All politicians make political calculations, weighing different options in the messy process of legislation and forming political arrangements. Political compromise and adjustment is a necessary and important skill for free societies governed by a combination of chief executives and legislatures, often of different political parties. However, is it wrong to admit a guilty pleasure – schadenfreude – when Machiavellian manipulations, outside the scope of political good faith and respect for free institutions, backfire? For at least a couple of these pleasures, we can turn to the late Senator Edward Kennedy.
Perhaps Edward Kennedy’s greatest unintentional gift to Conservatives came during the 1980 presidential campaign. High inflation, high unemployment, and high interest rates had severely eroded the political popularity of President Jimmy Carter. The political positions of Kennedy and Carter did not differ much substantively, but a weak incumbent gave Kennedy an opportunity for a primary challenge and ti serve personal ambition. Although Kennedy won only ten primaries to Carter’s twenty-four, Kennedy ate away at Carter’s support by continuing his challenge to the convention, hoping for rules changes there that might give Kennedy the nomination. The number of Carter delegates was too overwhelming and they defeated Kennedy’s procedural challenges at the convention. Out of respect, Kennedy was given the opportunity to address the convention. In a rousing conclusion, Kennedy acknowledged defeat but despite his loss “the work goes on, the cause continues, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die.” The speech made Carter’s later performance seem mediocre. Although Carter survived the Kennedy challenge, he emerged from the Democratic National Convention weaker, leading a demoralized and divided Democratic Party, helping in part to usher the Reagan era. Thank you.
In 2004, the other Senator from Massachusetts, John Kerry, was running against President George W. Bush. If Kerry managed to defeat the incumbent president, under state law, Republican Governor Mitt Romney would appoint a Senator to fill out the term. A Republican Senator from Massachusetts was too much for Democrats to stomach. With the encouragement of Kennedy, the Democratically-dominated state legislature gamed the system. They changed the law to establish a special election to fill vacancies. Reasonable and well-intentioned people can disagree about the appropriate procedure for filling a senatorial vacancy. However, this change was not based on principle, but was intentionally designed to gane the system for immediate political advantage. This decision would ultimately come back to haunt Kennedy and Democrats in Massachusetts.
Kennedy’s signature issue was health care. He has always advocated a government managed and financed health care system. When he unfortunately took ill in 2009 with what proved to be terminal cancer he knew that he might not survive to usher through health care reform. His last votes in the Senate were in early April 2009. If Kennedy had resigned under these circumstances, he could have provided ample opportunity for a hand-picked successor to win election as Senator with his direct endorsement. However, political vanity was more important and Kennedy hung on to his office until his death in August, 2009. The cause of health care reform would have been better served if he resigned, but a personal desire to keep his office-for-life overwhelmed this calculation. Kennedy did not know with certainty that clinging to office would undermine the cause of his life, but he did know that he was no longer capable of leading or even participating in the fight in the Senate. Kennedy clutched to his office until the end. Is it too mean-spirited to exploit the metaphor that while health care legislation was drowning, Kennedy was swimming to the shore of personal political indulgence?
If the Massachusetts senatorial succession procedure had not been altered in unashamedly political manipulation in 2004, Democratic Governor Deval Patrick would have appointed a Democrat to fill out Edward Kennedy’s term. There would have been no opportunity for Republican Scott Brown to ride a wave a political dissatisfaction with conspicuous manipulations and payoffs to arrive at medicare legislation, and to upset the Democratic candidate Martha Coakley. Scott’s election killed health care legislation in its current form and wounded the Democratic Party. For this we, we can in no small measure thank Edward Kennedy and recognize the justice that self-aggrandizement and political corruption was not in this case rewarded.
The Culture of the Constitution
Sunday, January 31st, 2010The US Constitution is the longest living constitution that has provided an effective framework for self government for over two hundred years. It has served a country that began as thirteen relatively independent states that grew into a continental nation. Although there have been twenty-seven amendments, the document has remained largely intact. The longevity of the US Constitution is not just a consequence of its clever design. Indeed, is product of both considerable political genius as well as the compromises necessary to weld together the original disparate states.
Despite the genius of the US Constitution, it can not be simply adopted by any country with the same success. The functioning of the US Constitution also relies upon a deference to the disciplines of the US Constitution by government officials and the people. A president must rely on the Congress to pass legislation, Congress must grant latitude to the chief executive to manage the government, particularly in foreign relations. Both must respect the Constitutional limits adjudicated by the US Supreme Court. Because the Supreme Court is the least democratic branch of government, it must be reticent overrule the decisions of the other two branches.
Of course, the Civil War was the ultimate challenge to the Constitution and the Union, but there have been cases where the three branches of government have chafed up against one another. President Andrew Jackson largely ignored the US Supreme Court when it ruled in favor of Cherokee Indians over the depredations of the state of Georgia (Worcester v. Georgia). President Franklin Roosevelt tried to pack the Supreme Court with additional justices, when it ruled against hist initiatives. Congress has tried to constrain the discretion of the President with War Powers Act. And many have suggested that sometimes the Supreme Court has exceeded its authority, particularly the Warren Court. Despite these and other important lapses, it is important to maintain the forms of respect, especially between the different branches of government.
In Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, the Supreme Court ruled earlier this week that the speech of corporations were protected by the First Amendment. Specifically, corporations and other associations of people could spend money on independent — uncoordinated with the candidates’ campaigns — efforts to persuade people to vote one way or another. There is some disagreement with the ruing both those who believe, as George Will explains, “Americans need to be swaddled in regulations of political speech.”
Despite the attendant controversy, it remains remains disconcerting for President Barack Obama to use his the latest State of the Union address to lecture Supreme Court to the applause of Congress for a decision he disagreed with. Obama said:
“With all due deference to separation of powers, last week the Supreme Court reversed a century of law that I believe will open the floodgates for special interests - including foreign corporations - to spend without limit in our elections. (Applause.) I don’t think American elections should be bankrolled by America’s most powerful interests, or worse, by foreign entities. [Applause.] They should be decided by the American people. And I’d urge Democrats and Republicans to pass a bill that helps to correct some of these problems.”
Leave aside for the moment that the President’s remonstrance was based on false premises. The Court in its decision explicitly allowed restrictions of foreign expenditures in US campaigns. It was disrespectful and rude to argue with and criticize the justices, when they are in no position to respond. The remarks smacked of presidential imperialism and was beneath Obama who is supposed to be a Constitutional scholar. Obama knows better. He may come to regret undermining the Court when some time in the future the Court must suffer under diminished authority and respect when issuing a ruling with which Obama is sympathetic.
One the other hand, Obama is to be congratulated when he met with the Republican caucus this week. The exchange was civil and benefited both the Republicans and the President. Obama should consider institutionalizing the meeting on perhaps a quarterly basis.
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