America 2.0: Taxation Without Representation, by Donald Jeffries

There have been very few representatives or senators of any distinction the last few decades. From Donald Jeffries at donaldjeffries.substack.com:

Elected or selected, and set for life

Our Founders never envisioned that those selected to represent the interests of the people would be career politicians. They pictured statesmen, who were interested in public service, not lining their pockets. They never thought of writing term limits into the Constitution. Those enjoying the free ride surely aren’t going to implement them.

In 1944, John T. Flynn, best remembered as the “cancelled” head of the New York chapter of the America First Committee trying to prevent our entrance into World War II, wrote the book Meet Your Congress. It was not just an expose on how bad Congress already was, but a plea for the legislative branch to flex their muscles, and check the unbridled power of the judicial branch and the imperial presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt. The Constitution established three separate but equal branches of government, which was supposed to prevent too much concentrated power in any one place. But early on, the legislative branch took a clear back seat to the judicial branch, when John Marshall simply invented Judicial Review.

When Abraham Lincoln took office, and overstepped his constitutional authority with reckless abandon, the template for the imperial presidency had been set. There has never been an imperial Congress. Instead, Congress consistently has abrogated its responsibilities. For instance, Congress has the sole authority to declare war under the Constitution. They haven’t formally declared war since WWII, but our government certainly hasn’t been at peace. They also have the sole authority to enact legislation. This became an especially laughable concept during the imperial presidencies of Lincoln, Woodrow Wilson, and FDR.

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