Senator David Perdue, junior US Senator from Georgia, paraphrases Article 2, Section 2 of the Constitution in his own words, and in doing so, he substitutes the word ‘may’ for the word ‘shall’, and thus reinterprets the constitution to match his end-goal.
A recent email I received from Senator David Perdue, who represents the state of Georgia in Washington, (but who by the way, does not seem to EVER be truly representing ME in his views, policies, and positions), included the following (which is quoted directly form Senator Perdue’s short email):
“Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution is clear.
The President may nominate judges to the Supreme Court, but the power to grant, or withhold, consent rests exclusively with the Senate. “
I am no constitutional authority, but I do understand the difference between ‘MAY’ and ‘SHALL”.
I don’t usually run over and try to find my household copy of the US Constitution, but after receiving this email, and mulling over it for a couple of days, I did just that. And I looked up Article II, Section 2 and here is what it says:
“The President shall be Commander In Chief
. . .
. . . He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate to make Treaties
. . .
. . . And he shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint
. . .
. . . Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States . . . .”
There is a disconnect here.
The Honorable David Perdue, legislator, maker of law, has either confused the terms ‘may’ and ‘shall’, or has chosen to obfuscate the meaning of the Constitution to prove his point, and to rally his supporters to come to a legal conclusion far different from where the original words seem to point.
Senator Perdue references a longer version of his argument as part of an op-ed article placed in the Washington Examiner on 4/4/16 (www.washingtonexaminer.com/...,) but its message is no different than the email summary.
Senator Perdue should know better, but I suppose it is what his supporters want to hear. A little misquoted summary, substituting ‘The President may . . .’ for ‘The President shall . . .’
The Washington Examiner op-ed points out that Senator Perdue was the past CEO of a couple of major companies (Reebok Brand and Dollar General), and that he is the only Fortune 500 company CEO serving in the Senate.
And yet he confuses the meaning of ‘may’ and ‘shall’.
I am embarrassed that he is representing the state I live in, and that he is entrusted with making laws.
Let’s hope his staff includes some attorneys (or even some English majors ?) who can help him with any subtle nuances of English that may be necessary when writing legislation. Unfortunately, it probably does include such experts, and they have likely been instructed to obfuscate and confuse at will whenever it makes political and policy sense.
Please, Senator, if you read this, please stop. Stop trying to trick us with your words. Stop insulting our intelligence and our ability to read.
And, especially, please do not try and slip this little trick into any legislation you author.
I am offended (and for the record, it takes a lot to offend me.)
d.b