President's Day Reflection
If you’ve never spent some time reading Article II of the US Constitution with a good teacher/mentor, consider doing so before you die.
What better time to do so, bit by bit, than on a President’s Day.
What’s the point of President’s Day ?
Please don’t answer that question; I’m afraid of what stupid things people might say. (Not you, of course—you’d have intelligent things to say, I’m sure. Right ?)
We don’t have a Supreme Court Day.
We don’t have a Chief Justice Day. We don’t have a Speaker’s Day (US House). We don’t even have a Congressman’s Day, or a Congress Day.
I just named all three branches of the federal government (US).
Why a President’s Day ?
We have an Administrative State Day—it’s April 15th.
Can you correctly answer these questions and explain them to new citizens in a non-bull-shit way ?
What is the Constitutional role of the president ?
Spend a moment today thinking about just one clause of the US Constitution, in Article II. The first clause.
“The executive power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America.”
The executive power: what does that mean ? Be comprehensive and specific. Give a comprehensive definition that abstractly includes all executive power/action, and excludes non-executive power/action, along with several examples.
In other words, what power is that ? (How is it distinguished from the legislative powers herin granted in Article I, clause 1, and the judicial power, Article III, clause 1 ?)
Vested by whom to the president ? (Who has the power to “vest” the president with this executive power ??)
How many people have this power at one time ?
How many people work for the federal government in the executive branch ? How many of them have the executive power ?
If a president was mentally unfit, was actually not running things, not exercising executive power over the Administrative State of the executive branch, and yet the Administrative State was functioning anyway, then what might that mean as far as who has the executive power in actuality, apart from what the Constitution says should happen ?
Why is this clause in the Constitution ? For what moral, normative political purpose ?
What part of the Federalist Papers discusses this clause ?
If you can’t answer these questions accurately, completely, thoroughly, clearly, concisely, in a non-bullshit kina way (obvi), then it would be a good task for you to undertake on some Presidents Day some time in your life unless you want to continue on as an American dufus.
That’s one clause down. Just a few more to go.
Luke for TRP on President’s Day, 2024