Viewpoint: Would the real Republicans please stand up?
Corey Ellis
Imagine for a moment that the last elections’ results were flipped. What if Harris had come in and issued an executive order ending the 2nd amendment? What if she had created the Department of DEI headed by let’s say, Rachel Maddow? What if she had installed Inspectors of Wokeness in all the departments and agencies of the government to force PC compliance?
What if Trump tax cuts were extended with bi-partisan support and Harris directed the IRS to collect higher taxes anyway? Conservatives would lose their minds, and rightfully so! There would be calls for impeachment. There would be reminders of the Tea Party and the American Revolution and that we are no longer under a crown. Republicans would be wise to realize they will not be in power forever, and making this hypothetical appear normal and acceptable would be disastrous for their values and the country.
The Republican Party is supposed to be the party of checks and balances, the party of limited government, the party of the Constitution, the party of states’ rights and the party of individual freedom.
It’s no surprise that Trump and his bidders have been ignoring norm after norm, breaking law after law and trying to get away with anything and everything they can. What is surprising is the Republicans of the Senate and House have not been able to find the spine to stand up against their new king and act as a check to the executive branch as our country’s framers intended.
As everyone knows, and as he promised, Trump started his term with a slew of executive orders to carry out his agenda. Many of these orders were brazenly unconstitutional, illegal, and trampled on our country’s deepest and proudest traditions.
-He issued an order in direct contradiction to the 14 th Amendment which established birthright citizenship. Republicans did nothing.
-He created the so-called Department of Government Efficiency and appointed a head (Elon Musk) without Senate confirmation. The power to create new agencies and departments resides with Congress. Republicans did nothing.
-He fired 17 inspectors general, positions long celebrated by conservatives for reducing government waste, fraud and corruption. He did this without notifying Congress as required by law. Republicans did nothing.
-He is also trying to close USAID which was created by Congress as an “independent establishment” and refused to spend related appropriated funds. Two things the Constitution does not allow him to do. Republicans did nothing.
-He ordered that TikTok be allowed to continue to operate. This after the law forcing TikTok to be sold was passed with bipartisan support, the support of the National Security agencies and held up by the overwhelmingly conservative Supreme Court. He trampled roughshod over the two other branches of government. Republicans did nothing.
So, will republicans honor their oaths to the Constitution and live up to their party’s best ideals by constraining these rampant abuses by the executive branch?
Thomas Jefferson- “Power must never be trusted without a check.”