Politics and the upcoming Presidency

It’s a presidential election year and that means we are inundated with political ads.

One of the trademark statements of these ads is the line “I’m [xyz candidate] and I approve this message.” This line notifies us, the general public, that a candidate is on board with sharing this information, however straightforward or skewed it might be. If the ad doesn’t contain that line, it’s from a third party group.

The last few days I’ve heard an ad running on several different radio stations. This particular ad is irritating to me because it intentionally misconstrues the functions of the Executive Branch of our government. The ad is being run by a group called “Obama for President” and is not approved by Senator Obama.

Before discussing how the ad misrepresents the government, let’s have a short review of American Government from High School Social Studies. (For those who want more than my 3 sentence summary, click here.)

There are three branches of the U.S. Federal Government: Executive, Judicial, and Legislative.

Executive Branch: The President and functions that the president oversees.

Judicial Branch: The Federal Court System, including the Supreme Court.

Legislative Branch: Congress, comprised of both the House of Representatives and the Senate.

So, this ad states that if Senator McCain is elected as President (Executive Branch) that he will pass a law that makes abortion illegal and women will suddenly no longer have the “right to choose”. Therefore, the ad purports, Senator McCain is incredibly out of touch with today’s American woman. The ad further states that, if elected, Senator McCain would overturn Roe v. Wade.

Now, whether Senator McCain or Senator Obama or someone else is elected, the President cannot pass a law to do anything. That is the function of the Legislative Branch.

Certainly, a president might ask his/her supporters in the Legislature to introduce legislation but actually doing so is at the discretion of the Representative and/or Senator. So, the deal really is that no matter who gets elected, we the people still have the obligation to contact and influence our representatives to have legislation passed.

And certainly the President has the power to veto or approve a bill that passes both houses of Congress. But if the president veto’s a bill, Congress has the power to override his veto.

As far as overturning Roe v. Wade, the President cannot do that either. Roe v. Wade was a landmark case heard in the Supreme Court (Judicial Branch) that set a precedent (not a law) and has brought a lot of discussion, legislation, etc to this highly polarizing subject over the course of many decades.

The President certainly recommends/nominates judges for the Federal Courts and, especially, justices for the Supreme Court. It is in the choice for these nominees that the President may try to have some influence on the outcome of future cases by choosing nominees known or thought to have a particular moral or political stance in some areas. However, in order for an nominee to actually be appointed, the appointment must be approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee (the Legislative Branch). So, again, if you are concerned about a judicial appointment, you have a responsibility as a citizen of America to contact Senators on said Committee and voice your opinion, have some influence.

Either way, no President can pass the kind of laws this ad purports because the founding Fathers of our Country set the branches of government up with the ability to check the functions of other branches. Be careful during this emotionally charged political season to evaluate the information you hear for not only it’s truth but also for whether the actions implied or stated can happen.

And, this year and every year, be sure you are exercising your rights and responsibilities as a citizen of a representative democracy.