Source: Tenth Amendment Center
by Joe Wolverton, II
“In the fading light of the Roman Republic, as senators dithered and people cried out for relief from chaos, an ambitious few found the imperial mantle irresistible. What began as temporary ’emergency powers’ for the good of the republic soon hardened into permanent, despotic authority. It was not a coup that killed the Roman Republic — it was consent; it was the people’s preference for expedient tyranny over constitutional liberty; it was Julius Caesar crossing the Rubicon, and Rome never recovered. Today, we would be wise to recall that cautionary tale as we survey the ever-expanding powers of the American presidency — powers accumulated not through violent conquest, but through executive orders signed quietly from behind the Resolute Desk.” (07/21/25)