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The Pros And Cons Of An Imperial Presidency

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“I can go into my office and pick up the telephone, and in 25 minutes 70 million people will be dead” (Nixon, NY Times). This is what former President, Richard Nixon, said in 1974 about the ease of firing nukes, which if done, sets off alarms about an imperial presidency. An imperial presidency is dangerous because it gives one person the unequivocal power to rule over a country. In the year 2012, Harvard Law professor Jack Goldsmith published a novel called Power and Constraint: The Accountable Presidency After 9/11 about whether or not an imperial presidency is achievable. He states that due to the accountability checks we have on government and the democratic process a 21st-century imperial president could not exist. Fast forward up to Donald Trump’s presidency, many people have questioned whether if what he said during the campaign trail or through his executive orders look to be that of an imperial one. On one hand, Goldsmith is right about how accountability checks will keep the president from acting unconstitutionally. However, his rationalization of the democratic process is slightly …show more content…

As Americans begin to realize that the government is not doing enough for the country, candidates will follow President Trump’s formula and run as an outsider, but still stand by one of the two major parties. In the meantime, in order to ensure the presidency does not become one of imperialism and unilateral ruling the accountability checks that Goldsmith talks about must stay in place. Before that, however, the American people must show out at the polling booths and ensure they elect as close as possible what Publius called “enlightened statesman” (Publius, Federalist 10). Together, we can prevent America from having an imperial president and make America truly the land of the

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