• radio@sh.itjust.works
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    2 days ago

    We were always told the framers of the Constitution were old timey genius’s, but they couldn’t foresee a corrupt piece of shit selling pardons? It’s ridiculous and should never have been a presidential power. They fucked up.

    • ArmchairAce1944@discuss.online
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      5 hours ago

      To be fair, this didn’t happen before Trump. I don’t think they could ever have seen the extent of bullshit we’re going through right now.

    • ripcord@lemmy.world
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      2 days ago

      They expected that voters/citizens and other branches of govt wouldn’t stand for it.

      Instead they’re either in on it or too cowardly to do anything.

    • themaninblack@lemmy.world
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      2 days ago

      Exactly. Many were historians and Christians.

      They already had the previous example of the sale of indulgences within the Catholic Church in the Middle Ages. Even American colonial revolutionaries were offered pardons by King George III to stop fighting.

      Commenter below cites the fact that the expectation was that the congress would step in if popular sentiment was outraged by this sort of thing, but this state of affairs was foreseeable.

      They ended up with a powerful executive even though they believed previous kings had too much power. e.g. “His Excellency” George Washington refused the title of King.

      Also of note is that there were relatively few voters and they were privileged and generally well educated and informed members of the public. White men with land.