Cruz is chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, which has oversight jurisdiction over the FCC.
U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz says FCC Chairman Brendan Carr sounded like an organized crime boss threatening the ABC network’s broadcasting licenses over comments by late-night host Jimmy Kimmel.
The Texas Republican also emphasized how much he hates what Kimmel said about the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk — and how much he likes and works closely with Carr.
Having high-ranking federal officials threaten a network in such a way, however, is “dangerous as hell” because it presents a slippery slope that could end with conservatives facing government censorship down the road, Cruz said.
All of that stuff already exists in one form or another. Democrats just softballed their turn with power and Republicans are refusing to acknowledge their role in checking the authority of the executive branch. There is no system of government that can survive when those charged with enforcing the rules abdicate their responsibility.
Show me how citizens can directly initiate a recall of the President, or their Rep or Senator for that matter.
There are existing systems in our government, and almost every form of government I am familiar with, for every concept you listed. They may not function in exactly the same way you are suggesting they could, but those suggestions are not immune to subversion or misuse either. The overall point you are making is that we could structure our government in such a way that corruption is impossible. I do not believe that is true. I believe it is a universal truth that people are susceptible to corruption and it is a universal truth that people are involved in government. Therefore, all governments are susceptible to corruption.
You are welcome to disagree with me on this if you like but if you do there is no point in continuing this discussion because I am completely confident that there is nothing you could say to change my mind about either of the premises of the argument that I laid out. That is not usually a statement I am willing to make but in this case I think it is perfectly reasonable to take such a position. You cannot legislate away human nature. You can only attempt to contain it. However, that containment will only function to the degree to which society, and it’s elected representatives, are willing to enforce such containment mechanisms.
I don’t think we could make corruption impossible. But I do think we could put more and better checks in place, based on what we see failing here. The alternatives are either give up or tear it all down and start from scratch. I’d rather not do the first and don’t see the second happening quickly, easily, or necessarily in our favor.