From: Subject: 'Cracks In The Constitution' Date: Mon, 6 Aug 2007 20:26:47 -0400 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/related; type="text/html"; boundary="----=_NextPart_000_0000_01C7D868.1CDF1990" X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2900.3138 This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ------=_NextPart_000_0000_01C7D868.1CDF1990 Content-Type: text/html; charset="Windows-1252" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Location: http://www.rense.com/general77/reviewing.htm 'Cracks In The Constitution'


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Reviewing Ferdinand = Lundberg's=20
'Cracks In The Constitution'
By = Stephen=20 Lendman
8-6-7
 
Ferdinand Lundberg (1905 - 1995) was a = 20th century=20 economist, journalist, historian and author of such books as = The Rich=20 and the Super-Rich: A Study in the Power of Money Today; The = Myth of=20 Democracy; Politicians and Other Scoundrels; and the subject = of this=20 review - Cracks in the Constitution.=20
=20
Lundberg's book was published twenty-seven = years=20 ago, yet remains as powerfully important and relevant today as = then.=20 Simply put, the book is a blockbuster. It's must reading to = learn what=20 schools to the highest levels never teach about the nation's = most=20 important document that lays out the fundamental law of the = land in=20 its Preamble, Seven Articles, Bill of Rights, and 17 other = Amendments.=20 Lundberg deconstructs it in depth, separating myth from = reality about=20 what he called "the great totempole of American = society."=20
=20
He does it in 10 exquisitely written = chapters with=20 examples and detail galore to drive home his key message that = our most=20 sacred of all documents is flawed. It was crafted by 55 mostly = ordinary but wealthy self-serving "wheeler dealers" (among = whom only=20 39 signed), and the result we got and now live with falls far = short of=20 the "Rock of Ages" it's cracked up to be. That notion is pure = myth.=20 This review covers in detail how Lundberg smashed it in each=20 chapter.=20
=20
The Sacred Constitution=20
=20
Lundberg quickly transfixes his readers by = disabusing them of notions commonly held. Despite long-held = beliefs,=20 the Constitution is no "masterpiece of political = architecture." It=20 falls far short of "one great apotheosis (bathed) in = quasi-religious=20 light." The finished product was a "closed labyrinthine = affair," not=20 an "open" constitution like the British model. It was the = product of=20 duplicitous politicians and their close friends scheming to = cut the=20 best deals for themselves by leaving out the great majority of = others=20 who didn't matter.=20
=20
The myths we learned in school and through = the=20 dominant media are legion, long-standing and widely held among = the=20 educated classes. They and most others believe the framers = crafted a=20 Constitution that "powerfully restrained and fettered" the = federal=20 government and created "a limited government (or a) government = of=20 limited powers." It's simply not so because through the power = of the=20 chief executive it can do "whatever it is from time to time" = it=20 wishes. In that respect, it's no more precise and binding than = The Ten=20 Commandments the Judaic and Christian worlds violate freely = and=20 willfully all the time. Even so-called "born-again" types, = like the=20 current President, do it, along with Popes, past and present, = and the=20 former Israeli Sephardi chief rabbi, Mordechai Eliyahu, who = advocates=20 mass killing by carpet bombing Gaza to save Jewish = lives.=20
=20
The "supreme Law of the Land" here deters = no=20 President or sitting government from doing as they wish, law = or no=20 law. The Constitution is easily ignored with impunity by = popular or=20 unpopular governments doing as they please and inventing = reasons as=20 justification. Lundberg is firm in debunking the notion that = America=20 is a government of laws, not men. It's "palpable nonsense of = the=20 highest order," he said. Governments enacting laws are = composed of men=20 who lie, connive, misinterpret and pretty much operate ad = libitum=20 discharging their duties as they see fit for their own=20 self-interest.=20
=20
It was no different in 1787 when 55 = delegates=20 (privileged all) assembled for four months in the same = Philadelphia=20 State House, where the Declaration of Independence was signed = 11 years=20 earlier, to rework the Articles of Confederation into a = Constitution=20 that would last into "remote futurity," as long as possible, = or until=20 others later changed it. None of them were happy with the = finished=20 product but felt it was the best one possible under the = circumstances=20 and better than nothing at all.=20
=20
The document is "crisply worded" and can = easily be=20 read in 20 to 30 minutes and just as easily be totally = misunderstood.=20 The sole myth in it is stated in its opening Preamble words: = "We the=20 people of the United States....do ordain and establish this=20 Constitution for the United States of America." In fact, "the = people"=20 nowhere entered the process, then or since.=20
=20
At its beginning, "the people" who = mattered were=20 established white male property owning delegates and members = of state=20 ratifying conventions who rammed the ratification process = through, by=20 fair or foul means, in the face of a "largely indifferent and=20 uncomprehending populace" left out entirely. They were elected = to do=20 it by eligible and interested while males comprising only from = 12.5 -=20 15.5% of the electorate at the time. Women, blacks, Indians = and=20 children couldn't vote and many or most qualified voters = didn't bother=20 to and still don't. The process, and what it produced, showed=20 "Democracy operatively is little more than a fantasy."=20
=20
The American revolution was nothing more = than=20 secession from the British empire changing very little with = one-third=20 of the colonists favoring it (not upper classes), one-third = opposed=20 (mainly upper classes) and another third indifferent to the = whole=20 business. From then to now, the country is no nearer = "government by=20 the people" than under monarchal or autocratic rule. The = latter types=20 rule by application or threat of force whereas sovereign = people are=20 manipulated by other means with naked force held in reserve if = needed.=20
=20
Lundberg explained the minimum function of = government, ours or others, should be to insure the public = welfare is=20 being broadly served. It's stated in the Preamble and Article = I,=20 Section 8 that "The Congress shall have power to....provide=20 for....(the) general welfare of the United States" - the = so-called=20 welfare clause. Lundberg let scholar Herman Finer (with more = detail on=20 his ideas below) dispel the notion from the constitutional = flaws he=20 found and some of the many "social and political evils" he = recounted=20 as a result through the middle 20th century decades - rampant = crime,=20 unsafe streets, lack of justice, political corruption, = dishonest=20 police, racketeering labor officials, corporate fraud in = pursuit of=20 profits, raging unresolved social problems and lots more. Only = government can address these issues and unless it does = successfully it=20 fails. Our is a long history of failure overall with only = feeble=20 attempts to fix things.=20
=20
Lundberg reviewed popular misconceptions = about the=20 Constitution saying so many are embedded in the American = psyche it's=20 hard knowing where to begin. He noted the document is called = "The=20 Living Constitution" saying, in fact, it's "whatever = government does=20 or does not do" or uses in whatever way it wishes. The = Constitution=20 defines itself as the "supreme Law of the Land" in Article VI, = Section=20 2 which it is and includes all amendments, enacted statutes = and=20 treaties made with the concurrence (not ratification) of the = Senate.=20 The people are left out of the process entirely with Lundberg = saying=20 "government of the people, by the people and for the people" = is a=20 "nonexistent entity. The people don't govern either directly = or=20 through 'representatives.' The people are governed."=20
=20
In sum, although the Constitution served = many of the=20 purposes its designers and supporters envisioned, in light of = the=20 majority populace's great expectations of it, "it has been, = quite=20 plainly, a huge flop." That's made clear below.=20
=20
"We the People"=20
=20
Lundberg destroys the romanticism and = enthusiasm=20 felt today about the Constitution and the revolt against Great = Britain=20 preceding it. He began by reviewing the establishment of state = constitutions at the time and the enactment of the Articles of = Confederation adopted by the Second Continental Congress = November 15,=20 1777 with final ratification March 1, 1781. None of these = events had=20 electoral sanction. "They were strictly coup d'etat affairs, = run by=20 small groups of self-styled patriots many of whom bettered = their=20 personal economic positions significantly" from the revolution = and=20 events before and after it took place. Despite what's commonly = taught=20 in schools, most people opposed the Constitution when it was = ratified.=20 So by getting it done anyway, the framers (with the = conservative=20 Federalists spearheading the effort) went against the will of = the=20 people they ignored and disdained.=20
=20
It wasn't easy, though, as only by = promising=20 amendments did it happen. The anti-Federalist opposition = demanded and=20 got the "oft-hymned" first ten amendments, commonly known as = the Bill=20 of Rights. In fact, they "made no great difference," and did = little to=20 dilute the 1787 document. More on that below.=20
=20
Lundberg explained that most = anti-Federalists=20 weren't particularly happy either with the Articles of = Confederation=20 or the Constitution. These men were mostly privileged property = owners=20 (all white, of course) squabbling over the means to get pretty = similar=20 ends and having a generally hostile attitude about the = majority=20 population overall. In other words, everyone was not = considered "We=20 the people," which is how radical English Whigs felt and whose = traditions colonists adopted. "The illiterate and = underprivileged=20 (elements) were not much considered" with the "people" again = being the=20 privileged male property owners in charge of everything and = out only=20 for their own self-interest.=20
=20
Lundberg cited voting patterns earlier, up = to his=20 time, and clearly now as well, to explain how people are left = out of=20 the political process. Whether franchised or not, most don't = vote in=20 presidential elections and even fewer show up for = congressional, state=20 and local ones. It indicates the will of the people needs = considerable=20 qualifying because most of them aren't interested, don't want = to=20 bother, don't think it matters, don't understand the whole = process,=20 and decide to opt out and act like nothing's going on. = "Although=20 repugnant to ideologists of democracy," Lundberg stated, "this = conclusion is quite true."=20
=20
In sum, the relevance of this to the = Constitution is=20 that its opening words are meaningless window dressing. They = neither=20 add nor detract from the document which served as a "screen = and=20 launching pad for practically autonomous, freely improvising=20 politicians (like any others in the world)....the = gentry....sustained=20 (in whatever their endeavors were) by the constitutional = structure"=20 they created for their own self-serving purposes.=20
=20
What the Framers Thought=20
=20
This section covers who these men were = below as well=20 as more about them in the section to follow. Here, first off, = the=20 record needs to be set straight about what these very ordinary = men=20 (contrary to popularized myth about them) thought about their = creation=20 we extoll today like it came down from Mt. Sinai. In fact, it = was the=20 result of wheeling and dealing in likely smoke-filled rooms = the way=20 deals are cut today with lots of real and figurative smoke to = go along=20 with the usual mirrors. When they finished in September, 1787, = there=20 was no joy in Philadelphia. The framers disliked their = creation, some=20 could barely tolerate it, yet most signed it.=20
=20
They understood its defects, that it was = full of=20 holes, thought it was the best they could do under the = circumstances,=20 felt it was a mess, but, nonetheless, believed they could live = with it=20 for the time being, hoping it wouldn't come back to bite them. = Lundberg said they likely "kept their fingers crossed." One = other=20 thing was clear, though, despite "crowd-titillating campaign = oratory"=20 about their creation ever since. Not a single framer suggested = "a=20 sheltered haven was being prepared for the innumerable heavily = laden,=20 bedraggled, scrofulous and oppressed of the earth." On the = contrary,=20 they intended to keep them that way showing not a lot is = fundamentally=20 different then than now, and the so-called founders were a = pretty=20 devious bunch, not the noble characters we've been taught to=20 believe.=20
=20
As already explained, the deal got done = with the=20 usual kinds of wheeling and dealing, and, in the end, a lot of = opponents being won over by agreeing to tack on the so-called = Bill of=20 Rights that was deliberately left out at first. The dominant = elements=20 behind the convention were what today are called nationalists. = More=20 precisely, they were "centralizers who were continental and = global in=20 their thinking." The opposition consisted of "localists," = later called=20 "states-righters," who preferred a decentralized government. = The=20 "centralizers" wanted a single or central national capital run = by=20 superior people by their definition - the rich and = better-connected=20 regardless of ability. Men like John Adams and John Jay (the = first=20 High Court chief justice) felt government should be run, in = Adams'=20 words, by "the rich, the well born, and the able." There was = no=20 disagreement on that notion.=20
=20
There were no populists in the bunch, no=20 anti-property party, and even the most vocal civil = libertarians, like=20 Jefferson and George Mason, were slave-owners. Washington, for = his=20 part, contributed no pet constitutional ideas other than = wanting to=20 protect the new nation from drifting toward disunion which, in = fact,=20 happened with the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861. Lundberg=20 described him as "the very top dog of the Philadelphia = accouchement=20 (the constitutional birthing process)." He understood the key = reason=20 for adopting a flawed document, no matter how bad it was or = how the=20 framers felt about it. Accepting it was the way to prevent = disunion=20 and resulting confusion that might have prevailed if public=20 consideration entered the equation to become accepted policy = and=20 law.=20
=20
Conflicting ideas of concern at the time = visualized=20 three central governments consisting of the New England = states, middle=20 Atlantic ones, and those in the South with likely new entries = to=20 follow in the West. The framers worried this arrangement might = cause=20 endless bickering and wars as well as rivalrous agreements and = arrangements with other countries. In one stroke, the = Constitution=20 produced a united front against an ever-encroaching Europe and = internal struggles.=20
=20
Lundberg spent much time on who the = founders were=20 this review can only touch on. It's enough just to put a few = faces on=20 a group of crass opportunists who today are practically ranked = along=20 side the Apostles. But who's to say those few were any better = than=20 others of their day the way myths are constructed and passed = on=20 through the ages unchallenged in mainstream thinking. And = don't forget=20 that, in his first term, George Bush might have been aiming = for=20 sainthood by claiming he got his orders directly from God who = told him=20 to "strike at Al-Queda....and then.... to strike at Saddam." = Even the=20 framers didn't claim that type heavenly connection.=20
=20
They did have Lundberg's focus beginning = with=20 Alexander Hamilton, Washington's wartime aide-de-camp, first = Secretary=20 of the Treasury and acknowledged leader of the Federalists. = Here's=20 what this noted man thought of the Constitution in 1802. In a = letter,=20 he called it "a shilly shally thing of mere milk and water = (and) a=20 frail and worthless document." This is from the man, more than = any=20 other in Philadelphia, who was its most articulate and = passionate=20 champion. Franklin, too, had doubts as the grand old man, but = mere=20 enfeebled figurehead at the convention, who also signed the = final=20 document. He was against two separate chambers, disapproved of = some of=20 the articles and wanted others that weren't included.=20
=20
Then there's James Madison miscalled "The = Father of=20 the Constitution," which he expressly repudiated and a year = later=20 wrote "I am not of the number if there be any such, who think = the=20 Constitution lately adopted a faultless work.....(It's) the = best that=20 could be obtained from the jarring interests of the=20 states....Something, anything, was better than nothing." = Madison's=20 disaffection went even further, in fact. At the convention, he = was an=20 ardent "centralizer," but 10 years later he reversed himself = by=20 aligning with those wanting to recapture more state power. He = also=20 spent most of his life disagreeing with the way the document = he helped=20 write was used.=20
=20
Lundberg covered a few other framers most = people=20 know little or nothing about but played their part along with = the=20 better known ones. They included men like Nicholas Gilman from = New=20 Hampshire, William Pierce and William Few from Georgia, Pierce = Butler=20 and Charles Pinckney from South Carolina, Robert Morris, = Gouverneur=20 Morris (no relation) and James Wilson from Pennsylvania, = Jonathan=20 Dayton from New Jersey, and James McHenry from = Maryland.=20
=20
Of the total 55 delegates attending, 39 = signed and=20 16 didn't, but doing it or not was just a pro forma exercise = as only=20 the states had power to accept or reject it. None of the = framers=20 believed the Constitution was the glorious achievement people = ever=20 since were led to believe - quite the opposite, in fact, but = most=20 still went along with it as better than nothing. The nation's = second=20 and third Presidents, Adams and Jefferson, were abroad and = didn't=20 attend the convention although Adams was considered the = leading=20 constitutional theorist at the time. His views had weight and = were=20 strong ones. Lundberg noted for the rest of his life until = 1826 he=20 consistently criticized the document in private = correspondence.=20
=20
Jefferson overall was just as unhappy. = Until it was=20 added, he objected to the omission of a Bill of Rights. He = also=20 disliked the lack of any requirements for rotation in office,=20 especially the office of the presidency he wished to be = ineligible for=20 a succeeding term. In 1801, he was involved with others = proposing a=20 menu of changes to strengthen a document he believed was = flawed. He=20 also didn't think any constitution could survive the test of = time,=20 unchanged forever, able to meet all legitimate needs, and as a = consequence wanted a new convention every 20 years to update = things=20 and fix obvious problems.=20
=20
Lundberg felt Jefferson and Adams' main = objection=20 was they had no part in writing it or were even consulted on = what=20 should go in it. They had a point. Adams, as noted, was the = leading=20 constitutional theorist of the time and Jefferson (in = Lundberg's view)=20 was the most consummate politician in the nation's history, = but by no=20 means its best President.=20
=20
The convention ended September 17, 1787 = "in an=20 atmosphere verging on glumness." Delegates signing it were = just=20 witnesses to the actions of state delegations, not as = individual=20 endorsers, and despite their public approval, nearly all had = "inner=20 qualms." James Monroe from Virginia, a future President, was = one of=20 them. He voted nay with 15 others that included important = figures like=20 George Mason, Elbridge Gerry and Edmund Randolph.=20
=20
Southern delegates were won over for = ratification by=20 strengthening chattel slavery. The Constitution forbade the = federal=20 government from emancipating slaves until Lincoln acted in a=20 meaningless 1862 politically motivated Executive Order. It = wasn't=20 until Congress passed the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments, and = enough=20 states ratified them, that the law changed freeing the slaves = and=20 giving them nominal rights they never, in fact, had in the = South at=20 least for another 100 years. Lundberg noted the "slavocracy = was not=20 terminated....for moral reasons; it committed suicide for = political=20 and economic reasons, blinded by simple greed and = vaingloriousness,=20 and long after slavery was abolished in most places = elsewhere."=20
=20
Who the Framers Were=20
=20
Lundberg asked: "Who were these men about = whom so=20 many (unjustifiably) have rhapsodized? Fifty-five in total = showed up=20 in Philadelphia in 1787 out of 74 authorized by state = legislatures. A=20 fourth of them stayed only briefly, another quarter checked in = and out=20 like tourists, and no more than five men carried most of the=20 discussion with seven others playing "fitful" supporting = roles.=20
=20
Further, they didn't, in fact, come to = write a new=20 constitution. They were congressionally authorized only to = propose=20 amendments to the prevailing Articles of Confederation. Little = did=20 they all know in May what would emerge in September, or maybe = the ones=20 who counted most did.=20
=20
Of the 19 non-attending delegates, 11 = wanted nothing=20 to do with the affair, were opposed to it, distrusted it, and = thought=20 it rigged from the start. The other eight had various excuses = -=20 illness (political or real), focused at home with other = business, not=20 having their travel expenses covered, and reluctant to make = such a=20 long trip to be away from home and hearth for months.=20
=20
Of those showing up, 33 were lawyers, 44 = present or=20 past members of Congress, 46 had political positions at home,=20 including seven as former governors and five high state = judges. These=20 were men of note and economic means who promoted their own = financial=20 interests and parallel activity in government. In a word, they = were=20 movers and shakers or as Lundberg called them - "wheeler=20 dealers."=20
=20
He described the group as a "gathering of = the rich,=20 the well-born and, here and there, the able (with that quality = being=20 the exception)." Washington and Robert Morris were reputed to = be the=20 richest men in the country with property holdings in most = cases being=20 their main component of wealth at the time along with = slaveholdings on=20 it. Directly or indirectly as lawyers or principals, these men = were an=20 assemblage of "planters, bankers, merchants, ship-owners,=20 slave-traders, smugglers, privateers, money-lenders, = investors, and=20 speculators in land and securities" - essentially a group of = powerful=20 figures not much different from their counterparts today. With = a few=20 exceptions, Lundberg said they'd now be called a "Wall Street=20 crowd."=20
=20
In their mind, "The clear aim of the = Constitution=20 was to launch a system that would protect, and enable to = flourish, the=20 general interests there represented." With Great Britain = removed, a=20 vacuum was created. The Constitution, with a new government, = was=20 created to fill it restoring the same essential British = commercial and=20 financial system under new management, or as the French would = say,=20 everything changed yet everything stayed the same. Republican=20 government simply removed British monarchal wrappings to = operate=20 pretty much the same way. Lundberg quoted Daniel Leonard = saying "Never=20 in history had there been so much rebellion with so little = real cause"=20 and so little change following it. As for the ingredients of = the=20 Constitution, Lundberg explained nearly all of them could have = been=20 "stamped with the benchmark 'Originated in England.' Only the = mixture=20 was different."=20
=20
Further, 27 delegates were future members = of=20 Congress, two were future Presidents, one a future = Vice-President, one=20 a Speaker of the House, and five future High Court justices. = They=20 produced a Constitution generated along predetermined lines by = the=20 government itself by "a small self-selected elite at the = center of=20 government affairs." They did it in deliberately general, = vague,=20 ambiguous language, the product of consummate self-serving = insiders.=20 The "people" were nowhere in sight then or for the later = future=20 amendment ratifications, all of which were done solely by=20 similar-minded self-serving later officials for their own = political=20 purposes. It's always been that way from the beginning, of = course, and=20 is strikingly so today.=20
=20
Lundberg then reviewed the political = background and=20 record of the delegates starting off with the elder statesman = in=20 Philadelphia, Benjamin Franklin, the wisest of the bunch. In = 1787, he=20 was an octogenarian, attended as a mere figurehead, signed the = final=20 document, but was too enfeebled to address the convention at = its end,=20 so he enlisted a friend to read his rather notable and = prescient=20 remarks to the others saying:=20
=20
"I agree to this Constitution with all its = faults....I think a General Government (is) necessary for us = (and) may=20 be a blessing....if well-administered; (I "farther" believe = that's=20 likely) for a Course of Years (but) can only end in Despotism = as other=20 Forms have done before it, when the People shall have become = so=20 corrupted as to need Despotic Government, being incapable of = any=20 other." Imagine such a dark prophecy at the nation's birth by = a man=20 who never met George Bush but was wise enough to know he'd = arrive=20 sooner or later. Franklin today would surely say "I warned = you, didn't=20 I."=20
=20
Other notable signers were less = insightful, or if=20 they were, didn't let on. Two of them, John Dickinson and = William=20 Johnson were members of the 1765 Stamp Act Congress. Six = others were=20 members of the mainly conservative First Continental Congress = of 1774=20 - Thomas Mifflin, Edmund Randolph, George Read, John Rutledge, = Roger=20 Sherman, and George Washington.=20
=20
Other important attendees were Elbridge = Gerry, Roger=20 Sherman, George Mason, John Langdon, Robert Morris, Gouverneur = Morris=20 (no relation) and William Livingston. Lundberg called Langdon, = Livingston, Randolph, Rutledge and R. Morris political power = bosses or=20 power-brokers of their day, and Robert Morris was known to his = friends=20 and enemies as the "Great Man." He was the unmatched financial = giant=20 of the era with Lundberg saying "his brain would have made two = of=20 Hamilton" and that his economic and political power at the = time were=20 unrivaled matching that of the House of Morgan in the early = 20th=20 century combined with New York's Tammany Hall.=20
=20
According to Lundberg, however, this was = no=20 "all-star political team" compared to other more distinguished = figures=20 not there - Jefferson, John and Sam Adams, John Jay, John = Hancock,=20 Thomas Paine, Benjamin Rush, Paul Revere, John Paul Jones, = Patrick=20 Henry and many others. Apart from two notables, Washington and = Franklin, as well as Robert Morris, few later became prominent = nationally. In 1787, Madison and Hamilton (Washington = proteges) were=20 virtual unknowns.=20
=20
Lundberg noted nothing on record shows = this=20 assemblage to have been extraordinarily learned, profound in = their=20 thinking or even unusually capable. Only 25 attended college, = and "the=20 one man who held the convention together by the mere force of = his=20 presence"....Washington, never got beyond the fifth grade. = Franklin=20 was mostly self-taught and Hamilton was a college dropout his = first=20 year. Robert Morris, the JP Morgan of his day, and George = Mason also=20 never attended college. Of the 25 college attendees, only = Madison,=20 Wilson and G. Morris were contributors of note.=20
=20
In point of fact, colleges in those days = were quite=20 rudimentary and graduated students at a much earlier age, = often as=20 young as 16, and a bright student could master the law for a = degree in=20 a matter of weeks the way Hamilton did. The same was true in = England=20 at the time with Oxford and Cambridge not then considered=20 distinguished educational centers as they are now.=20
=20
Most of the attending delegates also had = military=20 backgrounds, but writing about them kept that information = secret.=20 Lundberg stressed it saying "the gathering took on the = complexion of=20 the general staff of the war of the revolution." Why not, the = boss=20 himself was there, Washington, along with his leading = officers. In=20 all, 27 delegates served under him in the war. He knew them, = most of=20 the others, and all of them stood in awe of him as a larger = than life=20 figure. He was "always the nonpareil," assured he'd be the new = nation's uncontested first president. He had no party = affiliation, ran=20 unopposed twice and got all the votes for two terms in a = process more=20 like coronations than elections.=20
=20
He and the other delegates came to = Philadelphia,=20 assembled, did their work and went home in many cases to = pursue "their=20 eclipse." Lundberg explained "As a collection of supposedly = highly=20 sagacious men, the post-convention careers of the framers = raise a big=20 question mark." Ten went bankrupt or became broke, several = were=20 involved in financial scandals, two died in duels, one became = a=20 shattered drunkard, two "flittered" with treason, one was = expelled=20 from the Senate, one went mad, others quarreled bitterly among = themselves about politics and interpreting the document they = created,=20 and most switched political sides for convenience in their = subsequent=20 quests for office. Washington himself, likely died from = medical=20 malpractice, the victim of a bloodletting procedure, after he = took=20 ill, when he needed all he had.=20
=20
Other framers began dying off as well, a = number of=20 them right after the convention and at ages considered very = young=20 today for some. Robert (JP Morgan) Morris went bankrupt = speculating in=20 public lands and securities, owed millions as a result, served = three=20 and a half ignominious years in debtors' prison, and died = broke in=20 1806. Other framers also speculated and lost heavily in their=20 financial dealings.=20
=20
Hamilton was one of the few Philadelphia = delegates=20 to achieve a notable post-convention record as Washington's = Secretary=20 of the Treasury and Federalist Party leader. Noteworthy as = well was=20 Gouverneur Morris, no relation to Robert. Finally, there was = James=20 Madison who was neither the Constitution's father or its = indispensable=20 or principle source. He, in fact, had no original or unique = ideas to=20 bring to the convention. In this respect, he was like all the=20 others.=20
=20
Madison did perform a hugely important = function as=20 an "amanuensis," dutifully and painstakingly recording the = convention=20 proceedings in what historians today call an accurate and = complete=20 stenographic record, the best available. It was not until 1840 = that it=20 became public after Congress bought it from his estate. He = documented=20 what Lundberg called "startling" - that the convention = delegates were=20 "a group of men intent upon securing various special economic=20 interests" and weren't the "philosophically detached = cogitators they=20 had been held up in propaganda to be."=20
=20
Madison's report shattered the view that = these men=20 came together to devise the best possible government. From the = start,=20 they knew what they wanted (at least the key ones there) and = set about=20 getting it. Madison was also a powerful advocate on the = convention=20 floor of widely discussed views. Unlike the others, he had no=20 considerable property or means, but he lived to age 85, = outlasted all=20 the other framers, and served as the nation's fourth = President. In=20 total, eight delegates at most can be considered weighty. The = rest=20 were "routine or parochial or both," and that conclusion is = astounding=20 for a group of 55 leading men of the day who "participated in = the=20 formulation of a reputed deathless document" and are revered = in=20 classrooms and society as larger-than-life icons.=20
=20
The Gorgeous Convention=20
=20
Lundberg stared off saying "The = constitutional=20 convention of 1787, an historical event of first-class = importance, was=20 itself an entirely routine, utterly uninspiring political = caucus....it=20 produced absolutely no prodigies of statecraft, no wonders of=20 political (judgment), no vaulting philosophies, no Promethean = vistas."=20 In point of fact, as already stressed and repeated, what = happened=20 contradicts all we've been "indoctrinated from ears to toes" = to=20 believe that's pure nonsense. Lundberg called the main fantasy = the=20 popular conception that the Constitution is "a document of=20 salvation....a magic talisman." The central achievement of the = convention, and a big one, (at least until 1861) was the = cobbling=20 together of disparate and squabbling states into a union that = held=20 together tenuously for over seven decades but not actually = until=20 Appomattox "at bayonet point."=20
=20
As mentioned above, the delegates came to=20 Philadelphia merely to amend the unwieldy Articles of = Confederation so=20 what it did was, "strictly viewed, illegal." The finished = product=20 emerged as an amalgam of the existing Maryland, New York and=20 Massachusetts constitutions dating respectively from 1776, = 1777 and=20 1790, the latter one written almost entirely by John Adams in = a few=20 days. Even though he was abroad in London at the time, the = finished=20 Constitution was largely the product of his earlier work. Of = those=20 attending, no individual theorist dominated proceedings, but = two=20 dominant personalities held things together as its "living = core."=20 Without the force of their presence, Lundberg explained, the = whole=20 process "would almost surely have foundered."=20
=20
Those men were George Washington, the = larger-than-=20 life victorious general of the revolution, and "Great Man" = Robert=20 Morris, the JP Morgan-type figure who later went bust because = even=20 financial whizards can succumb to excess greed. Gouverneur = Morris also=20 was prominent in the proceedings while Madison and Hamilton, = as=20 already explained, were virtual unknowns.=20
=20
Lundberg called the convention "very much = a=20 prefabricated group affair" with internal differences over=20 concentrating power in the President or Congress. Then, there = were the=20 "tight nationalizers, those generally wanting a national = government,=20 and lastly in the minority "states-righters" believing no = state power=20 should be surrendered to a federal authority. "As for flat-out = democrats," said Lundberg, "there were none in sight." In = terms of=20 what they achieved, he called it "Old Wine in a Fancy New = Bottle" with=20 a new name under new management. The purpose of the convention = was to=20 gain formal approval for what the leading power figures wanted = and=20 then get their creation rammed through the state ratification = process=20 to make it the law of the land. On that score, and after much = wheeling=20 and dealing, they achieved mightily.=20
=20
The convention began in May, went on = through three=20 phases for 120 days, and concluded in September after dozens = of=20 parliamentary-type votes to postpone, reconsider, amend, etc. = with a=20 document produced and turned over to a committee of detail in = late=20 July. The final phase ran from August 6 to September 17, nine = states=20 were needed for ratification with the larger, more populous = ones,=20 granting concessions to the small ones to win the day.=20
=20
Several scenarios or plans were proposed, = one of=20 which was the Virginia Plan envisioning a central national = government=20 with a bicameral legislature that, of course, was adopted. All = the=20 plans were "strongly rightist" or conservative. Members of the = lower=20 house were to be elected by the people and those in the upper = body by=20 members of the lower one. That became the law and stayed that = way=20 until the 17th Amendment, ratified in 1913, allowed the people = of each=20 state to elect their own senators.=20
=20
Also proposed was a chief executive, a = national=20 judiciary with a Supreme Court at the top, and provisions for=20 admitting new states with republican governments in them all. = In=20 addition, the finished Constitution included proposals for = amendments=20 and much else including terms of office and staggered = elections to=20 prevent too many officials being unseated at the same time. = The final=20 product was what one academic observer called a "bundle of=20 compromises" from beginning to end.=20
=20
Lundberg described the delegates as = "flinty=20 hard-liners, determined to have their way, never to yield on = anything=20 substantial....willing to make purely political compromises = (over) the=20 means of carrying on government (but) adamantly = resistant....when it=20 came to (its) ends." Those were primarily economic and social, = and=20 those were left as they were when ties with Great Britain were = cut.=20
=20
Thinking then was much like today with = provisions in=20 the Constitution targeting the discontented. Congress was = empowered to=20 raise revenue through taxation, always hitting the less = advantaged=20 hardest. It was authorized to borrow money without limit = meaning the=20 people would have to service the debt. It was given power to = regulate=20 foreign and interstate commerce assuring the rich their = interests=20 would be served, and much more. In sum, the document created = "was the=20 means by which the traditional establishment....was = re-establishing=20 itself" leaving out of the mix the interests of the "common = man (who)=20 in point of fact was going to be allowed to remain....common = (with)=20 the Constitution, contrary to political blarney (offering) him = no=20 bonuses for it."=20
=20
Lundberg titled one sub-section: "Down = with the=20 People." In it, he caught the mood of the delegates as = expressed by=20 Roger Sherman of Connecticut who said "The people should have = as=20 little to do as may be about the government." Elbridge Gerry = then=20 denounced the evils stemming from "the excess of democracy," = and=20 debating delegates drubbed democracy and "the people" = repeatedly.=20 That's how Alexander Hamilton saw things in his view of = "mankind in=20 toto (being) wholly depraved" disagreeing with Thomas Paine's = notion=20 of government being depraved and people being inherently good. = Paine=20 wasn't a delegate so he had no input into the proceedings and = couldn't=20 argue against the central interest of property as a = requirement for=20 voting and holding office.=20
=20
Even Jefferson accepted this idea but = hated the word=20 enough to use another expression for it in the Declaration of=20 Independence he authored. His substitute language for = "property" was=20 "the pursuit of happiness," meaning the same thing. While = Jefferson=20 abhorred that "word," the attending delegates (Madison and = Hamilton=20 among them) found it their "favorite (one), often brought to = the fore=20 as a matter of deepest concern." Also brought up was the = "minority,"=20 but not "any minority or all minorities. It was the minority = of the=20 opulent."=20
=20
The far-sighted among them foresaw a = bonanza coming=20 from the revolution that came about when the states passed=20 confiscation acts, putting properties up for sale at bargain = prices,=20 still only affordable to the affluent. It sounds very much = like the=20 way corporate predators planned to pillage and plunder Iraq = and have=20 done a pretty good job of it.=20
=20
There was also plenty of graft to go = around, again=20 just like in Iraq and at home as well. Lundberg noted "the = other big=20 bonanza of the revolution was the trans-Allegheny domains in = which=20 patriot speculators made and lost fortunes." The well-off had = their=20 eyes on thousands of parcels of land and buildings wrested = from their=20 lawful owners. They also wanted to assure that never happened = to=20 them.=20
=20
Then there was the ratification process = itself that=20 turned out to be a tussle as soon as the Constitution was sent = to=20 Congress. Lundberg reviewed the arduous give and take process = of=20 compromise that finally got the document passed by 13 states = with=20 three others rejecting it.=20
=20
This was when adopting the Bill of Rights = made the=20 difference. The ones adopted in the first 10 amendments = weren't for=20 "the people," nowhere in sight, but to provide them to = property owners=20 who wanted:=20
=20
-- prohibitions against quartering troops = in their=20 property,=20
=20
-- unreasonable searches and seizures = there as well,=20 -- the right to have state militias protect them,=20
=20
-- the right of people to bear arms, but = not the way=20 the 2nd Amendment is today interpreted,=20
=20
-- the rights of free speech, the press, = religion,=20 assembly and petition, all to serve monied and propertied = interests=20 alone - not "The People,"=20
=20
-- due process of law with speedy public = trials,=20 and=20
=20
-- various other provisions worked out = through=20 compromise to become our acclaimed Bill of Rights. Two = additional=20 amendments were proposed but rejected by the majority. They = would have=20 banned monopolies and standing armies, matters of great = enormity that=20 might have made a huge difference thereafter. We'll never know = for=20 sure.=20
=20
Lundberg stressed the importance of the = amendments=20 adopted. Without them, the movement for a second convention = likely=20 would have prevailed that might have derailed the whole = process or=20 greatly changed the Constitution's structure. That possibility = had to=20 be avoided at all costs and was by this compromise that had = nothing to=20 do with granting rights to "The People."=20
=20
Government Free Style=20
=20
Lundberg destroyed the popular myth of a = government=20 constrained by constitutional checks and balances. In fact, it = can and=20 repeatedly has done anything judged expedient, with or without = popular=20 approval, and within or outside the law of the land. In this = respect,=20 it's no different than most others able to operate the same = way and=20 often do. It's done through "the narrowest possible = interpretations of=20 the Constitution," but it's free to "operate further afield = under=20 broader or fanciful official interpretations" with history = recording=20 numerous examples.=20
=20
Many presidents operated this way. = Lundberg noted=20 Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Wilson, T. and F. Roosevelt, Jackson, = could=20 have named Lincoln, and didn't know about Reagan, GHW Bush, = Clinton=20 and, most of all, GW Bush when his book was written.=20
=20
A key point made is that "government is = completely=20 autonomous, detached, in a realm of its own" with its "main = interest=20 (being) economic (for the privileged) at all times." In = pursuing this=20 aim, "constitutional shackles and barriers (exist only) in the = imaginations of many people" believing in them. Regardless of = law,=20 custom or anything else, sitting US governments have always = been=20 freelancing. They've been unresponsive to the public interest, = uncaring about the will and needs of the majority, and = generally able=20 to finesse or ignore the law with ease as suits their purpose. = As=20 Lundberg put it: "forget the mirage of government by the = people," or=20 the rule of law for that matter, with George Bush only being = the most=20 extreme example of how things work in Washington all the time = under=20 all Presidents.=20
=20
Lundberg went on to explain the = Constitution=20 effectively confers unlimited powers on the government. He = cited=20 Article I, Section 8, Sub-section 18 allotting to Congress = power "to=20 make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying = into=20 execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by = this=20 Constitution....or any department or officer thereof." It's up = to=20 government, of course, to decide what's "necessary" and = "proper"=20 meaning the sky's the limit under the concept of sovereignty. = The=20 power of government is effectively limited only "by the = boundaries of=20 possibility." Special considerable powers are then afforded = the=20 President, dealt with in a separate section below, and another = on the=20 Supreme Court.=20
=20
Lundberg explained how the "three = divisions of the=20 American government operate under the immoderately celebrated = system=20 of checks and balances" with the framers believing too much = power in=20 the hands of one person or group of persons was a potential = setup for=20 tyranny. Lundberg believed the theory was false, used the = British=20 model to make his case, but he never met George Bush who might = have=20 given him pause.=20
=20
In Britain, the legislature and executive = are=20 inextricably linked, a single House of Commons runs the = government,=20 the upper House of Lords is only advisory, the courts can only = apply=20 the law the legislature hands them, all laws passed become = part of the=20 constitution, and new elections are generally called if a = sitting=20 government loses a vote of confidence.=20
=20
In the British parliamentary system, the = government=20 consists of a committee of the House of Commons called the = Cabinet=20 presided over by a prime minister elected by his party = members. He and=20 all cabinet members are elected members of parliament (MPs) = and can be=20 voted in or out in any general election with all members = standing at=20 the same time. It's a vastly different and much fairer system = overall=20 than the convoluted American model even though, in theory, a = British=20 prime minister has much more control of the parliament than a = US=20 president has over the Congress with two parties and numerous=20 disparate interests.=20
=20
In practice, many US presidents get their = way,=20 despite the obstacles, and George Bush gets nearly everything = he=20 wants, takes it when it's not offered, and hardly ever faces=20 congressional objection. The section below on the power of the = presidency shows how the Constitution makes it so easy to do = with=20 Presidents, like Bush, taking full advantage on top of all the = enormous powers he has under the law.=20
=20
Britain has another interesting feature = unheard of=20 in Washington that would be refreshing to have. Once a week, = there's a=20 question period when the prime minister and his cabinet are = held to=20 account by the opposition and must answer truthfully or pretty = close=20 to it, at least in theory. Also, theoretically, a minister is = supposed=20 to face certain expulsion if an untruth stated is learned. In = the US,=20 in contrast, Presidents routinely lie to Congress, the public = and=20 maybe themselves to get away with anything they wish. They = face no=20 penalty doing it, under normal circumstances, with exceptions = popping=20 up occasionally like for Richard Nixon's serious lying and = smoking gun=20 evidence to prove it and Bill Clinton's inconsequential kind = that was=20 no one else's business but his own.=20
=20
Lundberg then reviewed the labyrinthine US = system=20 the framers devised under the Roman maxim of "divide and rule" = as=20 follows:=20
=20
-- a powerful (and at times omnipotent) = chief=20 executive at the top;=20
=20
-- a bicameral Congress with a single = member in the=20 upper chamber able to subvert all others in it through the = power of=20 the filibuster (meaning pirate in Spanish);=20
=20
-- a committee system ruled mostly by = seniority or a=20 by political powerbroker;=20
=20
-- delay and circumlocution deliberately = built into=20 the system;=20
=20
-- a separate judiciary with power to = overrule the=20 Congress and Executive;=20
=20
-- staggered elections to assure = continuity by=20 preventing too many of the bums being thrown out = together;=20
=20
-- a two-party system with multiple = constituencies,=20 especially vulnerable to corruption and the power of big money = that=20 runs everything today making the whole system farcical, = dishonest and=20 a democracy only in the minds of the deceived and = delusional.=20
=20
This is a system under which Lundberg = characterized=20 the US electorate - left, right and center - as "the most = bamboozled=20 and surprised in the world" and leaves voters "reduced to the=20 condition of one of Pavlov's experimental dogs - apathetic, = inert,=20 disinterested." It got Professor J. Allen to say "A system = better=20 adapted to the purpose of the lobbyist could not be devised," = and that=20 remark came long before the current era with things in = government=20 totally out of control leading one to wonder what Lundberg = would say=20 today if he were still living and commenting.=20
=20
Court Over Constitution=20
=20
Article III of the Constitution = establishes the=20 Supreme Court saying only: "The judicial power shall be vested = in one=20 Supreme Court, and in such inferior courts as the Congress may = from=20 time to time ordain and establish." Congress is explicitly = empowered=20 to regulate the Court, but, in fact, the Court "seems to = regulate=20 Congress." Lundberg believed it was to allow those unelected = on it to=20 be blamed for unpopular decisions getting them off the hook. = Congress,=20 if it choose to, has the upper hand, and even Court decisions = on=20 various issues only apply to a specific case leaving broader=20 interpretations to other rulings if they come.=20
=20
As for the common notion of "judicial = review," it's=20 unmentioned in the Constitution nor did the convention = authorize it.=20 This concept is derived by deduction from two separate parts = of the=20 Constitution: In Article VI, Section 2 saying the = Constitution, laws,=20 and treaties are the "supreme Law of the Land" and judges are = bound by=20 them; then in Article III, Section 1 saying judicial power = applies to=20 all cases implying judicial review is allowed. Under this=20 interpretation of the law, appointed judges theoretically = "have a=20 power unprecedented in history - to annul acts of the Congress = and=20 President."=20
=20
Lundberg then reviewed some notable = examples of=20 judicial power, first asserted in the famous Marbury v. = Madison case=20 in 1803. It established the principle of "judicial supremacy"=20 articulated by Chief Justice John Marshall meaning the Court = is the=20 final arbiter of what is or is not the law. He set a precedent = by=20 voiding an act of Congress and the President. It put a brake = on=20 congressional and presidential powers, theoretically, but = Presidents=20 like George Bush act above the law by ignoring Congress and = the Courts=20 and usurping "unitary executive" powers claiming the law is = what he=20 says it is. He gets away with it because the other two = branches do=20 nothing to stop him.=20
=20
In 1776 and at the time of the convention, = few in=20 the country believed in judicial review with theoreticians = like=20 Madison and James Wilson zealously opposed to it. They wanted=20 legislatures and the executive to be the sole judges of their = own=20 constitutional powers. Lundberg then said "Judicial = review....is just=20 one of the usages of the Constitution that sprung up in the = course of=20 jockeying among the divisions, personalities and factions of=20 government."=20
=20
Lundberg then reviewed numerous other = notable Court=20 cases, including the shameful Dred Scott decision when = claimant Scott,=20 a slave, sued for his freedom on justifiable grounds and lost = due to=20 the tenor of the times.=20
=20
A few others were:=20
=20
-- Fletcher v. Peck in 1810 that = stabilized the law=20 of property rights, especially regarding contracts for the = purchase of=20 land;=20
=20
-- Dartmouth College v Woodward in 1819 = with the=20 Court holding charters of private corporations were contracts = and as=20 such were protected by the contact clause;=20
=20
-- McCulloch V Maryland also in 1819 with = the Court=20 ruling a state couldn't tax the branch of a bank established = by an act=20 of Congress;=20
=20
-- Gibbons v. Ogden in 1824 when the Court = upheld=20 the supremacy of the United States over the states in the = regulation=20 of interstate commerce;=20
=20
-- Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896 with the = Court=20 affirming discrimination in public places;=20
=20
-- a number of cases, including US v. EC = Knight=20 Company in 1895, in which the Court vitiated the Sherman = Anti-Trust=20 Act of 1890 while at the same time keeping "hot on the trail = of labor=20 unions" as conspiracies in restraint of trade in violation of = Sherman=20 in Loewe v. Lawler in 1908;=20
=20
-- Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific = Railroad=20 in 1886 when Court reporter JC Bancroft Davis wrote what the = Court=20 refused to refute, thereby granting corporations the legal = status of=20 personhood under the 14th Amendment with all rights and = benefits=20 accruing from it but none of the obligations. In this writer's = non-legal judgment, this decision above all others, adversely = changed=20 the course of history most by opening the door to the kinds of = unchecked corporate power and abuses seen today. It stands as = the most=20 far-reaching, abusive and long-standing of all harmful Court = decisions=20 now haunting us.=20
=20
Lundberg ended this chapter with a section = titled=20 "The Corporate State" citing what's pretty common knowledge = today in=20 the age of George Bush. The US is a corporate-dominated = society run by=20 near-omnipotent figures within and outside government. They = believe in=20 an "individualistic economy," with the law backing it, based = on the=20 inviolate principles of free private enterprise, with them in = charge=20 of everything for their self-interested gain. In a zero-sum = society,=20 it means their benefits harm the rest of us, and that's pretty = much=20 the way things are today with things far more out of control = than when=20 Lundberg wrote his book.=20
=20
Even so, his comments pre-1980 observed = how giant=20 corporations arose "under the ministering hand of government=20 officials, especially in the courts (and there emerged) = wealthy=20 dynasties of successful corporate intrepreneurs, insuring a = line of=20 (future) Robber Barons." With the Constitution forbidding "the = granting of titles of nobility," corporate titans, in fact, = had all=20 the "material substance pertaining to European nobility = (making) Money=20 per se....ennobling in the American scheme."=20
=20
Gross disparities in income and personal = wealth, far=20 more out of proportion now than three decades ago, are largely = the=20 result of these earlier events with government and business = conspiring=20 to make them possible. Earlier, and especially now, = "successful=20 wealthholders in almost every case had an omnipotent lever at = their=20 service: the government, including Congress, the courts and = the chief=20 executive." The constitutional story comes down to a question = of money=20 and money arrangements - who gets it, how, why, when, where, = what for,=20 and under what conditions. Also, who the law leaves = out.=20
=20
This story has nothing whatever to do with = guaranteeing, as they say, life, liberty and the pursuit of = happiness;=20 establishing justice; upholding the rule of law equitably for=20 everyone; promoting the general welfare; or securing the = blessings of=20 freedom for the general public unconsidered, unimportant and = ignored=20 by the three branches of government serving monied and = property=20 interests only, of which they are part.=20
=20
This was how it was when the Constitution = was=20 drafted, it stayed that way through the years, and is written = in stone=20 today with Lundberg concluding "It seems safe to say (this way = of=20 things) will never be rectified." Never is a long time, = hopefully on=20 that count he's wrong, but how insightful and penetrating he = was on=20 the constitutional story he revealed equisitely so far with = more=20 below, beginning with the crucially important next section. = George=20 Bush will love it if someone reads it to him or this = review.=20
=20
The Veiled Autocrat=20
=20
Lundberg's dominant theme here is that the = US=20 President is the most powerful political official on earth, = bar none=20 under any other system of government. "The office he holds is=20 inherently imperial," regardless of the occupant or how he = governs,=20 and the Constitution confers this on him. Whereas under the = British=20 model with the executive as a collectivity, the US system "is=20 absolutely unique, and dangerously vulnerable in many ways" = with one=20 man in charge fully able to exploit his position. "The = American=20 President," said Lundberg, stands "midway between a collective = executive and an absolute dictator (and in times of war like = now)=20 becomes in fact quite constitutionally, a full-fledged=20 dictator."=20
=20
A single sentence, easily passed over or=20 misunderstood, constitutes the essence of presidential power. = It=20 effectively grants the Executive near-limitless power, only=20 constrained to the degree he so chooses. It's from Article II, = Section=20 1 reading: "The executive power shall be vested in a President = of the=20 United States of America. Article II, Section 3 then almost=20 nonchalantly adds: "The President shall take care that the = laws be=20 faithfully executed" without saying Presidents are virtually = empowered=20 to make laws as well as execute them even though nothing in = the=20 Constitution specifically permits this practice. More on that=20 below.=20
=20
Lundberg said the proper way to understand = the=20 Constitution is to view it as a "symphony" with big themes = being like=20 separate movements. Theme one in Article I, Section 1 says = "All=20 legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in a = Congress of the=20 United States." Theme two is the dominant one on the Executive = in=20 Article II, Section 1 cited above. The final movement or theme = three=20 deals with "The judicial power."=20
=20
Lundberg then continued saying "to = understand the=20 inner nature of the United States government (the key question = is)=20 What is executive power? - aware all the time that it is = concentrated=20 in the hands of one man." He also reviewed how Presidents are = elected=20 "literally (by) electoral (unelected by the public) dummies" = in an=20 Electoral College. The process or scheme is a = "long-acknowledged=20 constitutional anomaly." They can subvert the popular vote, = never meet=20 or consult like the College of Cardinals does in Rome to elect = a Pope,=20 so, in fact, its use is "a farce all the way."=20
=20
Now to the issue of executive power = covered in=20 Section 2. It's vast and frightening. The President:=20
=20
-- is commander-in-chief of the military = and in this=20 capacity is completely autonomous in peace and a de facto = dictator in=20 war; although Article I, Section 8 grants only Congress the = right to=20 declare war, the President, in fact, can do it any time he = wishes=20 "without consulting anyone" and, of course, has done it many=20 times;=20
=20
-- can grant commutations or pardons = except in cases=20 of impeachment. Nixon resigned remember before near-certain=20 impeachment;=20
=20
-- can make treaties that become the law = of the=20 land, with the advice and consent of two-thirds of the Senate = (not=20 ratification as commonly believed); can also terminate = treaties with a=20 mere announcement as George Bush did renouncing the important = ABM=20 Treaty with the former Soviet Union; in addition, and with no=20 constitutional sanction, he can rule by decree through = executive=20 agreements with foreign governments that in some cases are = momentous=20 ones like those made at Yalta and Potsdam near the end of WW = II. While=20 short of treaties, they then become the law of the = land.=20
=20
-- can appoint administration officials, = diplomats,=20 federal judges with Senate approval, that's usually routine, = or can=20 fill any vacancy through (Senate) recess appointments; can = also=20 discharge any appointed executive official other than judges = and=20 statutory administrative officials;=20
=20
-- can veto congressional legislation, = with history=20 showing through the book's publication, they're sustained 96% = of the=20 time;=20
=20
-- while Congress alone has appropriating = authority,=20 only the President has the power to release funds for spending = by the=20 executive branch or not release them;=20
=20
-- Presidents also have a huge bureaucracy = at their=20 disposal including powerful officials like the Secretaries of = Defense,=20 State, Treasury and Homeland Security and the Attorney General = in=20 charge of the Justice Department;=20
=20
-- Presidents also command center stage = any time=20 they wish. They can request and get national prime time = television for=20 any purpose with guaranteed extensive post-appearance coverage = promoting his message with nary a disagreement with it on any=20 issue;=20
=20
-- throughout history, going back to = George=20 Washington, Presidents have issued Executive Orders (EOs) = although the=20 Constitution "nowhere implicitly or explicitly gives a = President (the)=20 power (to make) new law" by issuing "one-man, often = far-reaching" EOs.=20 However, as Lundberg explained above, the President has so = much power=20 he's virtually able to do whatever he wishes, the only = constraint on=20 him being himself and how he chooses to govern.=20
=20
-- George Bush also usurped "Unitary = Executive"=20 power to brazenly and openly declare what this section makes = clear -=20 that the law is what he says it is. He proved his intent in = six and a=20 half years in office by subverting congressional legislation = through=20 his record-breaking number of unconstitutional "signing = statements" -=20 affecting over 1132 law provisions through 147 separate = "statements,"=20 more than all previous Presidents combined. In so doing, he = expanded=20 presidential power even beyond the usual practices recounted=20 above.=20
=20
-- Presidents are, in fact, empowered to = do almost=20 anything not expressively forbidden in the Constitution, and = very=20 little there is; more importantly, with a little ingenuity and = a lot=20 of license and chutzpah, the President "can make almost any=20 (constitutional) text mean whatever (he) wants it to mean" so, = in=20 fact, his authority is practically absolute or plenary. And = the=20 Supreme Court supports this notion as an "inherent power of=20 sovereignty," according to Lundberg. He explained, if the US = has=20 sovereignty, it has all powers therein, and the President, as = the sole=20 executive, can exercise them freely without constitutional=20 authorization or restraint.=20
=20
In effect, "the President....is virtually = a=20 sovereign in his own person." Compared to the power of the = President,=20 Congress is mostly "a paper tiger, easily soothed or = repulsed." The=20 courts, as well, can be gotten around with a little creative = exercise=20 of presidential power, and in the case of George Bush, at = times just=20 ignoring their decisions when they disagree with his. As = Lundberg put=20 it: "One should never under-estimate the power of the = President....nor=20 over-estimate that of the Supreme Court. The supposed system = of=20 equitable checks and balances does not exist in fact (because = Congress=20 and the courts don't effectively use their constitutional=20 authority)....the separation in the Constitution between = legislative=20 and the executive is wholly artificial."=20
=20
Further, it's pure myth that the = government is=20 constrained by limited powers. Quite the opposite is true = "which at=20 the point of execution (reside in) one man," the President. In = addition, "Until the American electorate creates effective = political=20 parties (which it never has done), Congress....will always be = pretty=20 much under (Presidents') thumb(s)." Under the "American = constitutional=20 system (the President) is very much a de facto king."=20
=20
Lundberg cited examples such as Franklin = Roosevelt,=20 considered one of the nation's three greatest Presidents along = with=20 Lincoln and Washington. He "waged (illegal) naval warfare = against=20 Germany before Pearl Harbor." During the war, he stretched his = powers=20 to the limit and functioned as a dictator. Truman atom-bombed = Japan=20 twice gratuitously and criminally with the war over and the = Japanese=20 negotiating surrender. He also went around Congress to wage a = war of=20 aggression on North Korea when its forces attacked the South = after=20 repeated US-directed southern incursions against the North. = Lyndon=20 Johnson attacked North Vietnam February 7, 1965 using the = contrived=20 August, 1964 Gulf of Tonkin Resolution as justification even = though=20 there was none. The examples are endless, Presidents take full = advantage, and nearly always get away with it.=20
=20
The only thing Presidents can't do, in = theory, is=20 openly violate the law. But since he can interpret it = creatively, it's=20 up to Congress and the High Court to hold him to account, and = that=20 rarely happens. Nixon was forced to resign to avoid = impeachment=20 because there was smoking gun evidence on tape to convict him = on top=20 of his being roundly disliked making it easier to act. But = what he did=20 overall wasn't unusual except that he paid the price for = it.=20
=20
As Lundberg put it, "highhandedness, = unpalatable=20 doings (and) scandals" are part and parcel of politics from = top to=20 bottom in the system at all levels of government. Jethro = Lieberman=20 showed this type behavior "is a steady occupation at every = level of=20 government" in his pre-Watergate book - "How the Government = Breaks the=20 Law." At the executive level, he showed government proceeds = "pretty=20 much ad libitum outside the stipulated rules at all levels." = In other=20 words, the nation was always infested with Nixons at all = levels, but=20 most got away with their offenses and today that's truer than=20 ever.=20
=20
As for impeaching and convicting a = President for=20 malfeasance, Article II, Section 4 states it can only be for = "treason,=20 bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors." Based on the=20 historical record, it's near-impossible to do with no = President ever=20 having been removed from office this way, and only two were = impeached,=20 both unjustly.=20
=20
Lundberg quoted John Adams on this issue = saying he=20 was right believing it would take a national convulsion to = remove a=20 President by impeachment, it hasn't happened up to now, which = is not=20 to say it never will with no President more deserving of the=20 "distinction" than the current sitting one who almost makes = Richard=20 Nixon look saintly by comparison. It's long past the time to = smash the=20 inviolate notion of presidential invincibility, and given the = growing=20 groundswell, it could happen against all odds. If it does, it = will be=20 a first, and if he were still living, it would also make = Lundberg=20 rethink his final comment on the subject that it's "virtually=20 impossible to remove a President (and) His security in = office....is=20 but one facet of his power." Still remember, an exception, = when it=20 happens, only proves the rule, so Lundberg's assessment is = still=20 valid.=20
=20
Presidential power since WW II is also = reinforced by=20 their own private army through the vast US intelligence = apparatus and=20 much more. The CIA is part of it and today functions mainly as = a=20 presidential praetorian guard and global mafia-style hit squad = operating freely outside the law as a powerful rogue agency = backed by=20 an undisclosed budget likely topping $50 billion annually. And = since=20 January, 2003, the Department of Homeland Security functions = as a=20 national Gestapo about as free to do as it pleases as CIA that = also=20 operates outside its mandate on US soil along with the equally = repressive FBI. They mainly target disaffected political = groups and=20 individuals publicly standing against government policies with = enough=20 influence to make a difference.=20
=20
The Risks in One-Man Rule=20
=20
Lundberg quoted noted political scientist = Herman=20 Finer (1898 - 1969) again reinforcing what's covered above = that "there=20 is (virtually) no limit to the Chief Executive's power." In = six and a=20 half years in office, George Bush proved he was right and then = some.=20 Finer, even in an earlier less complex era, portrayed the = President as=20 overweighted with responsibilities while having enough = concentrated=20 power in his hands to make irresponsible, rash or dangerous = decisions=20 with potentially immense repercussions.=20
=20
Finer proposed a way to improve the = presidency by=20 relieving one man of more responsibility than anyone can = handle alone=20 and minimize incompetency or villainy at the same time. His = idea was=20 for a collective and supportive leadership formed around the=20 President, including a cabinet of 11 Vice-Presidents elected = in=20 combination with the chief executive every four years.=20
=20
The framers structured the government to = frustrate=20 and confuse the electorate. They did it through staggered = elections to=20 avoid a clearly visible line of authority as well as maintain = a=20 continuity of governance whatever else the public might = prefer. Finer=20 wanted to correct these kinds of faults in the current system. = He also=20 understood that Presidents are plucked out of almost anywhere = because=20 of their perceived electability, not from their ability to = govern=20 effectively in an office enough to overwhelm anyone no matter = how able=20 and dedicated.=20
=20
His idea was for Presidents and = Vice-Presidents to=20 be required to have served in either house of Congress a = minimum four=20 years to learn how Washington operates that can be quite = different=20 from a state or the military where former generals of note, = like=20 Dwight Eisenhower and others, went on to become very ordinary = or=20 failed Presidents. Only George Washington was the exception = proving=20 the rule, and being a new nation's first President (governing = a=20 population smaller than Chicago today) was quite different = from how=20 things are now.=20
=20
Finer also wanted the President and his = cabinet to=20 sit in the House of Representatives to make them more visible = and=20 responsible like the British model. His main concern was that = too much=20 responsibility lay with one man, with too much power to = discharge it,=20 and far too often that man turns out to be incompetent, venal = or both.=20 Under the present system, the President is near-omnipotent, = operates=20 in secrecy, is most often the wrong one chosen, and is able to = spring=20 surprises at will, often with potentially disastrous = implications like=20 today under George Bush.=20
=20
He was also concerned about Presidents = having secret=20 ailments, impediments or becoming seriously ill enough to be = unable to=20 govern yet still be able to retain the power of the office. = Woodrow=20 Wilson was a case in point as he suffered a severe stroke and=20 paralysis on his left side 17 months before his second term of = office=20 expired. His principle biographer said he was "either gravely = ill (his=20 last year in office) or severely incapacitated at the time the = country=20 needed his leadership most."=20
=20
Wilson never should have been allowed to = run at all=20 as it was known seven years earlier he was a bad health risk. = He did=20 it because the information was concealed from the public even = though=20 Wilson himself thought he might die at any moment, was blind = in one=20 eye, suffered episodes of depression, dyspepsia, colds, = headaches,=20 dizziness and feelings of dullness and numbness in one hand = the result=20 of diseased nerves. In short, he was a physical and emotional = basket=20 case running the country and unable to do it much of the time = and not=20 all late in his second term.=20
=20
Franklin Roosevelt is another prime = example. At age=20 39, eleven years before being elected President, he was = stricken with=20 what was thought to be polio and was permanently paralyzed = from the=20 waist down. Yet, he kept his condition secret and (before the = age of=20 television) was never photographed in a wheelchair in public. = In his=20 third term, he was advised not to run for a fourth time = because of his=20 health. He did, of course, and won, but in 1941 his blood = pressure was=20 high and rising, his heart was enlarged, and he suffered from=20 congestive heart failure from which he finally expired in = April, 1945.=20 By early 1944, he was in marked decline and a dying = man.=20
=20
With the most calamitous war in history in = its late=20 stages and the power of the chief executive most needed, = Lundberg=20 described FDR as "a burned-out matchstick" barely able to = function. It=20 showed in some of his irrational decisions at the end. Yet, he = was=20 still in charge as commander-in-chief and the most powerful = leader on=20 earth as the war in Europe and Asia still raged, and he alone = was=20 calling the shots.=20
=20
With future Presidents just as vulnerable = to serious=20 health problems, Lundberg's view was as the presidency is now=20 structured, "the American people are sitting on a = bomb....likely to=20 explode (unexpectedly) at any moment." The problem, he said, = isn't=20 just about an imperial presidency, but an "anarchic," = "wild-cat" or=20 "Protean" one under which "anything can happen." Drawing an = analogy to=20 a modern-day corporation, he explained the obvious. No large=20 publicly-owned corporation would ever operate this way. It = would never=20 put its chips on a single person or "choose its chief = executive (as)=20 nonchalantly as does the United States."=20
=20
Wilson and Roosevelt weren't the only = Presidents who=20 served in office while experiencing serious illness. = Eisenhower=20 suffered two heart attacks along with other health problems, = and=20 Kennedy "was a walking bundle of ailments" with much of it = concealed.=20 Lyndon Johnson, as well, was in trouble from the start, = suffered a=20 massive heart attack before winning national office, and = (unknown to=20 the public) was never judged physically or mentally sound = while=20 President.=20
=20
His actions proved it and give pause to = what may be=20 afflicting George Bush, kept secret from the public. A = disastrous six=20 and a half year record conclusively shows this man is unfit to = serve=20 in the nation's highest office or in any responsible capacity. = Because=20 he's there taking full advantage, all humanity is held hostage = to=20 what's coming next at the hands of a venal, incompetent and = possibly=20 mentally unbalanced or deranged US chief executive.=20
=20
For all the above-stated reasons along = with the=20 examples just cited, Finer believed the office of the = President was=20 ill-structured and should be drastically changed for the = betterment of=20 the country (and all humanity). As far as achieving any of = what he=20 proposed or any other type broad brush makeover of the system, = Lundberg believed it's near-impossible. Doing it would involve = amending the Constitution and in a wholesale way. With certain = opposition in enough states, there's almost no chance these = type=20 changes can happen.=20
=20
How did this happen, and were the framers = at fault,=20 Lundberg asks? To some degree, but not entirely. It's pure = fantasy to=20 imagine any group of men, even if they'd been the most = talented and=20 far-sighted, could have met in 1787 to produce a Constitution, = elaborate, detailed and ingenious enough to "anticipate and = provide=20 for every facet and contingency of the nation" that would = eventually=20 encompass 50 states and grow to a diverse population exceeding = 300=20 million. It was impossible then and now everywhere. = Furthermore, they=20 made the amending process extremely hard to do even though it = was=20 subsequently accomplished 17 times after the Bill of Rights = was added=20 to get the Constitution ratified in the first place.=20
=20
At a much simpler time, the framers didn't = understand that governments fundamentally act in their own=20 self-interest whatever the law says. The Constitution = complicates it=20 for them by consisting of a "set of incomplete prescriptions,=20 ostensibly frozen in time except as subject to an almost = impossible=20 amending process." So to get around the problem or ignore it,=20 governments function ad libitum with one man at the top = calling the=20 shots even though this isn't what the framers had in = mind.=20
=20
So all the "patriotic praise....heaped = upon the=20 Constitution in schoolbooks....is simple nonsense, pap." How = well the=20 country is served at any time depends on the pure luck of the = draw to=20 get a really first-rate capable leader as President. It rarely = happens, and Lundberg cites only the three example of = Washington,=20 Lincoln and Roosevelt. None of the others matched them, and = far too=20 many were abysmal failures or worse with one candidate just = cited=20 standing out prominently as the overwhelming choice for the = worst and=20 most dangerous ever.=20
=20
On top of all the other flaws and faults, = "the=20 people" were deliberately and willfully left out of the = process=20 proving "democracy is not recognized in the Constitution," = shocking as=20 that notion is to most people reading these words. Lundberg = had hopes,=20 however, that a future time would come that would embrace=20 constitutional improvement on a significant scale. As he put = it, this=20 document, "as it stands, is by no means the system the United = States=20 is ultimately fated to embrace (forever). For there is a great = deal of=20 room for improvement - a great deal" (indeed, and then = some).=20
=20
A Renewed Call for a Second = Convention=20
=20
With the need so much greater now than 30 = years ago,=20 in the age of George Bush, it's time we went about the process = Lundberg advocated in the title of this section. Doing it, = however, is=20 infinitely harder than achieving relatively simpler amendment=20 tinkering here and there, even though Article V allows for = such a=20 procedure. With everything in mind from what's covered above, = it's=20 easy to believe, whatever the Constitution allows, convening a = convention for constitutional change is near-impossible given = the way=20 the country is now run, by whom and most importantly for whom = - the=20 immensely powerful monied interests sitting in corporate = boardrooms=20 running the country, the world and our lives.=20
=20
They've got everything arranged their way, = it's=20 taken decades to get it, they engineer elections to get the = best=20 "democracy" they can buy, and it always turns out that way, = more or=20 less. The bankers and Wall Street even own the Federal Reserve = giving=20 them the most powerful instrument of government - the right to = print=20 and control the nation's money supply and charge interest on = it. By so=20 doing, the government (and the public) must pay interest on = its own=20 money that wouldn't happen if it printed its own as Article I, = Section=20 8 of the Constitution says only the government can do.=20
=20
It relinquished that power when Woodrow = Wilson=20 betrayed the public by signing the most disastrous piece of=20 legislation in the nation's history willfully after Congress = passed=20 the Federal Reserve Act in the dead of night December 23, 1913 = with=20 many of its members away for the holiday and most others = unaware of=20 what, in fact, they were signing.=20
=20
Today, with a virtual stranglehold on = state power,=20 in league with Democrat and Republican governments in their = pockets,=20 why would corporate giants ever give up what took so long for = them to=20 get. They never will, Lundberg knew it, too, and said the = chance for=20 real change from a second convention "is almost nil....if = (these=20 pages) have shown anything, (it's clear as day) the government = (backed=20 by the power of money) controls the Constitution," not the = other way=20 around or "the people" either, left out completely from the=20 start.=20
=20
Lundberg didn't say it but surely believed = achieving=20 the kinds of democratic changes he wanted would have to come = from the=20 bottom up. Only an aroused public, en masse and undeterred, = fed up=20 with the state of things and committed can make it happen. = Impossible=20 as it seems, history at times surprises, and if it does this = time, it=20 will be the greatest one ever....and not a moment too = soon.=20
=20
Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can = be reached=20 at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.=20
=20
Also visit his blog site at = sjlendman.blogspot.com=20 and listen Saturdays to the Steve Lendman News and Information = Hour on=20 TheMicroEffect.com at noon US central time.=20
 
 
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