Balance of Power
The framers of the Constitution were scholars in human nature, social structure, forms of government and history. They believed strongly in states’ rights but realized the Articles of Confederation with a weak national government had proven to be inadequate. They reallocated the functions of government to protect the liberties of the people.
According to the U.S. Constitution the people are unable to recall members of the federal executive, legislative or judicial branches. The authority to recall federal officials is reserved for members of the federal government. Congress has the sole power to impeach members of the three branches with the House acting as prosecutor and the Senate acting as the jury. The Constitution guarantees each state a republican form of government. Therefore, states also have impeachment powers (legal process) of state officials. Nineteen states also allow residents to recall (political process) state officials.
All legislative powers at the federal level is vested in Congress. State legislatures have the authority to create state laws. Twenty-six states and Washington, D.C. have initiative and/or veto referendum processes.
At the federal level it is critical that members of each branch fulfill their obligations while restricting their actions to those authorized by the Constitution. Members of each branch must challenge members of the other branches who are negligent of their duties or usurp their authority. When members fail to honor their oath of office to support the Constitution the people have no recourse other than to complain or to not reelect the violator.
Throughout the history of our republic there have been numerous unchallenged violations of our Constitution. Most were motivated by the gain of power but many were the result of ignorance or incompetence. The minimal qualifications for political office candidacy do not ensure a talented individual with integrity and good character will be elected. Congress has unconstitutionally delegated it’s legislative authority to agencies directed by unelected officials with no accountability. For the majority of legislation passed by Congress there is no applicable authority in the Constitution. As Commander in Chief of the military the President directs attacks on sovereign countries without consulting Congress. The Supreme Court “creates” legislation through appellate rulings and then cites the rulings as precedent to expand the legislation.
When usurpers and negligents in one branch are not challenged by those entrusted to check their illegitimate actions then the delicate balance of power between the federal and state governments and the people is upset. For federal infractions the states can sue but then the proper outcome is dependent on an impartial federal court. For federal executive and legislative branch infractions the only remedy available to the people is non-reelection of the offending officials. For federal judicial branch infractions the people have no available remedy.
The New American publishes The Freedom Index which is a scorecard to rate voting compliance with the Constitution for each member of Congress. I encourage people who favor curtailing further growth of the federal government and its associated infringement on states’ and personal rights to utilize The Freedom Index to “retire” Congressional members with low scores. Don’t place any importance on a member’s declared political party. Party platforms are revised pre-election to attract voters and then ignored post election by the winners. The Republican Party has demonstrated it is more capable than the Democratic Party in deficit spending.
Please acknowledge Albert Einstein’s statement:
“The strength of the Constitution lies entirely in the determination of each citizen to defend it. Only if every single citizen feels duty bound to do his share in this defense are the constitutional rights secure.”
