The rule of law
The rule of law is fundamental to our society. We expect our government to follow the law scrupulously. The present administration in Washington has no respect for that requirement and is continually breaking the law and forcing others to do so. Rep. Tenney claims to respect this rule, but encourages actions that have agents of the Federal government violating the legal protections of Americans. The “Rule of Law” has become an expression used by many but understood by few. It is an ancient concept and was embodied in the Constitution in 1789 and the first ten amendments to the Constitution. Effectively, the Constitution and the amendments (often referred to as the “Bill of Rights”) grant the rights of free speech, assembly, and religion, due process of law, habeas corpus, prohibition of excessive (“cruel and unusual”) punishments, among other things, to all persons regardless of status, that is, citizens and non-citizens alike. Such rights cannot be denied by the government except in exceptionally narrow circumstances. They also guarantee equal protection under the law, meaning that all people are treated equally under the law.
An example of a current practice which violates these Constitutional protections is the detention and deportation by ICE (part of the Executive Branch) of persons without due process of law, that is, the right to be advised of any criminal charges being brought against a person, the right to remain silent, the right to legal counsel, the right to non-excessive bail, the right to a trial before an impartial jury, and the right to call witnesses on one’s behalf. These are rights that are the foundation of a free democratic society. Such detentions and deportations violate the rights of people subjected to them as guaranteed by the Constitution.
Another facet of the rule of law is the framework of our government, established by the Constitution, which consists of three co-equal branches– the Executive, the Legislative, and the Judicial. The division into branches created a system of checks and balances to ensure that any one branch could not exceed the power granted to it by the Constitution and the people or usurp the power of the other branches. Each branch has unique roles–the legislative branch (Congress), elected by the people, establishes the laws, the executive branch (the President and Cabinet) executes those laws and the judicial branch (the courts, including the Supreme Court) interprets those laws. This is known as the separation of powers doctrine.
A glaring example of a violation of the separation of powers doctrine in practice at present is the President’s attempt to rule by Executive Order (EO) which, in effect, excludes the Congress from its authority to pass laws. Essentially, the President decides without any authority what the Executive Branch can do with no ability of Congress to have any say in the matter. The use of EOs to make sweeping changes to how the Executive Branch operates clearly violates the entire notion of separation of powers.