precludes a comprehension of complex and difficult policy discussion. In short, he becomes more dangerous with each passing day.
Our delicate flirtation with democratic governance has withstood serious challenges over the past two and a half centuries, however each was tempered by a desire to bend not break the bonds that ultimately join us together. Trump is determined to shatter this delicate balance. He shows no pretense to do otherwise and the hopelessly wretched Republican establishment that tried to convince themselves that he would grow into the job, that he would magically “pivot” on issues based upon the weight of rationality and historical precedence, that he would indeed reveal a willingness to do what is best for the greater good, is agonizingly beginning to regret the Faustian bargain they made with this madman.
There is an urgent need to strike a bipartisan compromise on some of the life and death issues that are lurking around the corner. The only way to navigate through the treacherous shoals our ship of state is bound for is to assemble a veto proof majority in both houses of Congress that cannot be based upon electoral prospects next year. This is a tall and some may argue fantastically naive proposition, but affording Trump the privilege of dictating policy directions on issues that will affect the nation for generations will doom us all. Some will argue that the functionality of our very democratic institutions hang in the balance.
The longer he is allowed to pervert the system the more difficult it will be to fix it. We simply cannot just bide our time while the Office of Special Counsel attempts to sort out possible criminal infractions. We must shut Trump down now and let the facts take us where they lead so that we can remove him from the equation altogether. This can be done in a bipartisan way if there is a will and commitment to protect the nation. That, my Republican friends, is the true meaning of patriotism.