Perspective from the 19^th Hole is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus to use an image from my favorite sport, golf.  Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all my professional positions, including as press secretary in Washington, D.C. for a Democrat Congressman from Oregon (Les AuCoin), as an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, as press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and as a private sector lobbyist.  This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write.  I could have called this blog “Middle Ground,” for that is what I long for in both politics and golf.  The middle ground is often where the best public policy decisions lie.  And it is where you want to be on a golf course.

My answer to the question in the headline:  I devoutly hope so.

As I join many others in being concerned about Donald Trump’s elevation to the presidency, I have wondered whether the normal checks and balances process in the federal government will still work.

And in particular, will it work under the felon heading to the White House as he contemplates revenge and punishment for anyone who has opposed him?

With this question in mind, I went to Mr. Google to re-learn the following:

• “Checks and balances” in the federal government refers to a system where each of the three branches — Legislative, Executive, and Judicial – has the power to limit or check the actions of the other branches, preventing any one branch from becoming too powerful.  For example, the president can veto laws passed by Congress, while Congress can impeach and remove the president from office, and the Supreme Court can declare laws unconstitutional. 

• Key examples of checks and balances:

Legislative Branch checks on Executive:

+  Approving presidential appointments (judges, cabinet members) 

+  Overriding a presidential veto with a two-thirds majority vote 

         +  Impeaching and removing the president from office 

+  Controlling the budget 

Executive Branch checks on Legislative:

+  Vetoing bills passed by Congress 

+  Issuing executive orders 

+  Calling special sessions of Congress 

Judicial Branch checks on Legislative and Executive:

+  Declaring laws passed by Congress unconstitutional 

+  Reviewing executive actions for constitutionality

Now, it could be contended that Trump does not want any of this to work.  After all, he views himself as a king, if not a savior.

Checks and balances worked when former congressman Matt Gaetz had to withdraw after being nominated by Trump as attorney general.  He was eminently unqualified for the position and others in Congress proved it when they said they would say “no” to Gaetz, so he had no choice but to withdraw instead of losing a confirmation vote.

I hope other Trump picks – Tulsi Gabbard, Pete Hegseth, Robert Kennedy, Kash Patel, to name four – suffer the same fate because they, too, have no business running anything.

There is another check, but it may not always work – or least produce immediate results.  It is public opposition to what a president, Congress or the Judiciary want to do.

If, as some contend, every vote matters in the United States, then how people “vote” with their views, not just “vote at the ballot box” should matter. 

We’ll see how all this plays out in just a few weeks when the felon enters the Oval Office appearing to be intent on damaging America’s democracy, not to mention its standing in the world.