11-11-2016, 06:04 AM
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The U.S. has just seen a surprise presidential electionvictory by a candidate who banked his campaign on vilifying Muslims andundocumented immigrants and on promising to maintain the devalued legal statusof Black lives. Now that Democratic Party and media figures have been quick tomake cynical speeches about uniting the country and moving on, the nation'sprogressive movements should be ever more compelled not to lose sight of theConstitutional power that is still afforded to President Obama, the same manreturned to office by progressive votes four years ago.
I'm talking about the power of the pardon, the final executivebranch check on the legislative and judicial branches, which over the yearshave passed laws and interpreted them through a white-supremacist,capital-supremacist lens. According to Article 2 Section 2, it is constitutionallypossible for Obama to issue "reprieves and pardons" to all people, whether injail or not, facing charges or not, who up to this point in time may havecommitted a federal offense.
At the very least, Obama owes his electorate an immediateblanket pardon to all people accused or convicted of nonviolent federal drugoffenses, and--- to borrow an idea of Peter L. Markowitz published in the New York Times last July--- to allpeople who entered the United States other than through an official port ofentry. Over the next two months or so of his term, he ought to be spending thegreater chunk of every remaining day of his term on the task of reexamining thecases of all still remaining federal prisoners, probationers, and parolees whomight have had trials tainted by racial, religious, or other bias. (And let'snot forget those already released from federal supervision only to facechallenges getting jobs, housing, voting access.)
The President may need to appoint a commission to siftthrough more than a quarter of a million cases, but the final decision on anypardon has to come from Obama himself. Upon examination of each case he shoulddecide whether to issue a pardon in the interest of true justice. Many wouldargue that these would be very subjective judgment calls; nevertheless, theyare calls he was democratically elected to exercise.
Despite eight or more years of trying to figure out whatObama's personal opinions really are, we still don't know for sure that hisheart is in such an undertaking. The same man who for good reason is nicknamed the"Deporter-in-Chief" has also used executive power to shield immigrants, albeitonly narrow categories of immigrants and only temporarily. It will take anational movement of pressure to bear upon Obama; either to give him thecourage to act, or to politically force these steps on a legacy standpoint.
He will have no more excuses for not acting. With his timeon the clock running out, Congress can hardly punish him with impeachment atthis point. Likewise, there will be no incoming Democratic President or houseof Congress to receive political fallout from conservatives. There is noSupreme Court review. There is no Constitutional power for President Trump toannul a former president's pardons. He and the dual Republican Congress cannotpass a "Bill of Attainder" to re-arrest or arrest for the first time any of thepeople protected under pardon, and Trump and his supporters will only be ableto legally exact their vengeance on people who allegedly breach a federal law after the date of the pardon.
Can Obama and the Democratic Party get away with maintainingthe status quo when they literally have this particular power in their handsand absolutely nothing to lose? Unfortunately the answer is yes--- but only ifprogressives remain silent, say "well, we had a good run," and do nothing to advocatethis possible course of action that would improve, even save, the lives ofmillions.
Anyone infuriated that a candidate who panders a fascisticworldview was elected president should be pushing for an executive action whichvigorously repudiates the xenophobic philosophy that narrowly swept him in.Each person reading and agreeing with this idea should do their best to spread itfar and wide, via the media and sustained public actions. All politiciansconcerned about reelection or legacy must follow the will of the most organizedand loudest constituency on which they are or were dependent. Demand that Obamabegin issuing these pardons now.
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There Must Be a Waterfall of Pardons on the Way
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The U.S. has just seen a surprise presidential electionvictory by a candidate who banked his campaign on vilifying Muslims andundocumented immigrants and on promising to maintain the devalued legal statusof Black lives. Now that Democratic Party and media figures have been quick tomake cynical speeches about uniting the country and moving on, the nation'sprogressive movements should be ever more compelled not to lose sight of theConstitutional power that is still afforded to President Obama, the same manreturned to office by progressive votes four years ago.
![[Image: 3942978612_9d69a19bca.jpg]](https://farm3.static.flickr.com/2636/3942978612_9d69a19bca.jpg)
I'm talking about the power of the pardon, the final executivebranch check on the legislative and judicial branches, which over the yearshave passed laws and interpreted them through a white-supremacist,capital-supremacist lens. According to Article 2 Section 2, it is constitutionallypossible for Obama to issue "reprieves and pardons" to all people, whether injail or not, facing charges or not, who up to this point in time may havecommitted a federal offense.
At the very least, Obama owes his electorate an immediateblanket pardon to all people accused or convicted of nonviolent federal drugoffenses, and--- to borrow an idea of Peter L. Markowitz published in the New York Times last July--- to allpeople who entered the United States other than through an official port ofentry. Over the next two months or so of his term, he ought to be spending thegreater chunk of every remaining day of his term on the task of reexamining thecases of all still remaining federal prisoners, probationers, and parolees whomight have had trials tainted by racial, religious, or other bias. (And let'snot forget those already released from federal supervision only to facechallenges getting jobs, housing, voting access.)
The President may need to appoint a commission to siftthrough more than a quarter of a million cases, but the final decision on anypardon has to come from Obama himself. Upon examination of each case he shoulddecide whether to issue a pardon in the interest of true justice. Many wouldargue that these would be very subjective judgment calls; nevertheless, theyare calls he was democratically elected to exercise.
Despite eight or more years of trying to figure out whatObama's personal opinions really are, we still don't know for sure that hisheart is in such an undertaking. The same man who for good reason is nicknamed the"Deporter-in-Chief" has also used executive power to shield immigrants, albeitonly narrow categories of immigrants and only temporarily. It will take anational movement of pressure to bear upon Obama; either to give him thecourage to act, or to politically force these steps on a legacy standpoint.
He will have no more excuses for not acting. With his timeon the clock running out, Congress can hardly punish him with impeachment atthis point. Likewise, there will be no incoming Democratic President or houseof Congress to receive political fallout from conservatives. There is noSupreme Court review. There is no Constitutional power for President Trump toannul a former president's pardons. He and the dual Republican Congress cannotpass a "Bill of Attainder" to re-arrest or arrest for the first time any of thepeople protected under pardon, and Trump and his supporters will only be ableto legally exact their vengeance on people who allegedly breach a federal law after the date of the pardon.
Can Obama and the Democratic Party get away with maintainingthe status quo when they literally have this particular power in their handsand absolutely nothing to lose? Unfortunately the answer is yes--- but only ifprogressives remain silent, say "well, we had a good run," and do nothing to advocatethis possible course of action that would improve, even save, the lives ofmillions.
Anyone infuriated that a candidate who panders a fascisticworldview was elected president should be pushing for an executive action whichvigorously repudiates the xenophobic philosophy that narrowly swept him in.Each person reading and agreeing with this idea should do their best to spread itfar and wide, via the media and sustained public actions. All politiciansconcerned about reelection or legacy must follow the will of the most organizedand loudest constituency on which they are or were dependent. Demand that Obamabegin issuing these pardons now.
"Let me issue and control a nation's money and I care not who writes the laws. - Mayer Rothschild
"Civil disobedience is not our problem. Our problem is civil obedience! People are obedient in the face of poverty, starvation, stupidity, war, and cruelty. Our problem is that grand thieves are running the country. That's our problem!" - Howard Zinn
"If there is no struggle there is no progress. Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and never will" - Frederick Douglass
"Civil disobedience is not our problem. Our problem is civil obedience! People are obedient in the face of poverty, starvation, stupidity, war, and cruelty. Our problem is that grand thieves are running the country. That's our problem!" - Howard Zinn
"If there is no struggle there is no progress. Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and never will" - Frederick Douglass