Constitution resurgent
An unexpected byproduct of a surprise Trump presidency is a resurgence of focus on the Constitution by those who oppose Trump, which oddly places liberals in some agreement with conservatives. Conservatives have been championing separation of powers and constitutional limitations for years. Now, liberals appear to have a newfound respect for the supreme law of our country.
The focus of the present constitutional attack by liberals is the same as the former constitutional attack by conservatives: the overuse of presidential executive orders. Constitutionally, there is a place for such orders, but President Obama used congressional inaction as a justification for the overuse of such orders unsupported by the Constitution. Conservatives decried such overuse as unconstitutional.
Liberals decry President Trump’s use of executive orders, to both undo Obama’s autocratic orders and to enforce the border security of our nation. While Trump has a constitutional right to use executive orders and most certainly may control immigration, the perception of running a country by executive order should be avoided. When there is legislative authority for such orders it would be wise to state the same.
This focus on the Constitution, with unfortunate misunderstanding of the same, cries out for a refocus of teaching government and the Constitution at both the junior high and high school levels. We need to make the Constitution a priority in our schools.
— Ed Leonard, Dana Point
Climate change debate
Re: “With Trump’s election, America rejects job-killing climate change agenda” and “To solve climate change, the passengers must now fly the plane” [Opinion, Feb. 2]: Congratulations on publishing two sides of the climate debate together, where your readers can compare them.
The comparison, however, is unfair: Mark Reynolds is so positive, and Kerry Jackson is so negative.
Mark tells us about a double-barreled plan that revives our economy and conserves fuel reserves, and which shows that our two parties don’t always bicker; they have in fact been cooperating on the plan.
Kerry Jackson solves the climate problem by denying it exists, and spends his time lamenting our social progress. It is good to have pro and con both at once. Do it again, but even better.
— Allan Beek, Newport Beach
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