Among Other Things At Stake in the US Presidential Election Is the Tenuous Progress We’ve Made Environmentally
I wrote a post on Facebook in which I provided a laundry list of things (including environmental stewardship) that we’ll be losing if Donald Trump wins the US presidency. In response, my colleague Steve Vachss reprimands me for whining, and explains the limits of the executive branch of the federal government. I thought readers might be interested in the conversation:
Craig Shields Two points: a) Exactly what the executive branch can and cannot do is a fuzzy line, as we’ve all seen over the past few decades. b) Anyone who isn’t completely freaked out about the rhetoric coming out of Cleveland is as scary to me as the orators themselves.
Steve Vachss Why be freaked out? We’ve heard it all before. “Chicken-Little” warns us, the other side threatens, and they spend the next four years wrestling in bubblegum. Regarding what the executive branch can and cannot do may seem like a fuzzy line, but we know the pragmatic line from recent history. Bush had a slightly different line in a narrow area because Congress gave him some slack with the Patriot Act. Obama tried to push his boundaries on several issues and got smacked down by SCOTUS every time. It isn’t really a legal question, however. Presidents are sharply limited by congress and the media. Congress is under control by lobbyists and big money. In the end, the President has only three powers domestically. 1. The Bully Pulpit. 2. Personal leadership skills, and 3. Supreme Court nominations. In foreign affairs, however, the President has serious power, and opportunity to screw up.
Craig Shields Well, there are several reasons to be alarmed, in my estimation. One depends on the degree to which we believe our scientists who are telling us that our planet will lie in ruins by the end of this century if we fail to respond to climate change. A Trump administration will do everything in its power, to whatever the limits there may be, to tear down the progress we’ve made environmentally. I don’t think there’s too much doubt about that; do you?
The other reasons for alarm depend on the types of issues one cares about: the civil rights of women, Muslims, LBGTs and so on, human rights re: torture, eliminating police executions of black people, immigration reform, healthcare, the US moral standing and overall reputation in the world as a whole, US aggression and imperialism, nuclear weapons proliferation, or dozens of others. Not to not be freaked out by any of these is to be coldly indifferent to the suffering of others.
As far as the limits of the executive branch are concerned, ask yourself what Mike Pence is doing on the ticket. It’s to fill two huge holes in Trump’s electability, i.e., his lack of appeal to both a) the vast money of the Koch Brothers (who disdain him deeply), and b) the religious right. I don’t want to live in a country dominated by either of these ideologies, and I don’t think you do either, which is why I’m really surprised to hear this (above) from a man of your intellect and compassion.
