Will Congress FINALLY limit the Presidency?

The President of the United States overseas a system of...

• humiliation (TSA)
• intimidation (FBI)
• blackmail (NSA)
• deceit (CIA)
• waste (the Department of Defense)
• prohibition (DEA)
• theft (asset forfeiture, IRS)
• favoritism (tariffs)
• murder (drone strikes)
• destabilization (State Department)
• censorship (FEC, FCC)
• racism (border control)
• cronyism (regulatory agencies)
• orchestrated panics (CDC, EPA, Homeland Security)  
• oppression (Bureau of Prisons)
• betrayal (Indian Affairs, Veterans Affairs)
• bankrupt schemes (Social Security, Medicare)
• injustice (Department of Justice)
• divisiveness (Census statistics that treat us as members of racial groups instead of individuals)
• incarceration 
• secrecy (classified information)
• terror (arming the same radical groups that attack the U.S. and allies)
• bullying (issuing ultimatums to foreign countries)
• lawlessness (lack of due process from No Fly Lists to monitoring our emails to indefinite detention)
• cruelty (mandatory minimum sentences for nonviolent "crimes")

The Presidency, for the most part, makes life worse for Americans and for the people the world.  I don't know if it's possible to elect a President who supports limiting the Presidency's power and dismantling these criminal agencies and policies. And if it is possible, I wonder if the person, once in office, will stay true to his promise. The Oval Office is the Ring of Power, and even a person with the best of intentions will abuse it.

I can say, then, that while I want Gary Johnson to be elected President in 2016, that's not to say I want him to be President. I don't want anyone to be President. I can't trust the President to limit his power. Only a Congress with the support of the people can do so.

In the past, it hasn't been in Congress's insterest to do so. Anything that limited Presidential power would have been interpreted as "partisan" or worse. For instance, Mr. Obama's bombing of Libya was impeachable, but the Republicans didn't want to deal with impeaching the First Black President.

At this juncture, however, Congress may have an opportunity to strip the President of powers he should never have had. That's because the Republicans, if they retain both houses of Congress will face a President their leadership doesn't like. They don't like Mrs. Clinton, and they also don't like their "own" Mr. Trump.

• If Mrs. Clinton's elected, they will not only derail her proposals, but also launch investigations into her associations. They won't give her the benefit of the doubt on anything. And the American people won't mind; they don't trust her like they did Mr. Obama.  
• If Mr. Trump is elected, the Republican leadership will work with the Democratic minority to similarly derail his proposals -- even if Republican back-benchers support him.

Either way, the Congress would have the support of the majority of the American people to limit Presidential power because they dislike both Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Trump.  No matter who's President, no war and no Executive Order will go unchallenged.

Maybe that's wishful thinking on my part. But it's the only potentially positive outcome of either of the equally dreadful Clinton and Trump presidencies.