We Live in a Republic

Public service announcement: we live in a republic. That means (specifically): (A) we elect individuals to represent us; (B) those individuals exercise power within the framework of a constitution; and (C) power is separated between branches of government. 

Our specific form of government has been around fewer than 250 years. The principle no person is above the law fewer than 1000. Experiments in self-government fewer than 10,000. It took humans hundreds of thousands of years just to live in large groups. 

Self-government is a revolutionary idea and the long-term survival of a representative democracy is an astonishing human achievement. Representative democracy cannot survive without (A) free and fair elections, and (B) protection under the rule of law. 

The free expression of citizens in the form of voting provides the basis for the authority and legitimacy of government. Fair elections resolve power competitions that may otherwise be resolved through violence. They are “the vehicle through which the people of a country freely express their will, on a basis established by law, as to who shall have the legitimacy to govern in their name.” 

For people of a republic, the integrity of an election process is a precious possession. Einstein once said, “All our science, measured against reality, is primitive and childlike - and yet it is the most precious thing we have.” Same goes for our imperfect election process. 

Any attempt to undermine the credibility or legitimacy of an election by any citizen, much less the President of the United States, is a threat to the republic. 

The president was obligated to protect elections when he stated, "I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States." 

This brings to mind a footnote of history … and a personal reflection about the oath of office and what it means. 

A few years into the Iran Contra scandal, Congress directed the Department of the Navy to add a course to Navy and Marine Corps officer training programs. Several congressional committees had just received the testimony of a Naval Academy graduate named Oliver North. 

Congress wanted the course to accomplish three goals. Goal 1, graduate midshipmen who are able to exercise authority decisively within the framework of the U.S. Constitution, American values, and the rule of law.

Goal 2, graduate midshipmen ready to take the commissioning oath with full awareness of its significance. And Goal 3, graduate midshipmen capable of recognizing the importance of subordinating political self-interest to the common objectives of the American government. 

To accomplish those goals, the Naval Academy added FP130, American Government and Constitutional Development, to the required academic curriculum. I took that course as a midshipman and I taught it to midshipmen ten years later. 

I’ve served in the Navy and as a civilian political appointee (twice, once in a Democratic administration and once in a Republican Administration). We expect military personnel and public servants to live up to their oath. We should expect the president to do the same. 

The essence of public service – and the essence of preparing for public service – is to learn the difference between principle and self-interest, and to stand on principle over self-interest when necessary. 

DoD Memo: “Never forget, our willingness to take the Oath of Office and to accept the associated responsibilities means that even citizens who have never met us trust us to do the right thing, never abusing our position nor looking the other way when we see something wrong.” 

In ways large and small, public and not public, with and without the powers of his office, the president is undermining the credibility and legitimacy of an election in which he is the incumbent candidate. He's doing so in part to prove there is a conspiracy against him. 

The president’s conduct is (A) illegal on its face, (B) a direct violation of a bedrock tenet of representative democracy; and (C) an impeachable offense that warrants his removal from office in order to protect our country’s ability to conduct free and fair elections.