The Founding Fathers wanted to protect the freedom they had fought so hard to win from devolving into a dictatorship. They understood from their experience with the British king that the executive needed to be restrained by the people. As a result, they wanted tension between the legislative and executive branches, and consciously divided power to protect liberty. The strongest power they gave the Congress to restrain the president was the power of the purse. When we see a conflict that causes the government to shut down temporarily, it is not a sign that our system is broken. It is an expression of deep disagreement between two branches of government. Sadly, many Americans seem to lack this context today. They do not appreciate the virtues of our system of government, the traits that made America great, who made America great, or the ideas and events that motivated them.
Posted on: Tue, 08 Oct 2013 00:02:45 +0000
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