For my European Friends

At the request of some European friends I am going to try and explain the US government.  Let’s start with the original US government, the articles of Confederation.  My European friends may find this constitution very similar to the current EU.  The Confederation was formed in 1781 during the revolutionary war and it was the government that signed the peace treaty in 1783. 

It didn’t take long for it to become obvious that the national government didn’t have enough power to operate as a government because the 13 sovereign colonies were not at all sure they wanted to give up their own authority.  The second continental congress convened in 1787 (I think) and wrote a new and much more federal constitution which brought much more power to the central government at the expense of the state governments.  In order to get it accepted, in 1791 the first 10 amendments were added which we call the “bill of rights”.  That substantially limited the role of the federal government.   

 I am going to use the British government for comparison as if it was still a sovereign government (as it will be again in the near future).  The model seems to be similar for most European governments.  Practically speaking, the House of Commons IS the UK government and the members represent about 100000 people each.  The Prime Minister is the leader of the majority party in the House of Commons.  If there is no party with a clear majority, then whoever can put together a coalition becomes the prime minister.  Since there are currently 11 parties who have seats in Parliament that can and does happen. 

No party other than the Democrats and Republicans hold seats in either house of the US government. 

It would appear that since the prime minister is also the leader of the majority party in the UK he has considerable power to make laws and run the government.  Theoretically, the sovereign has overall power but I am under the impression she doesn’t actually wield any real power. 

The US system is more different than I realized.  For instance, the President is the head of the government and he is elected directly by the public.  The two houses of congress, commonly called the house and the senate exercise approximately equal powers.  Generally it requires agreement between both houses and the President for a bill to become law.  Members of the House represent approximately 733,000 people and are directly elected by those constituents.  Members of the Senate represent the states and are elected by the states at large.  That is, all citizens of a state vote for both Senators.  (Each state has two senators) Senators are elected for staggered 6 year terms with 1/3 of them elected every two years.  That plan was to provide stability to the government.  Members of the House of Representatives are elected every 2 years in hopes of making them responsible to public wishes. 

The function of the third arm of the government, the Supreme Court is to compare laws made to the constitution.

 The US Constitution provides very specific guidelines as to what powers are held by the Federal Government and which are NOT.  Probably the most important of these guidelines says in essence that the Federal Government has ONLY those powers specifically granted to it and all other powers are maintained by state and local governments and the populace.   (10^th amendment) 

That’s about it, I will add that to this day the biggest difference in political opinion has to do with the authority granted to the federal government.  There are those who want it to take a smaller role (conservatives) and those who want a larger role (liberals). 

Anyway, that’s how I see it.

Silly Season

Every four years in the spring and the fall we are treated to silly season.  Usually it’s a choice between two clowns that really can’t do us too much harm.  This year it’s quite different.  The Democratic machine made no bones about nominating a pure party animal no matter what.  The Republicans showed total disarray by not really nominating anyone.  In this vacuum we have a buffoon with lots of money and very little public appeal.  So here we are.  One of these “people” is going to be the next “leader of the free world”. 

            Recriminations don’t help.  Personally I have withdrawn all my support from the GOP and I am hoping that in two years there will be a viable conservative third party winning lots of elections.  As I see it most of the Democratic machine should be in jail and the Republicans are just totally ineffective.  But that’s the future.

            This year I’ll vote for the buffoon.  Yeah, he’s crude and totally unlikable but I don’t think he is nearly as dangerous as giving total control of the government to the Democratic party.  It’s important for everyone to vote because there will be a substantial number of phony votes from the DNC as has become customary.  Although they certainly don’t represent a majority of the country they could easily get a majority of the votes.  I usually say vote for whoever you want but of course that isn’t a choice this year.  I’m sure you don’t want either of these idiots elected, but one of them will be so it is important for you to express your opinion at the polls.

 I would also point out that it is likely conservative voters will stay away in droves.  This could easily give the DNC control of at least the Senate and possibly the house as well.  That would mean they can spend to their heart’s content with no oversight at all.  It will mean socialized medicine and an end to social security benefits as we know them. It also would mean Obama would have a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court. 

I guess it’s up to you.