A word before we begin: Ken Armstrong is serious about the development of policy, and his statements are detailed. For those who aren't interested in those details, he will provide a brief summary answer at the beginning, each time he answers a question. For those who want more, the summary will be followed by a more expanded explanation.
Question:
"What will be your number one priority in office? The top issue."
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Summary -- Here's the Short Version
I'm glad we're starting with this question, because it's the key to how I will approach every issue as President. There are many things I'm concerned about -- immigration, health care, the environment, national security and defense, drugs, taxes, poverty, and more. I do have plans for all of those issues, but none of those will ultimately matter in the long run, if we don't resolve the essential crisis facing us as a nation. If our republic fails and we devolve into tyranny, nobody will care what Ken Armstrong wanted to accomplish on those other issues.
SO ... My top priority is in two parts that must be worked on at one time:
- Part One is to return control of our government to the People, including a lot of power that the framers of the Constitution never intended for the President to have. '
- Part Two -- not separate, but integral to Part One -- is to heal the dangerous cultural divide in our country, that the two major parties have been cynically encouraging (and even creating) in order to hold onto their power.
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And Here -- More Details
Part One
It is part of the elegant beauty of the Constitution that nobody gets their way all of the time. As strongly as I feel about issues, I would hate to live in a country where I as President got my way all of the time. That would be totalitarian, no matter how well-intentioned my motives were. The job of the President is to serve the people, not to control them.
President Lincoln famously concluded his Gettysburg Address with these words: " ... that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth." We are living in a time when it falls to us to decide whether Lincoln's words are still true enough that we should be passionately committed to them. It is no exaggeration to say that I have put my entire life on the line this year, to passionately pursue that vision of Abraham Lincoln.
Here are some steps that I believe are essential to returning the government to the People:
1. Immediately identify and give up powers that past presidents have accumulated, which the Constitution intended to belong to Congress, the states, and the People. Some of these powers are vested in the Congress, as the directly-elected representatives of the People. Other powers belong to the states and to the People. As your President, I will refuse to use power which doesn't belong in my office. Period.
An example of that power is the Emergency Powers Act, which has been used by presidents to pursue military intervention all over the world, without the declaration of war required by the Constitution. I will insist that Congress do their jobs, and I will seek a constitutional amendment that will give the Executive Branch only enough power needed to immediately defend the nation against a threat, but no more than that. In my inaugural address, I will advise Congress that they have thirty days to give me my orders as they are required to do, by declaring war if that is the right thing to do. I strongly expect that the Congress -- which is much more accountable to the People than the President is -- will not declare wars in every corner of the world where our brave men and women are serving in undeclared conflicts.
Without the declaration of war required by the Constitution, I will not use our young men and women's lives or our nation's treasure to pursue military adventures, no matter how well-intentioned they might be.
Another example is the so-called "Patriot Act," which is arguably one of the most
un-patriotic acts in the history of our republic. The American people are entitled under the Constitution to due process and equal protection. When government gives itself tools to circumvent those rights, the tools will eventually be used for evil ends, if they haven't been already. If we don't protect the rights of the People, then protecting national security is a meaningless sham.
2. Eliminate the power that the President and Congress have to use closure of government for their political ends. I will work for a constitutional amendment which puts in place automatic continuity of essential government services, taking away the power to hold the government hostage. I will also support legislation which prohibits the President from withholding otherwise-available services from Congress (e.g., withholding transportation in available government aircraft). These measures are intended to eliminate "standoff" situations for political purposes, and to require the President and Congress to work together for the welfare of the People. (See Note 1 at the end.)
3. Review the Administrative Procedures Act of 1946 and related law, to ensure that the Executive Branch isn't legislating through use of federal regulations, which would be a violation of the Constitution, and that Congress isn't abdicating its duties for oversight of government.
4. I will refuse to use Executive Orders to amend or ignore laws that have been duly passed by Congress. This is an unconstitutional abuse of power that negates the will of the People expressed through their elected legislators. Similarly, I will not use "agreements" between the United States and foreign governments to circumvent the constitutional authority of Congress to approve treaties. These short-cut maneuvers, while generally expedient in accomplishing goals, result in more accumulation of power by the President and less voice for the People.
5. All of the forgoing is based on the assumption that Congress is doing their jobs, which has not been the case for many years. I will use the power of what Teddy Roosevelt called "the Bully Pulpit" to encourage Americans to take the election of House and Senate more seriously, and to elect people who will reflect their wishes and values in the way that they govern. If the Executive Branch is to serve the American People by executing the laws passed by Congress, we must shed a very bright light on Congress itself. Transparency in government is an appropriate role of the President -- transparency in the White House as well as on Capitol Hill.
Part Two
Divesting the President of unintended and unconstitutional powers will result in a less dominant Oval Office. Not, of course, that the President won't have power. The Executive is an inherently powerful branch. However, by giving up the powers mentioned above, and by shining a bright light of transparency on my own branch as well as Congress, I will put a burden on myself and on Congress to do the heavy lifting necessary to govern according to the will of the People.
Regardless of partisanship and politics, the leaders of Congress will be kept fully aware of White House business, and will be welcome to interact in the development of policy and action items in the Executive Branch. This is an appropriate exercise of their constitutional oversight role, which helps to ensure that the President is acting according to the will of the People.
When I am President, the American People will not be required to justify the free exercise of their rights. The Ninth and Tenth Amendments have largely been gutted over the past century, giving the impression that the government grants rights to the People, when exactly the opposite is true. My Cabinet will be directed to remember that their job is to serve the People, not to control them.
As President, I will strive to bring together people of different values and voices, as long as they are willing to interact with respect for others. While there is no doubt there will be disagreement on many issues, and I will most assuredly stand strongly for what I believe, dissenting views will be encouraged and the people expressing those views will be afforded the dignity they deserve. By stripping the Presidency of power it should not have, I will force myself and my successors to act less like demigods and more like servants of the people.
This transparency and openness will also result in a more balanced and less authoritarian government. People will have more control over their own lives to the extent that they don't infringe on others' rights. Coupled with our other policy positions (see Note 1, below), we will encourage every American to seek their own ideal of freedom and prosperity.
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Note 1: This blog deals only with giving accumulated power back to the People. Issues such as tax reform will be dealt with in a separate blog.
Paid for by
Ken Armstrong for President 2020
Earl L. Schenck, Treasurer
