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America should worry about lost democracy at home

For more than a century, the United States has gradually surrendered its constitutional democracy — which emphasizes the separation of powers and the glorification of liberty — to a monarch-like administration that wields arguably more unchecked authority than the monarch who provoked the American Revolution, King George III.

U.S. presidents utilize their powers unilaterally by initiating war; detaining individuals indefinitely without trial; making or breaking treaties; legislating through executive orders or rules-making; surveilling the “not-yet-guilty” citizenry without warrants; operating a secret government; and diverting appropriated funds for purposes not authorized by Congress.

The apex of presidential power is the unreviewable authority to act as prosecutor, judge, jury and executioner who can strike any target based on secret, unverified speculation that the target is, or will become, an imminent threat to national security. It is unclear how many assassinations may have been justified by this authority, because state secrets shield them. Leaks to journalists and information from government personnel account for what we do know. Former Attorney General Eric Holder, for example, justified presidential assassination authority in a 2012 speech at Northwestern University by using a flimsy constitutional due process test that was designed to prevent faulty Social Security benefit decisions, not unlawful executions.

Such presidential orders are intended to remain veiled forever, from Congress, the judiciary and the American people. This power flips on its head the Russian proverb that President Ronald Reagan made known to Americans: “Trust, but verify.” The Church Committee — a 1975 Senate committee that investigated alleged abuses of power by intelligence agencies — found CIA involvement in plots to kill Fidel Castro and four other foreign leaders. Though it could not confirm that any president sanctioned the plots, the committee’s findings do challenge our faith that assassinations are an isolated occurrence. Since 1981, assassinations are expressly prohibited by Executive Order 12333: “No person employed by or acting on behalf of the United States Government shall engage in, or conspire to engage in, assassination.”  

The president may have unilateral authority, but Congress possesses a comparable degree of power — so much so that it has contributed to the demise of democracy in the legislative branch. With the ascent of former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) in 1993, the leadership of Congress has acquired decisive authority. Rank-and-file committee and subcommittee chairmanships act like extras in a Cecile B. deMille film.

The House speaker determines committee membership, committee hearings, floor votes and legislative details; the majority leader has comparable authority in the Senate. Often, members of Congress get 2,000-page appropriations bills a few days before a vote, giving them no time to review them. As House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) declared about the Affordable Care Act in 2010 (albeit in a speech to the National Association of Counties’ legislative conference, but applicable nonetheless): “We have to pass the bill so you can find out what’s in it.”   

In any case, what members of Congress may lack in expertise to get things done, they more than make up for in fundraising prowess, especially their leaders. Congressional leaders often sideline the rank-and-file members, making it difficult for them to develop the professional and political prowess that might make them capable of questioning the leader’s agenda. And so, they remain “babes in the woods” in the executive branch’s eyes.

Consider this astounding congressional abdication: The executive branch spent more than $300 million a day, every day, for 20 years (more than $2 trillion overall) on a war in Afghanistan that resulted in the return of a possibly more reprehensible Taliban. But no congressional oversight hearing challenged the executive branch’s Pollyannaish assumptions about the war. In the “Afghanistan Papers,” the Washington Post noted that the executive branch knew it was on a treadmill all those years, but it regularly declared progress toward its end goal.

The separation of powers in the Constitution is meant to safeguard the American people against tyranny. The dissolution of this separation, in favor of one branch’s domination, has fueled a multitrillion-dollar government Leviathan, which is making “liberty” the exception and “government coercion” the norm. The purpose of having separation of powers is to prevent autocracy by demanding agreement from contending constituencies before taking action. With all their partisan squabbling, it’s no wonder that Congress’s productivity is down (though bills that do pass are more comprehensive these days). Sometimes deadlock can be circumvented by the executive’s unchallenged authority. It should come as no surprise, then, that in recent years the president, through executive orders and congressionally granted regulatory power, has legislated substantially more than Congress.

In short, the United States can be myopic in its preoccupation with democracy abroad but naive to democracy’s demise at home. In opening the Dec. 10, 2021, Summit for Democracy, President Biden called the protection of democracy “the defining challenge of our time.” But the greatest threat to democracy may not be authoritarian Russia or China but America’s failure to set an example to which the wise and honorable can aspire. 

Our leaders should remember the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson in his “Letters and Social Aims” — “Don’t say things. What you are stands over you the while, and thunders so that I cannot hear what you say to the contrary” — which are often quoted more simply as: “Your actions speak so loudly I cannot hear what you are saying.”

Armstrong Williams (@ARightSide) is the owner and manager of Howard Stirk Holdings I & II Broadcast Television Stations and the 2016 Multicultural Media Broadcast Owner of the Year. He is the author of “Reawakening Virtues.”

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Bass, Caruso advance in Los Angeles mayor's race

Rep. Karen Bass (D) and businessman Rick Caruso were projected to head to a runoff in Los Angeles’ mayoral race, according to The Associated Press.

Bass, who was on President Biden’s vice presidential shortlist, was anticipated to run away with the race. But Caruso, a mall mogul who until recently was a Republican, dumped roughly $34 million into the race and ran on a moderate platform focused on a rise in crime. 

Caruso’s rise has frustrated progressives, who see a champion in Bass and have a mixed record in midterm primaries so far this year. 

The two are running to replace Eric Garcetti, who resigned from the mayorship after he was tapped to be Biden’s ambassador to India.

California employs what’s known as a jungle primary, which has candidates of all parties run in one primary and the top two vote getters advancing to the general election if no candidate gets over 50 percent of the vote. 

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San Francisco DA Chesa Boudin recalled in blow to progressives

San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin was projected to be ousted in a recall Wednesday, marking a stunning setback for progressive advocates of criminal justice reform. 

The Associated Press called the race around 12:04 a.m. ET.

Boudin’s loss is the latest and loudest signal that voters’ appetites for reform is softening amid a nationwide spike in violent crime. His replacement will now be chosen by Mayor London Breed (D), who is expected to tap someone with a more moderate reputation. 

Boudin first took office in early 2020 and ran on a slew of progressive promises, including to end cash bail, stop the practice of prosecuting children as adults and offer defendants the chance to enter a rehabilitation program rather than prison. 

Crime has remained roughly the same in San Francisco since Boudin first entered the job, and no evidence has emerged to link his policies to violent crime. 

That appears to make Boudin a victim to a national environment in which more voters are concerned about rising crime in many major cities, making them less eager for the types of change Boudin ran on. 

The issue is particularly potent in San Francisco, which has grappling with a stubborn homelessness problem, a rash of burglaries and open-air drug markets. Compounding that are rumors of a tense relationship between Boudin and the San Francisco Police Department. 

Boudin tried to fight off the effort by casting it as “Trumpian,” at times noting that one of the recall’s biggest backers is William Oberndorf, a conservative businessman. However, polls prior to the recall showed Boudin falling behind. 

Boudin’s defeat marks the latest setback for a criminal justice reform movement that in recent years was buoyed by backlash against police killings of Black men only to later be rebuked by Democrats as a reason for key congressional losses, including in some 2020 House races. 

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GOP Rep. Palazzo forced into runoff in Mississippi

Republican Rep. Steve Palazzo is headed into a runoff in Mississippi’s 4th District after he and a large field of candidates failed to clinch the 50 percent threshold in the GOP primary battle.

Palazzo led the pack while Jackson County Sheriff Mike Ezell and Clay Wagner, a retired banker, are racing for second place to qualify for the runoff, according to the Associated Press.

The runoff election will be held on June 28 between Palazzo and whoever finishes second.

Palazzo was fending off six other challengers for the Republican nomination, who leapt into the race after the lawmaker stirred up controversy in Washington last year.

An ethics watchdog group found last year there was “substantial” evidence the Mississippi congressman had misused campaign funds to improve a riverfront home before a sale and unethically used his office to help his brother reenlist in the Navy.

Palazzo is a military veteran who first won election to represent Mississippi’s 4th District in 2010.

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Newsom advances in California governor's race

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) was projected to advance to the general election in the state’s gubernatorial race.

The Associated Press called the race at 11:14 p.m. ET.

Newsom scored over 50 percent in what’s known as a jungle primary, which has candidates of all parties run in one primary and the top two vote getters advancing to the general election.

Newsom is riding high after defeating a recall effort last year that early polls showed had a chance of succeeding. 

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South Dakota Republican fends off primary challenge for House seat

Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) was projected to fend off a primary challenge from his political right on Tuesday to clinch the Republican nomination for another term as South Dakota’s sole representative in the House.

The Associated Press called the race at 10:43 p.m. ET.

Johnson, who’s currently serving out his second term in Congress, was seen as the favorite for the GOP nod heading into the primary. Still, he faced a challenge from state Rep. Taffy Howard, who sought to cast herself as an even closer ally of former President Trump than Johnson.

Howard also received air cover from Drain the Swamp, a pro-Trump political action committee (PAC) that has pushed the former president’s baseless claim that the 2020 election was stolen. 

Johnson was among 35 House Republicans who voted in favor of an independent commission to investigate the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. He also voted against stripping Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) of her leadership position within the House Republican Conference.

Still, Johnson fired back at attacks on his conservative credentials. Backing him in the primary was Defending Main Street PAC, a group that supports more traditional conservatives.

With the nomination locked up, Johnson is virtually guaranteed another term in Congress. No Democrat is running for South Dakota’s at-large House seat, leaving the two-term incumbent unopposed in the general election.

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Live results: California primary

The Associated Press is following the election in California.

Follow the live results below.

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House lawmakers want significant troop pay bump in 2023

House Armed Services Committee lawmakers want a nearly 5 percent pay raise for military members in 2023, a dollar bump they are set to propose on Wednesday in its draft of the annual defense authorization bill.  

The expected proposal of a 4.6 percent raise – which mirrors the Pentagon’s wanted pay raise, to go into effect Jan. 1 – would also come with several studies that lawmakers want to have explore military pay in general. 

The studies – if adopted into the full committee’s version of the bill and eventually signed into law – would among other things look at and revise the Pentagon’s pay tables to “more realistically and fairly compensate service members,” according to a statement from lawmakers on the committee’s personnel subpanel.

The proposal would follow the Pentagon’s annual budget request, unveiled in late March, that asked for a 4.6 percent pay raise, a big uptick from the 2.7 percent increase in 2022 and 3 percent in 2021.  

“That’s our largest pay raise in 20 years on the military and civilian side,” Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks told reporters at the time. 

Military pay increase remains up in the air, however, as lawmakers could still suggest a higher figure.  

But if the proposal stands, it would ensure junior enlisted troops would earn roughly $1,300 more in take-home pay in 2023, while senior enlisted and junior officers could earn $2,500 more. Those with at least 12 years of service, meanwhile, could take home $4,500 or more in extra pay, according to Military Times.  

That may not be high enough, however, as Americans, are currently grappling with the more than 8.5 percent inflation this past year, the highest rate of inflation in decades, due to the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine.  

That ballooning inflation has led to an increased cost of living for all U.S. citizens, meaning pay increases don’t cover as much for food, fuel and other household essentials as they used to.  

The House committee’s full-day mark-up of the authorization bill is scheduled for June 22, while the Senate Armed Services Committee is expected to unveil its version of the legislation next week.  

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Progressive wins Democratic primary for New Mexico House seat

Progressive Gabriel Vasquez is projected to win the Democratic primary for New Mexico’s 2nd Congressional District on Tuesday, paving the way for a match-up with incumbent GOP Rep. Yvette Herrell. 

The Associated Press called the race at 10:01 p.m. ET.

Vasquez defeated physician Darshan Patel in the primary. He was favored to win in the run-up to the race, outspending Patel by more than $700,000. 

Vasquez is a former Las Cruces councilman. He also served as an aide to Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.). 

Herrell ran unopposed in the GOP primary. 

Herrell first won the district in 2020, when the lines were considered more favorable to the GOP. Since redistricting, however, the district has the potential to go either way.

The nonpartisan Cook Political Report rates the district as a “toss-up.” The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has named the district to its “Districts in Play” list. 

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