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Reform Movement
Concept of accountability
The importance of accountability
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As long as the American government has been democratic, there have always been corruption or loopholes with officials and the governed body. Those have created political consequences and an impact on the mistrust of the citizens of the United States’ representatives, which are the politicians. This has created political accountability that is how elected officials are held in charge of their own actions and repercussions of their actions. In order for America’s Democratic government have the ability to work lucratively, it is important that there is political accountability by government officials. This is the only way the government will be able to serve our country and act accordingly for our best interests. Political accountability has significantly …show more content…
Being the head of the Executive Branch, the president is still accountable for actions that he has taken, or from Congress’ doings in legislation. But most importantly, approval is an important mechanism within the Executive Branch from the Legislative. The President is able to appoint people for positions from ambassadors to Supreme Court Justices. But being able to appoint someone to a position does not mean that they totally get the position. To check the President’s accountability, Congress has to approve the president’s nomination, which they usually do. Yet, that does not limit Congress from disapproving of a nomination. In 2014, Debo Adegbile was President Obama’s nominee to head the Civil Rights Division in the Justice Department. He was well qualified and fit for the position, but once Congress rechecked Adegbile’s history it was shown that he should have originally been rejected because of his past work as a criminal defense attorney. This could have been something that was simply overlooked by the President, or he knew but did not care and did not think Congress would catch it and could have in fact hurt his Presidency if his nominee was approved; luckily Congress (Legislative Branch) was able to recheck his decision (Bianco and Canon 2015, 442). Accountability with the President and his rights to veto laws are known to have policy …show more content…
A reform that I would recommend to improve liability of the Executive Branch is to negate some reform from the Legislative Branch and give some of that power to the Judicial Branch to be able to check the President and/or the rest of the Executive Branch. As the overall overseer and the grand interpreter of the Constitution, I feel like it is the Federal Court’s right to be able to hold the Commander-in-Chief responsible for what he vetoes, who he appoints, and all of his other powers. Congress who needs to be checked every so often should not be able to reverse or resolve certain things to happen if they disagree with the President’s decision. That is like Congress being able to declare war although the President is opposed to it. To make matters worst for the President, and it can be detrimental to his entire Presidency if Congress is not the majority of his/her party. That is what happened in Former President Clinton and Bush’s case as legislation was attempting to be passed but could not because of the party difference. Another reform I would recommend to improve accountability is the Judicial Branch not really having reforms or anything major that check their accountability. Most justices nowadays are somewhat centered in their decision-making.
The President of the United States is instrumental in the running of the country. He serves as the chief executive, chief diplomat, commander in chief, chief legislator, chief of state, judicial powers, and head of party. Article II of the Constitution states that the President is responsible for the execution and enforcement of the laws created by Congress. He also is tasked with the authority to appoint fifteen leaders of the executive departments which will be a part of the President’s cabinet. He or she is also responsible for speaking with the leaders the CIA and other agencies that are not part of his cabinet because these agencies play a key role in the protection of the US. The President also appoints the heads of more than 50 independent
Corruption is a persistent problem that plagues the world and it knows no boundaries. Transparency International defines it as the “abuse of entrusted power for private gain” (2013). For the purposes of this thread, ‘corruption’ is defined as any individual, collective, or structural act or process that permits the use of public authority or position for private gain. This definition captures the broad and many ways individuals and institutions abuse power and the public trust. In regard to whistleblowing, much conflict stems from the context in which the whistleblower is viewed.
Mann and Norman J. Ornstein argue that the Legislative branch is the most broken branch of government. Congress was designed by the Framers of the Constitution of the United States to be an independent and powerful party. The Framers wanted the Legislative branch to represent the vast diversity of people of the United States, to deliberate on important issues and policies, and to check and balance the other branches. However, Congress’s role in the American Constitutional System differs from the part it was meant to play. The authors argue that Congress has failed to fill its responsibilities to the people of the United States because of the division of the Democratic and Republican parties, which leaves little room for compromise and negotiation. Members of Congress focus on their own needs and interests, and will travel to far lengths to prove that their political party is the most powerful. Congress has turned a blind eye to the needs of the American people. Congress cannot succeed in getting the United States back on track unless they start to follow the rules dictated by the Framers of the Constitution. A vast series of decisions made by Congress, driven by Congress’s disregard for institutional procedures, its tendency to focus on personal ethics, and the overpowering culture of corruption, led to Congress failing to implement important changes in the United States
A unified executive branch is the best-suit for promoting liability in government because it’s easier to blame one person than to differentiate fault among other members of a group
Political corruption is one of the significant themes in the novel “The House of the Scorpion.” Political corruption is the use of power by government officials for illegitimate private gain. Everyday political figures and governments who we rely on to protect us betray us. Whether it is by bribery,extortion, cronyism, nepotism, patronage, graft, embezzlement, criminal enterprise, drug trafficking, money laundering or human trafficking, political officials or governmental systems we look up to have dabbled in corruption here or there. However, the corrupted governments inside the novel do not differ from our everyday government such as: the American government because both governments inside and outside the novel prevent people from leaving the country, make illegal deals with people and corporations for favours and both have become a country in a state of regression.
Individual and political corruption has been a part of American democracy process for too long. The United States government needs to promote Thompson’s three principles to bring ethics back to the American system. If politicians were independent, fair, and accountable, then the legislative system would be more ethical.
It is obvious the president was not given enough power under the Constitution. This is in part because Article II of the Constitution was written in a short period of time with little thought. Many presidents have had to make unclear decisions with little information about the circumstance in the Constitution and the president is beginning to take over the government due to increasing implied powers. However the president’s power has recently proven that it has outgrown the constitution and is swiftly evolving. The Constitution gave the president broad but vague powers, including the authorization to appoint judges and other officials with the Senate’s consent, veto bills, lead the military as commander and chief and make sure “that the Laws be faithfully executed.” Many of these powers however are shared with the Legislative Branch, and cause conflict within the government.
The president has a significant amount of power; however, this power is not unlimited, as it is kept in check by both the judicial and legislative branches. The president is held responsible for passing legislation that will improve the lives of everyday Americans, even though he shares his legislative powers with Congress. The sharing of power acts as an impediment to the president’s ability to pass legislation quickly and in the form it was originally conceived. However, Americans do not take this into account when judging a president, as they fully expect him to fulfill all of the promises he makes during his campaign. By making promises to pass monumental legislation once elected without mentioning that Congress stands as an obstacle that must be hurdled first, the president creates unrealistic expectations of what he can fulfill during his time in office (Jenkins-Smith, Silva, and Waterman, 2005). A president is expected to have the characteristics that will allow him to efficiently and effectively lead the nation and to accomplish the goals he set during his campaign (Jenkins-Smith et al., 2005). There have been a handful of presidents that have been immortalized as the ideal person to lead the United States and if a president does not live up to these lofty expectations the American public will inevitably be disappointed. Since every president is expected to accomplish great things during his presidency, he is forced to created and project a favorable image through unrealistic promises. The combination of preconceived ideas of the perfect president and the various promises made by presidential candidates during their campaign create unrealistic expectations of the president by the American public.
The times have changed for the Executive Branch. In the past, the president simply acted as the Constitution's errand boy. He could only follow it, and had no freedom to actually do anything but follow it. Thus, the president’s role was not efficient. As time passed, this restraint grew weaker and weaker. People decided that the president’s responsibility is to represent and serve the people.The enumerated powers would hold the president back from representing the people’s wishes. With the use of vested powers, presidents gained the ability to fix many problems not relating to some of the Constitution’s laws. As this transition occured, modern presidency appeared. For the president now acts as the main figure of the government, and bears the responsibility of the nation himself.
When the constitution of the United States was formed, the framers specifically designed the American Government structure to have checks and balances and democracy. To avoid autocracy the President was give power to preside over the executive branch of the government and as commander –in –chief, in which a clause was put into place to give the president the power to appeal any sudden attacks against America, without waiting for a vote from congress. While the president presides over the executive branch there has been ongoing debate over the role of the president in regards to foreign policy. Should foreign policy issues be an executive function by the president or should congress play a much greater role? With the sluggishness of our democracy,
Political leaders of the United States were, at one time, thought of as crucial members of our society. Ideally, their main goal was to represent and satisfy the needs of the American people. Unfortunately, over the last fifty years, our trust in our administrative representatives has drastically declined. Beginning with the great conspiracy theory that President John F. Kennedy’s assassination in 1963 was actually planned by political leaders, America had, for the first time in history, begun to question its faith in its very own government. Consequently, the American people became extremely hesitant when it came to electing officials into office.
The executive branch has progressed overtime. “Early presidents relied on their cabinets to develop policy and submit it directly to congress” (Morone & Ehlke, 2013). Beginning with Franklin D. Roosevelt’s presidency the executive branch relied less on their cabinets and overlapped “advisors, committees, and programs” (2013). These loosely run roles have changed with President Obama’s presidency.
Many people argue that the legislative branch is run by few big interest groups because of their massive contributions against very small contributions from individuals. In a democratic society, power must be shared equally among its citizens, but is that the case in the United States? The answer is simply no, and by limiting their overall spending on elections, policymakers will listen and pay more attention to the public interest over the special interest. Also, by revealing the freeloaders’ names, people will have more knowledge of who is representing them and who has tended to benefit those who made contributions to their campaigns. Finally, prohibiting the spending on food, entertainment and gifts to legislative branch employee will also reduce the corruption in the legislative
Leaders are constantly making decisions that are based on their values and directly affect their constituents. Some of those decisions are insignificant, and only affect people in the short term. Some are bigger and determine the long-term fate of society; and others go even further as to determine who those leaders are as people and how they will leave society for future generations (Joseph, 2001). Socrates raised the question, “What is a virtuous man, and what is a virtuous society?” In observing the leadership that will ultimately decide the future for our society, I believe we must ponder the same question. If ethics is the basis of politics, as many people believe to be true, the two should be tied more closely together. Ethical concepts should have specific implications in politics. There are numerous political scandals seen in American history that exemplify the corruption of the government and emphasize the dire need for ethics in such leadership. Political leaders need to be an example for the rest of the country; therefore they should be held to a higher ethical standard than a regular citizen. Not only should they be held to a higher standard in the eyes of the common people, but the government should legally hold them to a higher standard as well. Punishment should be more severe for political leaders if they do anything unethical that directly affects the wellbeing of the people they rule over.
The power of the Executive branch has expanded over time to become the most authoritative division of government. In contrast to the Constitution’s fundamental designer, James Madison, who predicted the Legislative branch would dominate due to it’s power in making laws and regulating taxes/spending, the executive powers have proven to be superior and ever broadening. Since the birth of the Republic, the President has sought to protect his rights and seek beyond his restriction of power. Setting the precedent as early as 1795, George Washington refused to relay documents relating to the Jay Treaty to the House of Representatives and saw his actions as a justified act of “executive prerogative.” Moreover, weaving throughout the Nineteenth century, presidents such as Andrew Jackson and Abraham Lincoln conceived and added functions, such as the extensive use of the veto and the president’s direct and active role as Commander in Chief to their executive tool-belt.