The Nugget Newspaper - News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon

Republicans, especially those who style themselves Constitutional Conservatives, should stand up in full-throated opposition to President Trump's declaration of a national emergency in order to secure funding for a border wall.

Regardless of one's position on border security, this declaration is the wrong course. It abrogates the provisions of Article One of the U.S. Constitution, which explicitly gives power of the purse to Congress. It further empowers an executive branch that has far exceeded the powers envisioned for it by the Founders. It's especially egregious given that Trump himself says, "I didn't need to do this, but I'd rather do it much faster."

If he "didn't need to do this," it's not an emergency and the declaration is illegitimate.

When President Obama proclaimed that "We're not just going to be waiting for legislation. I've got a pen and I've got a phone...and I can use that pen to sign executive orders and take executive actions and administrative actions," Constitutional Conservatives rightly raised a hue and cry about executive overreach.

They can now demonstrate that they are loyal to principle rather than merely loyal to power by taking the same stand against Trump's declaration. Some, to their credit, already have.

If principle isn't enough to appeal to them, perhaps they should contemplate the prospect of, oh, say, a President Kamala Harris citing the Trump precedent to declare "national emergencies" over healthcare, climate change, shootings or any other issue she deems fit.

Making an outcry won't mean much then, will it?

Jim Cornelius, Editor in Chief