Should the United States Attorney General be an Elected Official?
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  Presidential Elections - Analysis and Discussion
  Presidential Election Process (Moderator: muon2)
  Should the United States Attorney General be an Elected Official?
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Poll
Question: To ensure the independence of the Justice Department, should the United States Attorney General run for election (and do so separately from the President/Vice-President) like his/her state counterparts?
#1
Democrat: Yes
 
#2
Democrat: No
 
#3
Republican: Yes
 
#4
Republican: No
 
#5
independent/third party: Yes
 
#6
independent/third party: No
 
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Partisan results

Total Voters: 51

Author Topic: Should the United States Attorney General be an Elected Official?  (Read 6657 times)
Frodo
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« on: April 02, 2022, 05:35:09 PM »
« edited: April 02, 2022, 05:51:59 PM by Frodo »

To maintain the independence of the Justice Department from Presidential interference (and prevent another Donald Trump-William Barr duo), should the United States Attorney General be an elected official who is elected separately from the main presidential/vice-presidential ticket?  

I think so, since we can no longer depend upon the forbearance of the President from interfering with the Justice Department to nefarious ends. 
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Shaula🏳️‍⚧️
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« Reply #1 on: April 03, 2022, 07:21:42 AM »

Lol the AG would become very political and would do things for purely partisan/re-election reasons.
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Frodo
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« Reply #2 on: April 03, 2022, 11:24:40 AM »

Lol the AG would become very political and would do things for purely partisan/re-election reasons.

The Attorney General would be no more politicized than it became under the Trump administration.  At least under this new system, he or she would owe their job not to the President, but to the American people, and so cannot be summarily fired if they refuse to do the bidding of the President. 
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Shaula🏳️‍⚧️
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« Reply #3 on: April 03, 2022, 11:32:56 AM »

Lol the AG would become very political and would do things for purely partisan/re-election reasons.

The Attorney General would be no more politicized than it became under the Trump administration.  At least under this new system, he or she would owe their job not to the President, but to the American people, and so cannot be summarily fired if they refuse to do the bidding of the President. 
You do realize the AG would probably be much less competent and more partisan? Ted Cruz could be the AG rn lol
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Frodo
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« Reply #4 on: April 03, 2022, 11:41:11 AM »
« Edited: April 03, 2022, 11:48:07 AM by Frodo »

Lol the AG would become very political and would do things for purely partisan/re-election reasons.

The Attorney General would be no more politicized than it became under the Trump administration.  At least under this new system, he or she would owe their job not to the President, but to the American people, and so cannot be summarily fired if they refuse to do the bidding of the President.  
You do realize the AG would probably be much less competent and more partisan? Ted Cruz could be the AG rn lol

Evidence?  You have fifty states to choose from to prove your point. 
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zoz
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« Reply #5 on: April 03, 2022, 04:23:31 PM »

Why is the neoliberal answer to every problem "more democracy"?
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Frodo
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« Reply #6 on: April 03, 2022, 05:28:21 PM »

Why is the neoliberal answer to every problem "more democracy"?

What is your solution? 
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Vice President Christian Man
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« Reply #7 on: April 03, 2022, 06:13:35 PM »

Lol the AG would become very political and would do things for purely partisan/re-election reasons.

The Attorney General would be no more politicized than it became under the Trump administration.  At least under this new system, he or she would owe their job not to the President, but to the American people, and so cannot be summarily fired if they refuse to do the bidding of the President. 
You do realize the AG would probably be much less competent and more partisan? Ted Cruz could be the AG rn lol

The AG is getting increasingly politicized and if the people want to elect Ted Cruz, they should have that decision
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Vice President Christian Man
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« Reply #8 on: April 03, 2022, 06:14:34 PM »

Why is the neoliberal answer to every problem "more democracy"?
Authentic populism means that everyone has a say
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Shaula🏳️‍⚧️
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« Reply #9 on: April 03, 2022, 06:32:18 PM »

Why is the neoliberal answer to every problem "more democracy"?
Authentic populism means that everyone has a say
Actually, I think I agree with you now. I also think all the Cabinet should be elected, including Secretary of State, Defence, etc.
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zoz
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« Reply #10 on: April 03, 2022, 09:16:04 PM »

Why is the neoliberal answer to every problem "more democracy"?

What is your solution? 


Maybe I haven't been paying much attention but I don't think there is a problem to begin with right now
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One Term Floridian
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« Reply #11 on: April 04, 2022, 10:47:58 AM »

Wow. This would be really interesting. I lean towards yes, but tbh would hate to see the parties inevitably nominate them at their partisan hack conventions...
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Schiff for Senate
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« Reply #12 on: April 04, 2022, 04:13:59 PM »

Lol the AG would become very political and would do things for purely partisan/re-election reasons.

The Attorney General would be no more politicized than it became under the Trump administration.  At least under this new system, he or she would owe their job not to the President, but to the American people, and so cannot be summarily fired if they refuse to do the bidding of the President.  
You do realize the AG would probably be much less competent and more partisan? Ted Cruz could be the AG rn lol

Evidence?  You have fifty states to choose from to prove your point. 


Correction: 43
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Kahane's Grave Is A Gender-Neutral Bathroom
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« Reply #13 on: April 16, 2022, 01:43:48 AM »

Lol the AG would become very political and would do things for purely partisan/re-election reasons.

The Attorney General would be no more politicized than it became under the Trump administration.  At least under this new system, he or she would owe their job not to the President, but to the American people, and so cannot be summarily fired if they refuse to do the bidding of the President. 
You do realize the AG would probably be much less competent and more partisan? Ted Cruz could be the AG rn lol

Greg Abbott.
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Goldwater
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« Reply #14 on: July 20, 2022, 01:47:21 PM »

Why is the neoliberal answer to every problem "more democracy"?

Wait, I thought that so-called "neoliberals" where supposed to be elitists who were out of touch with "real Americans"? Now they are people who support too much democracy?
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Asenath Waite
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« Reply #15 on: July 20, 2022, 02:30:33 PM »

Why is the neoliberal answer to every problem "more democracy"?

Wait, I thought that so-called "neoliberals" where supposed to be elitists who were out of touch with "real Americans"? Now they are people who support too much democracy?

Everything I Don't Like Is Neoliberalism TM
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Mister Mets
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« Reply #16 on: July 29, 2022, 07:34:10 AM »

I saw an article about this question online years ago.

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2012/06/fixing-the-constitution-electing-the-attorney-general.html

This plan has some disadvantages, as it forces Attorney Generals to be able to wage national campaigns. And it creates a launching pad for the White House that is limited to lawyers.

But I can't help but wonder who would have won the elections, and how that would have changed things.
Geraldine Ferraro might have been elected to the office in 1986, as a former prosecutor with national name recognition. Or the same things that doomed her senate campaigns could have doomed this.
If John Kerry had run and won in 1998 (he had the resume and it was a cycle in which Democrats were competitive) he probably would have been Gore's running mate.
2002 would almost certainly have seen the election of Rudy Giuliani to the office.
2006, assuming similar political circumstances, would have been a very Democratic year. I could easily imagine a tough primary fight between Eliot Spitzer and John Edwards.
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Independents for George Santos
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« Reply #17 on: July 30, 2022, 09:42:31 AM »

I can see the merit of this. A directly elected AG wouldn't be beholden to a potentially fickle president, but this is just trading one issue for another. You'd end up with AGs playing to the national mood in a different kind of partisan way instead. The examples below of Geraldine Ferrarro, Rudy Guiliani, Elliot Spitzer, John Edwards, Ted Cruz and Greg Abbott having been potential shoe-ins for this kind of role demonstrate that perfectly. As it stands, I'd prefer the devil you know to the devil you don't; at least in the current system, you can hold a president who plays partisan games with their AG accountable.
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Skill and Chance
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« Reply #18 on: July 30, 2022, 05:43:20 PM »

Yes, I think it's a very good idea to free the AG to act independently from the President.  It helps in a "dictator insurance" kind of way to have an official with their own distinct ambitions in that office. 
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President Johnson
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« Reply #19 on: August 01, 2022, 03:20:05 PM »

Absolutely not. There are already too many campaigns.

I even don't think state attorney generals should be elected.
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OSR stands with Israel
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« Reply #20 on: August 01, 2022, 03:43:59 PM »

Absolutely not. There are already too many campaigns.

I even don't think state attorney generals should be elected.

A better idea may be to let the Senate Judiciary Chair appoint the attorney general and then of course the full senate would have to approve the appointment . So in this case Chuck Grassley would have decided who the attorney general was from 17-21 and you can make it that the attorney general cannot be fired without impeachment as well .




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President Johnson
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« Reply #21 on: August 01, 2022, 03:49:44 PM »

Absolutely not. There are already too many campaigns.

I even don't think state attorney generals should be elected.

A better idea may be to let the Senate Judiciary Chair appoint the attorney general and then of course the full senate would have to approve the appointment . So in this case Chuck Grassley would have decided who the attorney general was from 17-21 and you can make it that the attorney general cannot be fired without impeachment as well .


That would be very questionable since its an executive position being appointed by a legislator. The constitution clearly says the president is the head of the executive branch.

Also this does not shield the office from partisan influence.
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OSR stands with Israel
Computer89
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« Reply #22 on: August 01, 2022, 04:19:03 PM »

Absolutely not. There are already too many campaigns.

I even don't think state attorney generals should be elected.

A better idea may be to let the Senate Judiciary Chair appoint the attorney general and then of course the full senate would have to approve the appointment . So in this case Chuck Grassley would have decided who the attorney general was from 17-21 and you can make it that the attorney general cannot be fired without impeachment as well .


That would be very questionable since its an executive position being appointed by a legislator. The constitution clearly says the president is the head of the executive branch.

Also this does not shield the office from partisan influence.


Well you would have to amend the constitution to make any changes to the current system anyway
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Secretary of State Liberal Hack
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« Reply #23 on: June 21, 2023, 04:01:58 AM »

I think a general issue with the AG being a political actor is that they essentially have an unchecked authority to veto any law they dislike by simply declining to enforce it. That's an incredible concentration of power in the hands of 1 person.
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TDAS04
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« Reply #24 on: June 21, 2023, 10:59:04 AM »

No. I don’t see an upside.
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