It’s a cliché to assert that our nation is “at a crossroads,” as we are always at a crossroads in some way. Nevertheless, it is fool hardy to assume that just because the nation has got through crises before that we need not be vigilant. The nation currently is so divided that factions cannot even agree on common facts. Especially troubling, the very norms on which survival of democracy depend are cast aside.

Optimists assure us that the system is protected by checks and balances imbedded in our constitution. In contrast, realists see checks and balances and democratic norms systematically eroded, becoming nonfunctional.

For head of the executive branch of government, America’s founders deliberately selected the term, “president,” meaning “one who presides,” as opposed to “one who rules.” 

The legislative and judicial branches of government were intended to ensure that the “one who presides” does not become the “one who rules.” It was/is assumed that the human quest for power would ensure that a legislative body, jealous of its own power, would exercise those checks and balances. And it was assumed that an independent judiciary would successfully check the other branches of government, even as the power of presidential appointment, and advice and consent of the senate, would moderate the judiciary.

The effectiveness of these checks and balances depends on the willingness of those with power to exercise it. The founders did not envision a congress that, for whatever reason, would fear a president so powerful that he could threaten their re-election should they make him unhappy. But this is exactly what is happening today. Republican congressmen who oppose Trump’s tactics remain silent, their spinelessness easily explained by fear of Trump’s support of a congressman’s primary opponent during the 2018 elections.

The effectiveness of the judiciary depends on its independence. But the president is stacking the court system with the willing assistance of the congress. During the 1930s, FDR attempted to stack the Supreme Court, but was thwarted by congressional Democrats, by his own party. In contrast, today’s Republicans are aiding President Trump in stacking the entire federal judiciary.

A further check on the system is the professional career civil service, including the CIA and the FBI. These career employees serve regardless of party in power, thereby acting as a stabilizing force. Under President Trump, with the aid of congressional Republicans, federal employees responsible for the day-to-day operation of the government are denigrated as “the deep state,” an “enemy” that must be vanquished.

 It is not only checks and balances imbedded in the constitution upon which a functional democracy depends. It is impossible to provide for all contingencies in such a document. There are numerous unwritten norms, not stipulated in law, but generally followed.

As societal values change over time, sometimes these norms should, and must, be broken. An example is, when in 1901, President Theodore Roosevelt invited Booker T. Washington to the White House for dinner. African Americans had been to the White House before, but not for dinner. The outrage was so immediate and vicious that the White House’s initial response was denial.  But the norm was broken, as it should have been.

Many unwritten norms are essential for the functioning of democracy and peaceful transfer of power. One such norm is accepting the legitimacy of elections. Prior to the election, Donald Trump insisted that the system was rigged against him. Although he won the Electoral College, he did not win the majority of votes. He responded by insisting that there were millions of fraudulent votes, and but not for those, he would have attained the majority. There is absolutely no evidence that there was any significant number of fraudulent votes.

Another norm is that presidents refrain from criticizing their predecessors. As much as they differed on policies, George W. Bush refrained from criticizing Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama refrained from criticizing W. Trump broke that norm by accusing Obama of wiretapping and conspiring against him.  Normal presidential behavior would be to cite differences in policy while recognizing that his predecessor, however “wrong,” had the best interests of the country at heart. Instead, Trump goes out of his way to criticize Obama at every turn.

It is within presidential political norms, however much one disagrees with their policies, to respect the legitimacy of opponents. Donald Trump began by asserting that Barack Obama was a Kenyan and a Muslim, implying that he was not a legitimate president. Contrast this with candidate John McCain assuring one of his doubtful supporters that Obama was a good American.

Trump continues to label Hillary Clinton as “Crooked Hillary,” urging that she should continue to be investigated, and deserves to be locked up. Imprisoning political opponent is normal in a banana republic, but even a hint of such behavior should not be tolerated in a true democracy.

Although existing laws prohibit presidents from appointing family members to cabinet positions, it does not include White House staff positions. Appointing son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and daughter, Ivanka, to high-level posts is not illegal, but violates norms.

The same goes for a president making public his tax returns. It is normally done, but Trump infamously avoids this norm.

The law requires that government officials — yes, including the president — recuse themselves from decisions affecting their personal economic interests. Normal practice has been for presidents to divest themselves of their interests to avoid even the appearance of wrongdoing. Not only has Trump not done this, he continues to profit handsomely from his private holdings. Laws governing such practice are either lax, or not enforced.

It is normal for presidents to become irritated with the free press. However nettlesome to politicians, it is the responsibility of the free press to question them. It is not only not normal, but dangerous to democracy, to declare the free press as “the enemy.”

Next week: More alarming signs in the wind.

— John Waelti of Monroe, a retired professor of economics, can be reached at jjwaelti1@tds.net. His column appears Saturdays in the Monroe Times.