Dear Editor,
One of the things I have always respected about traditional conservatism is its insistence on limited government, checks and balances, and the idea that no leader—no matter how popular—should be above the law. Those principles are not partisan. They are the backbone of the Constitution.
Lately, though, I have been concerned by how comfortable some Americans have become with presidents stretching or bypassing the limits placed on them. Whether it is using federal agencies to go after critics, ignoring Congress when it is inconvenient, or treating public institutions as personal property, these are not conservative values. They are the very behaviors our Founders warned us about.
Authoritarianism does not show up wearing a label. It creeps in when we excuse abuse of power because we like the person doing it. It grows when we decide that “our side” is allowed to break rules that we would never tolerate from the other side. That is not how a constitutional republic survives.
We can debate policy all day long, but we should all agree on this: No president—Republican or Democrat—should be allowed to use government power for personal revenge, personal gain, or personal branding. That is not strength. It is a threat to the very limits that protect our freedoms.
Defending the Constitution is not a partisan act. It is an American one. Wake up America before it is too late.
Susan Stone
