Would you vote for a US presidential candidate who promised to neuter the Executive Branch?

If you look at the history, until the 20th century it was a weak ass, basically a little-bit-more-than ceremonial position. It was a figurehead and a very weak executive. There were a few excursions from that over that time, but that was the job as designed.

The idea of a Presidential cabinet and a bunch of the other trappings were modern add-ons.

If the hypothetical "originalist" actually exists, that person would want this, because that is exactly what the position was when the country was founded and for the first 150-ish years of the country.

Of course, I think "originalism" is mostly high-falutin' lofty sounding talk to give cover for culture wars bulls**t.

 

Every president I voted for and every president elected has promised the moon and instead delivered a pile of sjit. You would have to be naive and gullible to vote based on promises.

 

The idea that anyone with enough of an opinion of themselves to run for president would then limit their powers is unfortunately very unlikely

But in theory yes

But also in practice I don't trust like that .

Maybe if I was running

 

Another braindead leftist who has no idea how our constitution works. Oy vey!

 

does neuter include regulatory agencies?

 

Presidents have used the authority the Constitution intended, mainly military and federal policing.

I don't agree that presidents have more power, for example financial bailouts are legislated by Congress and signed by the President.

What you see as more power is more federal government programs in our lives

 

Good Lord bro this is a good question, your anti government cynicism made you miss the point.

Presidents run on doing more with more authority, he's asking would you vote for someone promising to to do less and give back authority.

He isn't asking if they can be effective

 

Maybe if Congress wasn’t so dysfunctional.

 

One of the big issues with Warren G Harding being considered one of the worst Presidents ever is that he thought of the gig as basically ceremonial and was opposed to agressively utilizing his levers when events went sideways. As a result people came to think of him as fiddling while Rome burned.

In practical terms, I think whomever got elected on this might get pilloried when they actually put it into practice.

Psychologically people seem to want a singular villian or hero to point at for blame or credit. Congress as an entity is to diffuse and vague to be a viable scapegoat.

 

We need a new founding.

Original
Posts Civil War
1960's

were 3 different versions of America.

THe current administration has destroyed the last one (and it is beyond just government, it is all of our institutions being corrupted by - and I can't believe I'm typing this - a child sex trafficking ring.)

We need to remake all of the institutions that hold power in American life. Centralized control of governmetn and business by a few very powerful individiuals acting like kings, insulated from consequences (Trump, John Roberts & the nine, Musk, Epstein) - has been disastrous.

More local control is probably as good a way as any to guard against this. Certianly better than this shitty tyranny.

 

Promised by a politician?

Unlikely.

Given that the current POTUS and SCOTUS have removed most limits from the executive, it is a brave new world going forward.

All a POTUS has to do is state he is following the Trump Precedent and he can do as he pleases.

 

We're sliding into Oligarch territory; the control Musk has over the USA is astounding from Nasa to X to kiddie p*rn and he then wants to delve into politics............That is a NO NO in my book. You have FB doing favors for the Prez and you know his algo is tipping towards trump, you have Bezos bending over for the orange man and you have Ellison buying up media to change the narrative. Then you have the second tier billionaire donors and your hu hum Millionaires doing the same

 

Congress is supposed to be reigning the executive branch in. Congress makes the laws, sets the budgets.

 

I for one do not want to live in a technofeudal society.

 

My bar is low. Don't **** over the Constitution.