Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Street roots. (Portland, OR) 1998-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 20, 2017)
Page 12 • '■ ' Z z ^ :9 Street Roots • Jan. 20-26, 2017 Commentary g - ^ zz S , ÿ B z X A . z g f m £ z z ',■»',. Z z X . Z - . z z i z z X X ,. f g ...... ; | zíz ^ zaízz *X í / * IH JIj Z. ' # Æ > x . 7 < / „ .i^ , Z z z .z z z z x z . <r J H - ' z ? zz ,Z í '.'X íz : «z*z<Ä-i*z^ ’ _ _ \,.y X '4 > 7 , » -> ;.. \ , J / í <4; á « z / X z z X l x X >^ X rX''«<zZ/>^>'Z^<z<. ^ z Z « / . m ’ ’- X ;> ,— l i l i liti ■ < ./, g ;^ Z? O I p i i l ’ • | r - / ^ . '', c - / ,z \ ■••*■' ' - f ? # ' - B I ' " '* '’ ' il „ S*. Zf f ^ z . ' > ' . ' < X < .^ . / - Z-Z/Xx. t 's - - , z z -/ z X v ^ ^ / 1 a z í X . « Z Trump vs. the Constitution * On Jan. 5, Portland City Commissioner ¿tick Fish delivered this keynote speech to students at the Classroom Law Fro^cFfi^'~i annual *TO The People: The Citaen and The Constitution'’competition. This essay is a modified version o f his speech. < - - - w Z i - y ^ Z ^ v z <"~z'z' - i d í ^ / . X '/ Z i ’W / 'z 'A .- z x x W ^ í X z £ B Z<--, -, zX z / Z ^ £ > . - z ^ ' Z ! X '" ^ s' ' ' - ' ' -;” - ' s -'- - - - / - i ' Z B ' < ' - - Li z ' &&&&Í .s S 4& 7 .* ' - ^ 'x X x X X z - x X ' z z - X Í X X ■: -->&»? £ W . « • » XXXzz < ^ '/ ä & z z X z - ; '*<< « ^ l 'z 4 X U X ? ' L |H ■ t £ > % $ ? . IX« " \ t ; .... ari ; i *z, X z z . z x ^ x - z / ^ X z z Z z .- . V . . X- X ^ ’Z zV ’Z .V ',, . ’ / / , » < ' "< X , . - X ? 7 . 7 <>, -X • Z '/ Z . z ¿ Í Í Í Í & " : . -8- . ✓ >- ■--.•|/z z::z,'ZZ ,.-B. z ¿ B ' z v , z'-'¿ z X B »’ <-z,v z£ , - "X a ' '- < - X X “ZZ (7%: 7 *7 7 7 , ' : Z, . •< , z ., - B h z X , z z <Z‘ - % ¿ -4 * :,x ^ x z . < A x < " zx H X ¡fcx X # * ' x ^ ' ¿zl/zz/v,,, ■ X xB ' all be openly taught and practiced/’ Now there’s a campaign tweet to remember. The opposition responded in kind: He’s “a lying, warmongering fellow,” a “repulsive pedant,” and “gross hypocrite” who “behaved neither like a man nor like a woman hut instead possessed a hideous hermaphroditical character.” Pretty awful, right? As the students of history know, these statements are from the bitter election of 1800. It featured two heavyweights: John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. Think of i t Barely 11 years after the ratification of the Constitution, two of the great architects of our democratic repubfic were having a loud, vitriolic and personal fight about the future of our country. Some things never change. It turns out that what we witnessed during the dismal 2016 election isn’t an aberration after all. It’s the continuation of a debate, as old as the republic, about the meaning and application of our Constitution. n Jan. 20, Mr. Trump will place his hand on a Bible and take an oath prescribed by Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution: “I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to thé best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the T ooking forward, in the battle between JL/the president and the Constitution, I wouldn’t bet against the Constitution. But we must remain vigilant That’s why I carry a copy of the Constitution with me. Last fall, I was honored to meet Mr. Khizr Khan at the Muslim Educational T rust He is the Gold Star father who electrified the - Â Z> United States.” This oath reflects the genius of our system - and reminds us that no president is above the law. Let’s take a few minutes to anticipate the new president’s first 100 days and what the Constitution may have to say. For starters, Mr. Trump has promised to ; revoke most ofPresident Obama’s executive orders. Tam, guessing that no one in this room will lose any sleep if he does. Why? Because nothing in Article II says he can’t. But this is the low-hanging fruit. Things will only get more interesting. Let’s consider two other actions the president-elect has said he would take. During the campaign, there was a lot of loose talk about Muslim bans, registries and even camps. The first line of defense against these shocking proposals is the Bill of Rights. The Establishment Clause of the First Amendment prohibits the government from disapproving or favoring any religion. Under the due process and equal protection clauses of the Fifth Amendment, the government may not banish or prohibit a citizen’s entry into the United States. And under the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause, the government may hot target anyone because of her or his religion. e live in challenging times. America is Let s move to another hot-button issue. more divided than ever before. Our Mr. Trump does not think much of the public debates are getting coarser, while media, and hé has threatened to “open up civility and tolerance are casualties in our our libel laws.” You know that is not likely to partisan battles. People are losing happen any time soon. confidence in all of our public institutions. , First of all, most claims for libel are But my role is to not discourage you. To decided in state, not federal, courts. Second, the contrary, I am here to reassure you that the Supreme Court, in New York Times v. even in these difficult times, we are in good Sullivan, interpreting the First Amendment, hands. ruled that a public person must prove ■ x x zXX zZ/XXzzUX'B :? X x z . w et me begin with some statements from a presidential election that may fgo down as the most divisive in our nation’s history. Here is what one campaign said of the opponent: “If he w ere to become the president, we would see our wives and da ugh ters the victims of legal pros titution. ” And “murder, robbery, rape and incest will ',z ’i > t ’ “actual malice” to make out a libel daim ~ à very high bar. < So unless the high court reverses a 50-year precedent or the states pass a constitutional amendment, our new president will find it difficult to erode the ' v ' legal protections of a free press. ■ BY NICK FISH C O N T R IB U T IN G W R ITE R a I am not talking about the president or the Congress, No, I find my greatest solace in a document that has endured for over 228 years - and in each of you. The students in this room understand better than most Americans the enduring strength of our constitutional foundation. '' i f Z&Y- I I I I .* ' v*’ I ,i*. - X X .í r 'V Í '1 ifS g Ì v 'Í* i ’ V t M H S' fz VX J'rfjSKS-'Z,'- A- zz nation with his appearance at the Democratic National Convention. He signed a copy of the Constitution and gave it to me. What a beautiful statem ent about our country - a Muslim-American, a proud immigrant from Pakistan, reminding all Americans that the Constitution applies to every one of us, equally. And what a powerful reminder of the, ' J civic heritage that binds together Americans of all political persuasions. Bernie supporters and Tea Party activists, conservative legislators and card-carrying members of the ACLU. We may be sharply divided on the issues, but we share a responsibility to defend our Constitution and democracy. n “Federalist 1,” Alexander Hamilton wrote, “Of those men who have overturned the liberties of republics, the greatest number have begun their career by paying an obsequious court to the people; commencing demagogues, and ending tyrants.” I can think of no time when this competition was more relevant The young people in this room are not merely students of the Constitution, but, mere importantly, you are its newest champions. John Adams once said, “Liberty cannot be preserved without a general knowledge among the people.” He was talking about you. And we look ’to each of you to reach. , out across the ideological divides of the moment and to find common ground with others. And the place to start is our Constitution. You’ve taken the first important step. Don’t stop now. We are counting on you. ' zz ; . 'zï.i?k z / ' ' * < ' . -Z -X z , - Z ' 'Z x Z a ' Z Z z; ’ , ', v Z Z 2 Z z z - , ^ z Z z , ‘Z -z z .- X z I z * ' s5 z-z. Z 'z ; < z, . , z Z , z; ' •z-zz.f^ ','Z Z Z ZZZ zz X ' X*z?¥-'zz'>z X j . 4’zi - 'ZK z< X* , A z '/z Z z
