Different nations have different means of establishing domination over their citizens by utilizing different tools which ultimately are quite similar. They all seek to avoid the inconvenience of constitutions, laws and of course the representative legislative branch of government when such a branch exists. Of course, in Czarist Russia, before the Revolution of 1905, there was no legislature, elected or appointed. The Czar had the title of Autocrat of all the Russians and indeed he was an autocrat. Unfortunately for Russia and its peoples, the last Czar, Nicholas II, was not very intelligent. Any advice that conflicted with his own ideas was rejected. He issued decrees, known as ukases in the Russian language which had the force of law. The 1905 Revolution forced the dim-witted czar to agree to the establishment of a legislature known as the Duma but this proved to be an ineffective body. With the end of the Romanov dynasty in 1917 and the establishment of Bolshevik rule, the legislative branch of government was totally eclipsed. With the establishment of one party rule, the newly renamed Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, a rubber stamp legislature known as the Supreme Soviet was created; it did what the Communist Party Politburo told them to do. The executive function of the USSR devolved into the hands of the Communist Party and its leadership group known as the Politburo. The Soviet government was always subordinate to the Communist Party.
Another country, another way of dealing with an unaccommodating legislature. This time Germany, or as many call it, the Weimar Republic. The Weimar Constitution was one of the most liberal constitutions ever. Unfortunately for Germany, just as political and economic affairs were stabilizing and it appeared that a functioning government and nation would survive, the Great Depression of 1929 struck. Germany was particularly hard hit by this world wide calamity. The various political parties had private armies of their own; the elections of 1930 showed great gains for the National Socialists (Nazis) led by Adolf Hitler, and the legislative process seemed to be paralyzed. President Paul von Hindenburg, using constitutional emergency presidential powers, named a chancellor who ruled by Presidential decree. Street battles occurred, the economy worsened and elections did not resolve anything. By the end of 1932, several presidential governments failed and Hindenburg finally accepted Hitler as chancellor. After elections held in March, 1933, a new Reichstag was empowered. Still, the Nazis did not have a majority. Through violence and intimidation, the Reichstag passed an enabling act on March 23, 1933. This short-circuited the legislature which never met again as legislative powers were ceded to the cabinet led by the Chancellor (Hitler). Democracy was now dead in Germany.
American Presidents have circumvented the legislative branch in many ways over the years. Through calling wars "police actions" (Korea), to using Congressional resolutions in an expansive manner that affects the nation much more than the legislators ever imagined (Gulf of Tonkin Resolution) to avoiding sending treaties to the Senate which constitutionally must advise and consent (Iran Nuclear Deal) and finally to immigration regulations in which the Congress is totally ignored.
Washington is full of smart, high-priced lawyers who know very well how to parse obscure sentences and find some “loophole” which they believe will allow the President to ignore the legislature, the courts, and often the people. Ultimately, they fail as we still have elections which can be the ultimate remedy against would-be tyrants. Democracy is precious, freedom is not free, and eternal vigilance is the price of liberty. We do not need an expanding presidency nor do we need any Berzelius Windrips in the White House. Despite what political scientists may think, expanding presidential power is not in the public interest and must be restrained. The Constitution lives. It remains the supreme law of the land.
Garry S. Sklar
Safaga, Egypt
November 21, 2022
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