{"id":401,"date":"2017-03-11T10:32:39","date_gmt":"2017-03-11T15:32:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rationalnationusa.com\/blog\/?p=401"},"modified":"2017-03-11T10:32:39","modified_gmt":"2017-03-11T15:32:39","slug":"our-nations-most-powerful-check-on-president-trump","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rationalnationusa.com\/blog\/archives\/401","title":{"rendered":"Our Nation’s Most Powerful Check On President Trump…"},"content":{"rendered":"

Just finished reading an interesting opinion article of truth by The Washington<\/em><\/strong><\/a> Post <\/strong><\/em><\/a>editorial board. Donald Trump during his campaign for the presidency and in his address to the joint session of congress made many promises, promises that reality will block him from keeping. Both domestic and global realities will prevent Trump from succeeding in providing his vision of Making America Great Again.<\/em><\/p>\n

THE ELECTION of President Trump has prompted a lot of talk about the checks and balances of the American constitutional system. As guarantors of freedom and stability, James Madison\u2019s cherished devices \u2014 separation of powers, an independent judiciary, freedom of the press \u2014 will be tested as never before, it has been said. But another potential check on presidential action has gotten less attention: the sheer power of reality. There are some things Mr. Trump won\u2019t be able to do because, well, he just can\u2019t. Call it the reality check.<\/p>\n

To be clear: We are not referring to political reality. Of course there are certain things the president can\u2019t do, at least not immediately, because of opposition at home or abroad: In the face of Arab-world opposition, for example, he has hesitated<\/span><\/u><\/a> on his promise to move the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. What we have in mind, rather, are things that are impossible, period \u2014 such as massively cutting taxes and leaving entitlement programs alone, while simultaneously reducing the federal debt. Or deconstructing the \u201cadministrative state<\/span><\/u><\/a> \u201d while beefing up the federal government\u2019s capacity to find and deport undocumented immigrants. Or protecting a sacrosanct right to gun ownership while stopping the mayhem in Chicago.<\/p>\n

The contradictions have been heightening as Mr.\u2009Trump and his team attempt to cobble together a federal budget, with a blueprint for discretionary spending due on March 16<\/span><\/u><\/a>. At his Senate hearing to be confirmed as treasury secretary, Steven Mnuchin asserted forcefully<\/span><\/u><\/a> that the Internal Revenue Service needed more funding, which would more than pay for itself in enhanced tax compliance. Yet the White House budget office, searching for cuts to pay for Mr.\u2009Trump\u2019s proposed $54 billion<\/span><\/u><\/a> defense increase, has proposed slashing the already tight IRS budget 14.1 percent<\/span><\/u><\/a>. Mr. Trump is bound and determined to step up security along the U.S.-Mexico border, including by building a wall. To get the resources, his budgeters are reportedly targeting the Coast Guard\u2019s $9 billion budget for a $1.3 billion cut<\/span><\/u><\/a>. Sounds like an invitation for drug smugglers and migrants to come in by water instead of by land.<\/p>\n

Mr. Trump\u2019s pitch to the American electorate in 2016 was that they could have it all \u2014 low taxes and generous government benefits; a dynamic economy that \u201cprotects\u201d existing jobs \u2014 and that the only thing preventing this nirvana was the perfidy of Washington\u2019s elite. Entrust me with power, he declared, and everything will be different. Of all his many false promises, this was probably both the most effective and the phoniest. Government\u2019s resources and capabilities are limited, and trade-offs are real. Like all his predecessors, Mr. Trump will be forced, by reality, to set priorities and make choices, whether he ever acknowledges that openly or not. And sooner or later, he will be held accountable for them.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

One of these realities, our constitution and rule of law,\u00a0thankfully stands solidly in the way of Trump achieving his authoritarian agenda. Another powerful\u00a0force standing in Trump’s way is the free and\u00a0independent press with its multitude of ethical journalists that continue to call Trump out on his falsehoods.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Just finished reading an interesting opinion article of truth by The Washington Post editorial board. Donald Trump during his campaign for the presidency and in his address to the joint session of congress made many promises, promises that reality will block him from keeping. Both domestic and global realities will prevent Trump from succeeding in … Continue reading Our Nation’s Most Powerful Check On President Trump…<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[28,4,8,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-401","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ethics","category-government","category-media","category-politics"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8ovtF-6t","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":502,"url":"https:\/\/rationalnationusa.com\/blog\/archives\/502","url_meta":{"origin":401,"position":0},"title":"Trump and Ryan Fail To Pass Repeal and Replace…","author":"Les","date":"March 24, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"The ACA remains the law for the foreseeable future. Speaker Paul Ryan's bill did not have the votes to pass, primarily due to the curmudgeon conservatives that felt the bill did not go far enough to hurt the less fortunate. In spite\u00a0of Mr. Art of the\u00a0Trump's arm twisting and threats\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Government"","block_context":{"text":"Government","link":"https:\/\/rationalnationusa.com\/blog\/archives\/category\/government"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":443,"url":"https:\/\/rationalnationusa.com\/blog\/archives\/443","url_meta":{"origin":401,"position":1},"title":"Trump Told To Dump Ryan And Embrace Universal Health Care By Close Friend…","author":"Les","date":"March 14, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Vox - A key Trump friend and ally is urging the president to dump Paul Ryan\u2019s Affordable Health Care Act and embrace something that sounds sort of like a lightweight version of a single-payer health care system. Christopher Ruddy, CEO of the conservative Newsmax brand, isn\u2019t normally considered a major\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Government"","block_context":{"text":"Government","link":"https:\/\/rationalnationusa.com\/blog\/archives\/category\/government"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":446,"url":"https:\/\/rationalnationusa.com\/blog\/archives\/446","url_meta":{"origin":401,"position":2},"title":"Trump Says “Very Interesting Items” To Be Revealed On Alleged Surveilance…","author":"Les","date":"March 15, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Again Trump defends his unsubstantiated claim that President Obama ordered surveillance on his phones.\u00a0 Apparently another Trump alternative fact distraction. Trump is saying that information could be revealed that could prove him right. Again he gave no evidence to support his allegations. This is reminiscent of birther activities back in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Ethics"","block_context":{"text":"Ethics","link":"https:\/\/rationalnationusa.com\/blog\/archives\/category\/ethics"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":285,"url":"https:\/\/rationalnationusa.com\/blog\/archives\/285","url_meta":{"origin":401,"position":3},"title":"A Different Trump Became President…","author":"Les","date":"March 1, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Last night on CNN Van Jones said\u00a0that Trump\u00a0became the President, the result of his address to the join session of Congress. The President's tone was decidedly different. Trump did not use I, didn't make the evening all about him. He talked about republicans and democrats working to move the country\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Government"","block_context":{"text":"Government","link":"https:\/\/rationalnationusa.com\/blog\/archives\/category\/government"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":415,"url":"https:\/\/rationalnationusa.com\/blog\/archives\/415","url_meta":{"origin":401,"position":4},"title":"Will Trump Honor His Pleadge To Donate His Salary? We’ll Just Have To Wait To See…","author":"Les","date":"March 12, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Trump pledged to take no salary ($400,000\/yr.) if he were elected president. He has received two full paychecks from the treasury, February and March. As of now the White, the Treasury, and the Office of Personnel Management have all declined to respond to inquiries. NBC - President Donald Trump pledged\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 4 comments","block_context":{"text":"With 4 comments","link":"https:\/\/rationalnationusa.com\/blog\/archives\/415#comments"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":423,"url":"https:\/\/rationalnationusa.com\/blog\/archives\/423","url_meta":{"origin":401,"position":5},"title":"Trump’s Spin Machine At Full Throttle…","author":"Les","date":"March 13, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"As the Trump spin machine (alternative facts) continues in full swing at full throttle. CNN - The White House on Monday walked back a key point of President Donald Trump's unsubstantiated allegation that President Barack Obama wiretapped his phones in Trump Tower during the 2016 election. Namely, White House press\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Ethics"","block_context":{"text":"Ethics","link":"https:\/\/rationalnationusa.com\/blog\/archives\/category\/ethics"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rationalnationusa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/401","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rationalnationusa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rationalnationusa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rationalnationusa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rationalnationusa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=401"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/rationalnationusa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/401\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":402,"href":"https:\/\/rationalnationusa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/401\/revisions\/402"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rationalnationusa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=401"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rationalnationusa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=401"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rationalnationusa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=401"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}