Those who saw Donald Trump as a novel threat looming over American
democracy and now think the danger has passed may not have been
paying much attention to the political developments of the past
several decades. Trump was merely the most recent-and will surely
not be the last-in a long line of presidents who expanded the
powers of the office and did not hesitate to act unilaterally when
so doing served their purposes. Unfortunately, Trump is also
unlikely to be the last president prepared to do away with his
enemies in the Congress and transform the imperial presidency from
a theory to a reality. Though presidents are elected more or less
democratically, the presidency is not and was never intended to be
a democratic institution. The framers thought that America would be
governed by its representative assembly, the Congress of the United
States. Presidential power, like a dangerous pharmaceutical, might
have been labelled, "to be used only when needed." Today, Congress
sporadically engages in law making but the president actually
governs. Congress has become more an inquisitorial than a
legislative body. Presidents rule through edicts while their
opponents in the Congress counter with the threat of impeachment-an
action that amounts to a political, albeit nonviolent coup. The
courts sputter and fume but generally back the president. This is
the new separation of powers-the president exercises power and the
other branches are separated from it. Where will this end?
Regardless of who occupies the Oval Office, the imperial presidency
is inexorably bringing down the curtain on American representative
democracy.
General
Imprint: |
Routledge
|
Country of origin: |
United Kingdom |
Release date: |
July 2021 |
First published: |
2021 |
Authors: |
Benjamin Ginsberg
|
Dimensions: |
229 x 152mm (L x W) |
Format: |
Hardcover
|
Pages: |
148 |
ISBN-13: |
978-0-367-62528-3 |
Categories: |
Books >
Social sciences >
Politics & government >
General
|
LSN: |
0-367-62528-8 |
Barcode: |
9780367625283 |
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