I am not so quick to dismiss the president’s power to regulate the re-opening of state businesses. While the federal government lacks a police force, they do control the purse strings for billions in federal finding that can be conditioned on state’s reopening. Additionally, the federal government has wide latitude over interstate businesses and facilities that cross lines.
If Congress adopts a law, the federal government can clearly say an interstate accommodation must be allowed to operate. That’s pretty clear with the Heart of Atlanta Supreme Court case. Congress can also tie Medicaid or Highway funding to states allowing businesses being reopened.
While the Impoundment Control Act of 1974 would clearly prohibit most appropriated funding to the states from being impounded by by the President other funding is discretionary and the President and his administrative agencies could set out clear guidelines to ensure state compliance before the discretionary funding is released. Some of that would push up against the Impoundment Control Act but the state might reopen on its own before winding through the courts.
The Electoral College is one of the accidental oddities of our political system, created in a different time with different laws and concepts of civil society. Back when our founding fathers were more skeptical of democratic power, where they wanted to give state-elected officials the ability to choose the chief executive — the president — rather then the voters. Since then, all states have adopted laws that allow citizens in their states to cast a vote to choose the state’s electors, although that’s not explicitly required in the constitution.
The US Constitution could be changed either by one of ways — the legal process set out by requiring adoption of a majority of both houses of Congress along with 2/3rds of the states — but that would give veto power to 1/3rd plus one of the states. Many rural and smaller states would likely loose power under direct-elections, assuming they aren’t swing area. They would reject the amendment, it would be bound to fail. The other-way would be extra-legal — Congress with adequate public support could declare the US Constitution null and void, an enact any law they please. Indeed, they did with that the Articles of Confederation — they didn’t repeal it in a lawful manner, Congress just replaced it. But it seems unlikely the public would support such a power grab, and institutions such as the courts would halt such an action.
The truth is neither way of repealing the Electoral College is unlikely. But I think people are wrong in thinking that the repeal would mean cities get all the attention by Presidential Elections. I think in contrast, the areas of interest to candidates would be the marginal areas, namely the suburbs and other very competitive areas. Cities are going to go overwhelmingly Democratic, while rural areas would go Republican. The battleground would be the exurbs and outer suburbs, and other areas that are competitive. Cities might get little more attention then they do now. And it’s not clear that battlegrounds would change that much — maybe Westchester County or Long Island might get a visit or two more by leading presidential candidates — but it hardly would be the change that proponents of repealing the electorial college would expect.
Franco's Spanish nationalism promoted a unitary national identity by repressing Spain's cultural diversity. Bullfighting and flamenco[146] were promoted as national traditions while those traditions not considered "Spanish" were suppressed. Franco's view of Spanish tradition was somewhat artificial and arbitrary: while some regional traditions were suppressed, Flamenco, an Andalusian tradition, was considered part of a larg
I am disappointed to hear that the president will propose weakening NEPA today. 🌎
The National Environmental Policy Act is an important environmental law that helps the government review new rules and regulations relating to the use of public land and public resources like the air we breathe and the water we drink. Especially with so many large scale renewable energy projects being proposed and other climate mitigations underway its essential that government policies be carefully reviewed before moving forward and environmental mitigations be implemented to minimize environmental impacts before moving forward.
While undoubtedly NEPA delays and adds costs to large scale projects, mitigating environmental impacts can avoid problems down the road and make our communities a better place to live and work in. Things are changing fast with the climate crisis already underway but caution is needed to avoid further harm and damage.
Many advocates for women's rights are watching Virginia closely, as the state's legislature goes into session Wednesday. That's because the Equal Rights Amendment has a good chance of being ratified by Virginia lawmakers.
The ERA nearly passed there last year. The then-Republican-controlled Senate approved the amendment with solid Democratic support, and it was one vote shy of getting a floor vote in the Republican-led House after that. November's elections then swept Democrats into control of both the House and Senate.
If lawmakers pass the ERA this session, Virginia would become the 38th state to ratify it, and an amendment needs 38 states to be fully ratified and added to the U.S. Constitution.
However, it's not clear what would happen after that. Here's what the ERA would do and why its future is so murky.