Hendrix's Eccentric Commentary

4/6/2024

Political Science Thought for the Day:  I have been reading (in John Dickerson’s  _The Hardest Job in the World_ most recently, and  in many other places over the years) that the American Presidency has become too powerful, assumed too many duties, and Congress has diminished itself and ceded power to the Presidency. I think this is almost self-evidently true.

Supposed the “Separation of Powers” bequeathed to us by the Founders takes care of this.  Contrary to popular belief, the Founders created a strong executive, but Congress and other checks and balances were supposed to rein in a too power executive branch.

I would argue that if this was ever true, it no longer works.  The principal power that Congress holds over the President is the power of the purse.  In the real world Congress has always been very reluctant to defund things that the president does, and this is particularly true in foreign affairs. The War Powers Act is a dead letter, and no Congress would dare take the risk of defunding ongoing military operations — they would be crucified by the public.

I think that it is clear that the Founders hopes were not fulfilled.  In the real world a Parliamentary system is much better at controlling the executive branch and keep the legislature (parliament) relevant. The principle of collective responsibility on the part of the cabinet forces the Prime Minister to retain the support of the leaders of the legislature. The fact that the prime minster can face that ultimate sanction of a vote of no confidence and be removed ensures that real power remains in the hands of the legislature, and the fact that members of the cabinet are also members of the legislate keeps the legislature more hands on and generally relevant to what is going on in the governnment.

All told, I think this is another one the Founders blew.  I think that a big part of our government’s dysfunction is due to a poorly though out structure that rested on a theoretical basis that does not work in the real world.