Ep. 150: Congress & The Constitution: The Leadership

Can you name the President?  We hope yes!  Can you name your state’s governor?  More than likely yes.  But can you name your mayor and city council members?  While the issues nationally get the most attention, your local government’s actions impact your day-to-day life more.  Issues like your water supply, trash pickup, sewage, and police and fire departments are all controlled by local entities.  Some mayors aren’t paid a salary at all but one defining feature of mayors is they come directly out of the community in which they are serving.  They are your friend and neighbor.  To help us better grasp the importance of local officials, we are delighted to welcome Andrew Wambsganss, former mayor of Southlake, TX., to our podcast as we discuss the duties and responsibilities of local government officials, and why he says you can have the most impact by local government participation. 

Regular listeners will certainly recognize this famous phrase from the Declaration of Independence: “That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”  As the governed who give consent to the government, we have several mechanisms through which we can give that consent and voice approval or disapproval with an elected official.  Perhaps the most direct mechanism is through a town hall discussion.  A town hall is simply a public meeting between an elected official and their constituents where a number of topics pertaining to upcoming or past legislation can be discussed.  To help us better understand all things related to a town hall, we are delighted to have two guests joining our student panel.  Rochelle Porto is a longtime Pennsylvania activist who regularly participates in town halls in her state and Rep. Lynn Stucky has represented parts of North Texas in the Texas Legislature since 2017.

At Constituting America, we love to talk about federalism.  Federalism is a founding principle that government authority is best when one central government does not have all authority, but it is divvied up between local, state and national government.  Have you ever thought about why we have this system and what its virtues are?  In a large country with varied geographical interests, why does this system work?  Should those closest to a problem be the ones to solve that problem, and what are the benefits of this principle of subsidiarity? To help us further grasp the virtues of federalism, we are delighted to welcome Brenda Hafera, Assistant Director and Senior Policy Analyst for the Simon Center for American Studies at The Heritage Foundation, for this engaging discussion.

We have a military.  We have a militia.  When it comes to protecting our citizens, both play a role.  The same militia mentioned in the second amendment is actually defined in 10 U.S. Code § 246 as able-bodied men over 17 and under 45 years old, who are or intend to become US citizens and female citizens who are members of the National Guard.  What precisely are the differences in roles of the organized and unorganized militia compared to the military?  Under what circumstances is a militia’s Commander in Chief the President or a state’s governor?  When can the military and militia be deployed and what are the limits placed on them such as “posse comitatus?”  To help our student panel answer these questions, we are delighted to welcome back longtime friend of Constituting America, Andrew Langer.  Andrew is an author, speaker, writer, frequent guest on both radio and TV programs and the President of the Institute for Liberty.

One of the biggest events in the news lately has been the situation at our southern border and illegal immigration.  Texas, due to its lengthy border with Mexico, is front and center in this discussion that involves the role both state and federal governments play in immigration.  While the U.S. Constitution says Congress has the authority to write immigration-related laws and the executive branch has the authority to implement these laws, what can a state do if the laws are not carried out?  Joining our all-star student panel to answer this, we are pleased to welcome Lora Ries, Director of the Border Security and Immigration Center at The Heritage Foundation.

Since World War II, the United States, as the world’s lone superpower, has promoted democracy around the world with a focus on the longevity of the nation-state.  After all, a nation-state that is whole and free, holds free and frequent elections and is representative of its people will tend to have greater stability, less war, more prosperity and greater trade opportunities.  But as our guest discusses, lately we are seeing a greater build-up of multi-lateral and regional organizations to replace the nation-state. How can the US foster a greater reliance on the nation-state as the core unit of analysis? How can we promote relationships between nation-states, instead of regional bureaucracies, for more prosperity? Joining our student panel, we are thrilled to welcome Dr. Kiron Skinner, Taube Professor of International Relations and Politics at the Pepperdine School of Public Policy.

Think about the environment under which our Constitution was drafted.  Our new nation had just waged and won a war for independence and was surrounded on all sides with hostility: the British in the north and their navy out to sea, the Spanish empire to the south, British and French ships patrolling the Caribbean and sometimes hostile Native American tribes to the west.  Our Founders knew war was necessary but also had a healthy wariness about where the power to wage it should reside.  The Founders questioned if war powers could lead to tyranny and questioned the effect of standing armies. Thus, Article 1, Section 8, Clause 11 gives this power to Congress and not the President.  Joining our student panel to help us further understand why, we are pleased to welcome Reid Smith, vice president of foreign policy at Stand Together where he serves as an expert of constitutional war powers and foreign policy.

In 1948, the United States under President Truman became the first country to recognize the existence of Israel.  Since then, the two nations have been staunch allies.  This alliance is certainly being put to the test with the latest round of fighting between the state of Israel and Hamas, the Islamic group which controls Gaza. What is the legal process for the US to provide aid to Israel?  What is the dual role Congress and the President play in helping our ally?  To help us answer these questions and more, we are delighted to welcome Lt. General (Ret.) Keith Kellogg.  General Kellogg is a retired three-star Army General and was a national security advisor to the Vice President. We are grateful he is sharing his unique expertise with our student panel.

Seemingly, the United States has been engaged in some armed conflict somewhere in the world for most of our lives.  However, the United States has not had a formal declaration of war since World War II.  How exactly does that happen?  From what authority does the Congress and President engage in war or armed conflict?  What is a Congressional Authorization for Use of Military Force and what are its limitations?  How does all of this relate to the almost 2 year long conflict in Ukraine today?  To help us answer all of these worthwhile questions with our all-star student panel, we are delighted to welcome Jamil Jaffer, Founder and Executive Director of the National Security Institute at the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University, for this discussion on war powers.

We are wrapping up our series on the Bill of Rights with this special episode on the 10th Amendment.  In just 28 words, it grants tremendous powers not to the federal government but to the states.  How so?  Regular viewers of our chats know Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution grants 17 specific powers to Congress.  That’s it.  The 10th Amendment says any powers not granted by the Constitution to the federal government are under the purview of the states or the people.  The Founders did this because they were wary of a strong central government, having just fought a war against a strong central government in King George III.  To help us unpack the ramifications and importance of the 10th Amendment, along with our all-star student panel we are delighted to welcome the 71st Governor of Virginia, The Honorable Robert F. “Bob” McDonnell as our special guest to discuss this special amendment.