courtesy of Adam Henderson. Im reposting a commentary from a former professor of mine. Hes a Republican and worked in the Bush Sr White House and is now a deputy secretary of the Department of Transportation. Hes one of the smartest men I know. Also, a fantastic professor. His words are so true about the shut down. He said recently hes embarrassed to even be a Republican. On September 17, 1787, the Constitution of the United States was signed by our founders and became the supreme law of this Nation. Today, October 1, 2013, our Federal government illustrates its greatest flaw – an inherent imbalance of powers. A minority within the legislative branch has shut down our Government due to their opposition to a law that passed both houses of the legislative branch, was signed into law by the executive branch, and was upheld by our judicial branch. Make no mistake; today we are all paying for our founders’ fear of a monarch by allowing a tyranny by a legislative minority. Certain members of Congress take today’s action on the misguided guise of constitutionality. Again, these members disregard the intended balance of powers within our Federal system in that, as written by Alexander Hamilton in Federalist No. 78, “the interpretation of the laws is the proper and peculiar province of the courts.” The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has faced this judicial challenge and been upheld. These same members sardonically ignore their abdication of their Article II, Section 8 powers through the steadfast refusal to pass an appropriations bill or even a Continuing Resolution (CR). What should be most disturbing to the American people; however, is these members’ complete impertinence towards the political and budget processes. Lacking the necessary majority in both houses to repeal or amend the ACA, these members continue to press forward with ill-advised CR proposals in the name of public interest. Yet, the lack a majority willing to repeal or amend the ACA is, in fact, the representation of the public interest. If, in fact, the will of the people has changed since the last election, such change should be reflected in the next election, but these members know that they represent only the minority and therefore refuse to give deference to the intended political process. Additionally, repeated attempts to place authorization language in an appropriations bill or CR illustrate a fundamental disrespect for the intended budget process of the Federal government. Sadly, today’s events have been performed within the vacuum of Congress or at a minimum, without a full understanding of the real world effects. Many individuals even believe that this was a positive (in)action by Congress, causing the furlough of many “lazy and privileged” Federal workers. Anecdotally, over the course of recent months I have seen hundreds of Federal workers go above and beyond the call of duty in an effort to mitigate the repeated failings of Congress. I spent many nights with my team, often arriving home after midnight, working to find solutions to keep U.S. mariners and longshoremen employed despite the devastating effects of the Fiscal Year 2013 sequestration and the anticipated Fiscal Year 2014 sequestration. My team has given thousands of free hours to the American people this year in the face of three years of wage and hiring freezes. That work has been rewarded today with a furlough notice and resulting paycheck deduction. Despite the above, I remain optimistic. My faith remains in the framers of the U.S. Constitution, the American public, and the political process. When you vote during the 2014 mid-term elections do not forget that today your Congress failed you, and let that message be reflected by the true power in U.S. politics – the people.
Posted on: Tue, 01 Oct 2013 21:47:59 +0000
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