Trump Litmus Test

The popular loyalty to Trump tested the limits of wishes for representative government

The people’s relationship to former President Trump served as a litmus test to the American people’s fidelity to the constitution -- one that revealed a fault line in our system of representative government.

The problem is this.

The American people -- through perhaps no fault of their own -- love presidents more than their representatives, and hence love the makings of monarchy more than our constitutional republic.

Consider what Hamilton argued was the essential relation members of the House of Representatives would have with their constituents.

Hamilton says “ it is essential to liberty that the government in general should have a common interest with the people, so it is particularly essential that the branch of it under consideration [ i.e. the House of Representatives] should have an immediate dependence on, and an intimate sympathy with, the people.”

Thus in Hamilton’s mind people are clearly supposed to feel a strong connection to their representatives and not their presidents.

Hamilton further reveals the severity of this real republican problem when he’s discussing the creation of the US House of Representatives and says that “the third charge against the House of Representatives is, that it will be taken from that class of citizens which will have least sympathy with the mass of the people, and be most likely to aim at an ambitious sacrifice of the many to the aggrandizement of the few.”

Thus Hamilton was deeply concerned with what many believe Congress is doing now -- sacrificing the well being of taxpayers for enrichment of the few.

But Hamliton’s fears were based on the fact that without sympathetic members of the House that representative government would not be perceived as legitimate -- which is exactly as many on both sides of the aisle view Congress today.  And Hamilton feared a perceived lack of legitimacy would create an inferior form of government like aristocracy, monarchy, or democracy.

This is why Hamilton was concerned with creating extra layers of political protection from overly ambitious presidents.  And this is why Hamilton not only believed that members of the US would be deeply connected to the wishes and opinions of their constituents, but that members of state legislatures would shield citizens’ rights from the encroachments of the federal governments.

Hence Hamilton states

State legislatures, who will always be not only vigilant but suspicious and jealous guardians of the rights of the citizens against encroachments from the federal government, will constantly have their attention awake to the conduct of the national rulers, and will be ready enough, if any thing improper appears, to sound the alarm to the people, and not only to be the VOICE, but, if necessary, the ARM of their discontent.

Thus for Hamilton the people would have double protection in both the US House and in the state legislatures from presidents and their potential for tyranny.  Today we’ve forgotten this fact -- and what it means to be a republic.  Instead scholars who know better celebrate this intentional demise of our republic as they profit off of people’s ignorance and plunder what’s left.

Zigmund Reichenbach holds a M.A. in Philosophy from West Chester University.  You can find him commenting on news stories of national and state interest at his Facebook page Zigmund Reichenbach -- Commentator or you can follow him on Twitter @zreichenbach1.  Additionally you can find episodes of the weekly Sunday podcast (4PM) that airs via Youtube, Facebook, and Twitter at this link here. 

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