Politics of the United States/old
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Politics in the United States take place under the framework of a constitutional presidential federal, republican supranational union, whereby Majority rule is tempered by Minority rights, and the powers of Government are divided between two Orders: General and State; and within each Order of Government, the powers of government are further separated into three departments, namely the legislative, executive, and judicial. No one department may exercise any of the powers properly belonging to any of the other two; and, likewise, neither Order of Government may exercise any of the powers belonging to the other.
The United States, as a compound (federal) state, are considered to constitute both a supranational Federal union of eighteen free, sovereign, independent, and separate States in a nearly unlimited scope, and a single (albeit highly decentralized) republic within the scope of very limited and expressly defined aspects. In the United States, the rights and freedoms guaranteed and the liberties reserved to and by the People of the several States are expansive and in some cases without limit: that which is not expressly prohibited by Law is entirely permitted —there is neither place nor room in the legal jargon of any one of the United States (or any of them) for the terms "legal loophole" or "legal technicality"— and all Laws of an ex post facto nature are explicitly forbidden and may never be enforced or construed as having force anywhere in the United States or in any of them.
Law[edit | edit source]
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Federalism[edit | edit source]
Federalism in the United States is best explained as a fusion of intergovernmentalism and modern Federalism, where the several member States pool their sovereignty together for specific purposes on which they seek uniformity (see Enumerated Powers Clause); on all other matters each member State remains independent and fully Sovereign. This is different from the notion of Federal sovereignty and even Dual Federalism, as, in the case of the United States, the Government of the United States (the Federal-level government of the United States) is not sovereign nor is it an equal to the governments of the respective States; however, although the United States Government depends on the State governments for defining its mandate and general agenda, it does possess international legal personality alongside the respective member States.
The United States are known for their collaborative brand of federalism, where the General government and the States work together in a generally non-coercive manner to carry out the common good.
Treaties and the federal division of power[edit | edit source]
As per the decision in Ontario v. United States (100 U.S. 1536) and subsequently entrenched in North Aegean common law (and the common law of all six successor states to the former USA), "the stipulations of a treaty duly ratified do not, ipso facto, have the force of law," and that, in Federal States, "where legislative authority is […] divided up between different legislatures in accordance with the classes of subject matter submitted for legislation … [t]he obligations imposed by" a "treaty may have to be performed, if at all, by several legislatures … depend[ing] on the authority of the competent legislature or legislatures."
This means that, while the General government signs and ratifies treaties under its jurisdiction, actually implementing and enforcing them domestically means enacting the appropriate enabling legislation through whatever legislature has jurisdiction over the class or classes of subject matter embraced in the treaty. For example, for a treaty relating to education (a State competence as per the Reserved Powers Clause), the Legislatures of the respective States have exclusive jurisdiction within the borders thereof, respectively, to perform the obligations of that treaty; and for a treaty that embraces a solely-General competence as per the Express Powers Clause, such as the postal system, only the Congress can perform the obligations of that treaty.
However, when a treaty contains a mixture of General and State competences, then of the treaty the Congress performs the obligations thereof for (and only for) those classes of subjects falling under the competence of the Confederacy, and the several State Legislatures perform the obligations of the aforementioned treaty for those (and only those) classes of subjects falling under the competence of the States.
In addition, "[i]nsofar as the States have power to legislate, they may make Treaties with one another and, with the Consent of the Senate, with foreign States" (Const. U.S., Article IV, section 1, clause ??).
Subsidiarity and police power[edit | edit source]
As mandated by the Constitution for the United States, the principle of subsidiarity is to be strictly obeyed by all levels of government throughout the Confederacy. Subsidiarity is a principle that stresses that governmental policy and action should be undertaken at the level closest to the citizen whenever practical. For example, under this principle, when it comes to developing zoning law, it would be inappropriate for any level of government but municipal (e.g., city, town, county) to undertake that project. Likewise, in a decentralized federation or confederation, it would be inappropriate for any government except that of the member State to enact the criminal code. Only when a specific level of government cannot undertake on its own a specific program or policy should the next-lowest level of government act on the same subject matter; however, due to the strict division of legislative competence between the General and State governments, when a single State alone may have difficulties undertaking a specific program or policy, that policy or program cannot be undertaken by the General government, but by the affected States themselves through the use of their power to make Treaties that embrace any of their reserved powers.
In the United States, the police Power is the sole and exclusive domain of the States, and as a result each of them are, on penalty of sanctions, responsible for enforcing Federal laws within their respective borders. In addition, Federal laws also have direct applicability in State Courts. As authorized the the Constitution, States that willfully and deliberately refuses to take care that the Laws of the United States are carred out may lose Federal funding, and, in case of especially grave recalcitrance, may have their voting representation in the House of Representatives reduced, until such time as compliance is restored. However, under the premise that an unconstitutional Federal law is not law, the States are required by the Constitution to ensure that no unconstitutional Federal law is enforced by any of their respective Courts, and to punish persons enforcing or attempting to enforce any unconstitutional Federal law. Likewise, most State constitutions contain similar provisions regarding the passage and enforcement of unconstitutional State laws.
Federal government[edit | edit source]
The General Government of the United States, also known as the USNA Federal Government, and officially the Government of the United States, is the Federal-level government of all eighteen States in the Confederacy. It is a government of limited authority, only having jurisdiction over those competences expressly delegated to it by the States via the Federal Constitution; and all Powers not expressly delegated to the United States by the USNA Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are absolutely and forever reserved to the States respectively. Those competences over which the General Government has jurisdiction are largely external-oriented (e.g., foreign affairs, and regulating trade with foreign States), but a few are internal in nature (such as providing for a regular and orderly system of trade among —but not within— the several States; providing and maintaining post offices and post routes; providing for uniform rules on the subjects of bankruptcy and naturalization; uniform standards on the subjects of patent and copyright; providing a uniform standard of weights and measures; establishing inferior Courts —e.g., Federal Courts below the USNA supreme Court…).
With regard to those competences expressly enumerated as being conferred upon the General Government, the sovereignty of the United States in Congress Assembled is supreme, and any State law in conflict with a law of the United States relating to an enumerated competence is displaced and is therefore void and unenforceable. However, outside those expressly-enumerated competences, the sovereignty of the respective States is supreme and absolute: any law of the United States not directly relating to any of its enumerated powers that conflicts with a State law is void and unenforceable. This also applies to Treaties: as long as the subject of the Treaty falls under the General Government's purview, it is supreme over State law, but Treaties embracing one or more competences reserved to the States may be binding on and enforceable by a State only upon the signature of its Governor and the ratification by its Legislature.
Legislature[edit | edit source]
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All legislative Powers conferred upon the United States are vested in the bicameral Congress of the United States, which consists of a State-appointed upper house called the Senate, and a popularly-elected House of Representatives. The Congress makes Federal law, and except for a select few circumstances (e.g, the power to enact the common foreign and security policy, the common security and defense policy, the common immigration policy, the common commercial policy, and the common monetary policy are all vested in the Senate) the Consent of both Houses is necessary to pass a Bill; but before a Bill can become Law, it must be approved by the President, or if vetoed by the President, then re-passed by the Congress with no less than a two-thirds supermajority in each House. The Congress also has oversight of the Executive's regulatory Power by inspecting regulations enacted by the Executive branch, repealing those it finds problematic or in conflict with constitutional or statutory law (including conflicting with the original intent of a statute or provision of the constitution) and leaving in place those regulations it finds to be beneficial and complementary to Federal statutory law and not repugnant to the Federal Constitution.
Even though both Houses of the Congress are largely equal partners in the legislative process, each House is vested with certain Powers that the other does not have. For example, the Treaties signed by the President must be Consented to, or ratified, by the Senate in order to be active and enforceable in the United States (however, the United States cannot sign or ratify Treaties that embrace State competences). The Senate also gives "Advice and Consent" to Presidential appointments, such as those for secretaries of Federal executive departments, heads of certain Federal agencies, Federal supreme and inferior Court Judges, and Ambassadors. In addition, all appropriations and salary Bills must originate in the Senate, and the Senate has the sole Power to try Impeachment cases brought forward by the House of a Representatives (but when the President is tried, the Chief Justice presides over the Senate). On the other hand, the House of Representatives has the sole Power of initiating revenue-raising (tax) Bills; and of filing Articles of Impeachment against Federal Officers and Federal Judges.
Both Houses are deliberately designed in such a way as to check and balance each other: The stable and sober nature of the Senate acts as a check against the often whimsical and passionate nature of the House, and the continuity provided by the Senate balances out the regular spontaneity made manifest in and by the House; whereas the House was designed to be more in tune with the People's concerns-of-the-day.
Senate[edit | edit source]
The Senate, officially the "Senate of the United States", is the upper house of the Congress of the United States, and is not elected by the People but consists of members of each State government (executive branch) at ministerial level, and voting is done by State, with each State having one Vote. The Senate represents the governments of the eighteen States in the Confederacy, and through this body, the several United States participate directly in the Federal governance of the Confederacy.
As the membership of the Senate consists of State governments, there are eighteen members of that body; however, even though each State has one Vote, it is represented in the Senate by two Senators. In and for each State, the Senators therefrom are appointed by the Governor thereof, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Legislature of the same. The Senators from each State serve at the pleasure of the Governor thereof, and cast their State's vote pursuant to the instructions prescribed to them by their State's Governor.
House of Representatives[edit | edit source]
As the Citizens of the Confederacy are directly represented at the Federal level in the House of Representatives, the House is commonly and colloquially referred to as the Democratic Branch of the Congress.
Unlike the Senate, wherein its Seats consist of cabinet ministers of the State governments, the whole body of the House of Representatives –all four hundred seventy-one Seats– is directly elected every two Years by the Citizenry of each State.
Being elected by the People of each State, with the size of the delegation from each State being reckoned according to its population, the seats of the 471-member House of Representatives are allocated to qualifying FedParties according to a system of open-list mixed-member proportional representation that is unique to the United States. Of the 471 members, 262 of them are elected in each State by single-member district, and the remaining 209 seats are filled according to the electoral share each party wins in each State. In all cases, Representatives are elected from each State, and no member is chosen from more than one State.
Executive[edit | edit source]
The executive Power of the United States is vested in the President of the United States, who, together with his Advisors, ensure that the Laws of the United States are duly and diligently enforced, which, depending on the law or statute, is enforced either by the respective States or by the Government of the United States itself —as per the Treaty Establishing a Constitution for the United States, the United States is to devolve to the respective States the power to directly enforce as much of the body of Federal law as may be possible.
The President of the United States is the federal head of state and government. However, unlike in modern federations, the chief Executive of the United States is neither superior to the chief Executives of the several States nor inferior to them, but is their equal in both rank and authority, albeit the authority of the chief Magistrates of the several States and of the United States differ only in terms of on what Classes of Subject Matter that authority may be wielded: the President of the United States possesses authority to act only on those Matters coming within the express Competence of the United States, and the chief Executives of the several States possess authority to act on all other Matters.
Judiciary[edit | edit source]
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State government[edit | edit source]
By ratifying the Treaty Establishing a Constitution for the United States of North Aegea, the 18 Free and Independent States comprising the United States entered into a state of voluntary Federal Union with one another; and via the Federal Constitution, they conferred on the United States a small range of their competence, each of them forever reserving to itself the entire body of all that which is not expressly conferred (e.g, residual sovereignty).
Legislature[edit | edit source]
The legislative Power of each State is vested in its Legislature, which consists of two parts (bicameralism), namely an appointed or elected upper-House that is styled either "Council" or "Senate"; and a proportionally-elected lower-House styled "Assembly", "House of Representatives", "House of Commons", "House of Burgesses", or "House of Delegates". Each has a distinct role, but work in conjunction within the legislative process. The Council and the Assembly each forms a check, or negative, on the other. Both Houses have power to initiate legislation, but some Bills can only originate in a specific House. For example, all revenue Bills must originate in the Assembly; but, on the other hand, all appropriations Bills and Bills for setting the salaries of State and local officials must originate in Council. Before the reforms in each State between 1642 and 1681, Council would also function as the highest Court of appeal of the State; however, this practice has been abandoned in favor of dedicated supreme and other superior Courts.
Council[edit | edit source]
The upper House of each State Legislature is usually styled either "Council" or "Senate"; and, regardless of name, this body functions both as a general legislative as well as a revisory legislative Body. Council is also always smaller in membership than the Assembly. Councillors (called "Senators" when the body is styled "Senate") are either elected by the People or are appointed by the Governor; and in most States, regardless of how they gain office, Councillors serve for a Term of six Years. In most States, the Council is composed of one to two Councillors from each County, but in every State the representation of each County in Council is equal to that which is afforded to every County; and in most States, Councillors may serve for no more than thereof three Terms consecutively (18 Years), and may not be appointed or elected to Council within three Years of the end of their third term. However, in all sixteen States, the Terms of Councillors are staggered so that one-third (or one-half) of the Seats are vacated every two Years (or every three Years), in a Manner similar to that used for the Senate of the United States.
Council also serves as a negative to the Assembly (see: checks and balances) as does the Assembly to Council: legislation cannot be enacted into Law without the Consent of both Houses of the Legislature. In addition, all appropriation Bills and all Bills for fixing the salaries of State and local employees must originate in Council; but the Assembly may propose or concur with Amendments as on other Bills. The Consent of both Council and the Assembly is required to enact legislation, which becomes Law upon the Approval of the Governor; however, if the Governor vetoes a Bill, it is sent back to the House from whence it originated, along with the Governor's objections. The Legislature can enact vetoed Bills into Law, overruling the Governor's objections, with the approval of two-thirds of both Houses, effectively presenting a check on the authority of the Governor.
Council also possesses a limited executive role: The Governor may have the constitutional Authority to nominate the principle Officers in each of the various executive Departments, as well as the Judges of the supreme and inferior Courts; but to actually install them into office (e.g., appoint them) requires the Consent of Council by a margin of no less than two-thirds of the total Members thereof. By Convention, the Governor generally nominates Persons based on the Advice of Council, and then officially submits the nomination to Council for its Consent —thus fulfilling the constitutional duty of Council to give "Advice and Consent" to those Gubernatorial actions prescribed by the State Constitution or general Law.
In addition, Council has the sole power to try Impeachment cases of State Officials; and when the Governor is tried, the Chief Justice of the State presides over Council.
Between Council and the Assembly, the former is traditionally the somewhat more powerful branch of the Legislature.
Assembly[edit | edit source]
The lower House of each State Legislature is usually named "Assembly" or "House of Representatives"; however, other names used for this House include "House of Delegates", "House of Burgesses", and "House of Commons". Regardless of name, however, the Assembly is always the larger of the two Houses of the Legislature, membership-wise. Members of the lower house are elected by the Citizens of the State, and serve for a Term of two Years; but may not serve for more than three Terms consecutively, or no more than six Years at a time.
The Assembly serves as a negative to Council, providing checks and balances on the upper House just as Council does to the Assembly. Furthermore, all Bills for raising Revenue must originate in the Assembly, but Council may propose or concur with Amendments as on other Bills.
The Assembly has the sole power of filing Articles of Impeachment against State Officials, akin to filing an indictment through a Grand Jury, whereas Council has the sole power to prosecute all Impeachments of State Officials.
Executive[edit | edit source]
The executive Power of each State is vested in a Governor, who, together with his Deputy (either a dedicated Lieutenant-Governor or the president of the upper house of the State Legislature) and the principle Officers in each of the various executive Departments, carries on the executive Affairs of the State and enforces State and Federal Laws.
Governor[edit | edit source]
The first and foremost function of the Governor is to see to it that all lawful statutes, regulations, and ordinances of the State not repugnant to the State Constitution are "duly and diligently executed"; however, the Governor is duty-bound to refuse the execution of all statutes, regulations, and ordinances that violate either the State or Federal constitutions.
Executive Council[edit | edit source]
The Governor, Lieutenant-Governor (where applicable), and the principle Officers in each of the various executive Departments collectively compose the Executive Council (colloquially referred to as the "Cabinet" or the "Governor's Cabinet"). Presided over by the Governor, the Executive Council is responsible for duly and diligently carrying out the Laws of the State and all Laws of the United States.
Judiciary[edit | edit source]
The Courts at the State-level interpret the Laws of that State, and ensure that they are in compliance with the State and Federal constitutions —applying and upholding those that are in conformity with the State and Federal constitutions; and denying and nullifying those laws, regulations, and ordinances that are in conflict with the State or Federal constitutions. As with Federal Courts, all State Courts possess the power of Judicial review; and just as all Federal Courts have power to rescind Federal laws found by them to be in conflict with the Federal Constitution, all State Courts have like power over the constitutionality over State laws.
Supreme Court[edit | edit source]
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Superior Court[edit | edit source]
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Inferior courts[edit | edit source]
- Main article: Courts of inferior (limited) jurisdiction in the United States
- See also: County, Municipal, City, and Justice courts in the United States
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Elections and voting[edit | edit source]
- See also: Elections in the United States (by State)
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Voting is compulsory in every State, and only adult citizens (including underage citizens that have been emancipated) are permitted to vote. However, the right to vote (among other rights) is suspended upon conviction for treason or felony, which may be restored by any superior court (e.g., superior, appellate, and supreme courts) of the convicting State.
Political parties[edit | edit source]
In each State, Members of the Legislature thereof are elected on a non-partisan basis from single member constituencies by simple Plurality voting. The Governor is directly elected by the citizens of the State, by simple Plurality voting on a non-partisan basis. In each instance the candidate must obtain a Majority of the votes cast. This means that in either case, multiple ballots may occur before a successful candidate is selected (run-off election).
After an election, at the first meeting of a new session of the Legislature, the Members in each House thereof group themselves by their respective personal political ideologies into ad hoc factions that serve as de facto political parties for the duration of that convocation of the Legislature (reckoned according to the length of the Term of the Members of the lower House), and serve as the foundation for determining the political factions that participate in all Federal elections that occur within the life of that convocation of the State Legislature.
Government finance[edit | edit source]
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Public debt[edit | edit source]
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