President Donald Trump signed off on several eyebrow-raising pardons this week, including a convicted fraudster he had already freed from prison for a different fraud scheme during his first term.
We were always told the framers of the Constitution were old timey genius’s, but they couldn’t foresee a corrupt piece of shit selling pardons? It’s ridiculous and should never have been a presidential power. They fucked up.
They already had the previous example of the sale of indulgences within the Catholic Church in the Middle Ages. Even American colonial revolutionaries were offered pardons by King George III to stop fighting.
Commenter below cites the fact that the expectation was that the congress would step in if popular sentiment was outraged by this sort of thing, but this state of affairs was foreseeable.
They ended up with a powerful executive even though they believed previous kings had too much power. e.g. “His Excellency” George Washington refused the title of King.
Also of note is that there were relatively few voters and they were privileged and generally well educated and informed members of the public. White men with land.
We were always told the framers of the Constitution were old timey genius’s, but they couldn’t foresee a corrupt piece of shit selling pardons? It’s ridiculous and should never have been a presidential power. They fucked up.
They expected that voters/citizens and other branches of govt wouldn’t stand for it.
Instead they’re either in on it or too cowardly to do anything.
In all fairness, they never could have prepared for the impact the internet has on politics.
Exactly. Many were historians and Christians.
They already had the previous example of the sale of indulgences within the Catholic Church in the Middle Ages. Even American colonial revolutionaries were offered pardons by King George III to stop fighting.
Commenter below cites the fact that the expectation was that the congress would step in if popular sentiment was outraged by this sort of thing, but this state of affairs was foreseeable.
They ended up with a powerful executive even though they believed previous kings had too much power. e.g. “His Excellency” George Washington refused the title of King.
Also of note is that there were relatively few voters and they were privileged and generally well educated and informed members of the public. White men with land.
On they’re trying to go back to the only white men with land thing again.