Liberal outlets are still trying their best to attack President Trump on issues that make no sense whatsoever.
The latest farce is Trump’s pardoning of former Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio — an outspoken critic of liberal immigration policies who fought bravely in the spotlight to reduce the impact of so-called “sanctuary cities” that allow undocumented immigrants could freely enter and live in within the United States.
Arpaio was charged with knowingly defying a court order. Using his authority in Arizona to actually detain and question people who were potentially illegal is apparently not within the scope of law enforcement, liberals might have you believe. There was at least one court with a judge who agreed, and they convicted Arpaio in an attempt to clip his wings. He did not go down easily, of course, because he continued to do his job until he was ousted. He originally faced a sentence of up to six months in jail; he ended up serving no time behind bars.
Even the most liberal of publications stops short of saying that Trump’s pardon was illegal. The law grants the Office of the President incredibly wide range in granting pardons. To say that Trump was shirking the law would do nothing but bring scrutiny upon the publication.
Trump used his ability to pardon, as given to him by the Constitution, to keep the federal judge from enforcing a ruling that is bound by the Constitution. Even law professors at Harvard claim not to see the stream of logic given to us by our founding fathers at work here. The best that Professor Noah Feldman could come up with was that Trump’s move showed contempt for the Constitution. That might be true if the power to pardon was not placed in the Constitution.
Liberal publications are calling the pardon an act of “defiance” while refusing to define what is being defied. President Trump has been no stranger to controversy in his public relationship with federal judges. However, the Founding Fathers seemed to have predicted and even encouraged this type of back and forth between the branches of government. Let’s take it back to junior high civics class, people – it’s called checks and balances.
No branch of government can be defiant against another. They are expected to argue and disagree with each other. The three branches of government are empowered with reach that can be checked by the other two. The only act of defiance against any branch of government would be the complete dismissal of that branch by another. Trump hardly did this. There have been many other opponents of sanctuary cities that have not received pardons or even a second look. Mr. Arpaio likely received the attention of the president because of the undue influence that the unofficial “fourth branch of government” (media) exercised in the crucifixion of the former sheriff.
It is true that most presidents wait until the final days of their administrations to exercise the pardoning power. What does this say about the presidents before Donald Trump? Does the most powerful man in the world need to wait for politics before innocent people can return to their lives? How does this approach bring any sort of honor to the position? It seems like more of a sniveling, sneaky way to give favors to friends on the way out the door, completely avoiding scrutiny. This does not fit Trump’s personality in the least.
President Trump pardoned Mr. Arpaio even before midterm elections. The Republican Party could be hurt from his decision. This is not a bad thing; it is a call to arms. It is a call to stop being so PC. It is a call to stop sniveling and to stand up for what you believe in, regardless of the political consequences.
What President Trump is trying to teach us actually flies in the face of every traditional political line of thinking.
Republicans shouldn’t sacrifice the work and honor of a good man for the sake of the midterms or the presidency. This strategy has not worked in the past, nor will it work in the future. Do what you can do when you have the power. People will respect you more for it. The Arpaio pardon will bring more conservatives to the polls during the mid terms, not less. It is a victory from every angle.
~ Liberty Planet
