tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5837660608809488753.post6718877042077439340..comments2024-03-28T20:53:49.167-04:00Comments on The Adventures of Roberta X: On Politics In GeneralRoberta Xhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09956807794520627885noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5837660608809488753.post-85896783277283072792021-01-29T12:47:48.332-05:002021-01-29T12:47:48.332-05:00Oh, Andrew Jackson and Theodore Roosevelt have ple...Oh, Andrew Jackson and Theodore Roosevelt have plenty to answer for along those lines, as well.<br /><br /> Many parts of the workings of our Federal government are made up as we go along; the Constitution, as amended, is silent in some areas and vague on others. The checks and balances that are supposed to steer a balance between autocracy and anarchy are not a Swiss watch -- more like a sawmill. Errors and corrections can be a bit awkward.Roberta Xhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09956807794520627885noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5837660608809488753.post-6602019897761571892021-01-29T11:49:56.878-05:002021-01-29T11:49:56.878-05:00I've long had a theory that Newt Gingrich saw ...I've long had a theory that Newt Gingrich saw an opening where if he pushed the norm a bit, he'd and up as a practical matter having almost prime-ministerial levels of power. He did end up with a remarkable level of power, and then squandered it on stuff like impeachment which wasn't nearly as popular with the general pubic as he thought it would be.<br /><br />As we've spent the last 12 years (not just 4) screaming 'there will be consequences for breaking that norm' at congress and the president, with others arguing that the other side did so first, I've started to see that when you trace back the tit-for-tat rule & norm changes one very often ends up looking at Clinton-era articles about Newt.<br /><br />Douglas2noreply@blogger.com