tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post583583239782343917..comments2023-10-16T07:13:12.123-05:00Comments on A plain blog about politics: Nixon Against the GovernmentJonathan Bernsteinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15931039630306253241noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-18088658485698514082012-06-10T12:11:21.229-05:002012-06-10T12:11:21.229-05:00That's a really interesting point and one I...That's a really interesting point and one I'm going to have to think about. <br /><br />I think that the W. presidency says that the old rules still apply in the modern partisan era, but it's certainly not quite the same.Jonathan Bernsteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15931039630306253241noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-69151870973836494562012-06-10T12:09:54.201-05:002012-06-10T12:09:54.201-05:00Yes, exactly.
Moreover, bureaucrats acting accor...Yes, exactly. <br /><br />Moreover, bureaucrats acting according to law are also legitimate, regardless of what happens in elections. The place of interest groups and parties in the system isn't exactly mandated by law (other than the First Amendment), but nevertheless their traditional roles aren't negated by presidential elections.<br /><br />It's a serious mistake, IMO, for conservatives to embrace this kind of presidentialism. Wrong for liberals too (and liberal sometimes hero Woodrow Wilson was the theorist of it). It's a thin, non-participatory, and non-substantive version of democracy.Jonathan Bernsteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15931039630306253241noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-62235716353242002752012-06-10T11:49:16.875-05:002012-06-10T11:49:16.875-05:00Congress is as elected by "the people" a...Congress is as elected by "the people" as the President is, and whatever legitimacy the President gains from their election doesn't override the legitimacy of the law or of the other branches of government, which both come from "the people" as much as the President's election does.Xenocrypthttp://xenocrypt.dailykos.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-87744753450004389502012-06-10T06:30:30.417-05:002012-06-10T06:30:30.417-05:00But this is exactly what conservatives mean when t...But this is exactly what conservatives mean when they say Nixon was railroaded by the Washington establishment, regardless of any crimes he may or may not have committed.<br /><br />Of course legitimacy comes from the people, and of course liberal elites are illegitimate to the extent that they try to flout that. It's in that sense Nixon was a hero, and why many conservatives look on him with a degree of favour. The complicating factor is that Nixon's actual agenda was profoundly misguided (price controls, spending, AA), which is why his relationship with conservatism is ambiguous.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-59675950708946801372012-06-09T10:51:00.012-05:002012-06-09T10:51:00.012-05:00I like some of the lessons you draw about how a pr...I like some of the lessons you draw about how a president who tries to trample the other institutions in government will eventually be defeated by them. I wonder whether this lesson is applicable to more partisan times, though.<br /><br />What happens if people in other parts of government, including the bureaucracy, come to see themselves as partisans first, and members of Congress or the judiciary or the FBI / DOD / HUD second? At that point, do the relevant institutions just become the parties? Then using all your power (which arises through your partisan connections) to undermine your opponents no longer has drawbacks. It fits the new partisan institutions. Of course, you're trying to undermine an institution that will fight back (the other party) but your party is made for this kind of combat and will stick by you.Neil Sinhababuhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03249327186653397250noreply@blogger.com