DAILY TOL: Tree of Liberty

The framer’s of our Constitution were a non-trusting lot.  Even a cursory examination of how the three branches of government interact shines a bright light on either their intense paranoia or inspired genius.  They knew that in man’s quest for power and control, the people would fear a government that did not fear the people.

The best way, they reasoned, to keep a government fearful of the people is by keeping that government from amassing too much power.  The first step to keep a government from amassing too much power is to split it into three parts.  Then, just to be sure, our framers interlocked the three parts in such a way that any stretch by one part to gain power would place stress on the other two and thereby maintain the desired equilibrium.  Paranoid…perhaps.  Genius…undoubtedly.

We have the Legislative branch where the raucous House of Representatives provides the closest link between the elected and the electorate to which they have to answer every two years.  It is in the House that passions flare and the inspired ideas of the people are often first given voice.  If the House is the cup in which our passions boil, the Senate is the saucer that protects the People from scalding coffee that sloshes over the side.  The Senate…where one lone voice can halt the entire body and where 60 must agree before a vote can even be taken.  It is in this most deliberative of bodies where the President must go for advice and consent when appointing those who have their hands on the levers of power.  This advice and consent provides accountability to the People indirectly through their elected Senators.

We recently witnessed one of the most crucial examples of advice and consent with the confirmation of our new Supreme Court Justice, Sonia Sotomayor.  This confirmation process isn’t optional.  It is clearly spelled out in Article II, Section 2 of our Constitution which states that all “high government positions,” are required to be confirmed.

How then is it that President Obama has more than 30 unelected, unconfirmed, high government positions currently filled with people answerable only to the Executive branch.  This is simply unacceptable and we must immediately demand that these positions either be confirmed by the Senate or explicitly require by Senate resolution that no appropriated funds can be used by, or in the service of, these Czars.

Because it is fashionable to place all Patriotic arguments in terms of Left and Right, Blue and Red, Donkey and Elephant, I include for your linking pleasure a pleathora of liberally inclined patriots who have taken serious issue with this egregious extension of power by the Executive branch.

• Salon
• Senator Byrd
  • CBS
  • NY Times
  • La Times
  • CNN
• CNet

Read for yourselves.  Become educated, which means doing more than mindlessly ingesting data without engagement or analysis.  This is our Republic.  Take responsibility for your role as a member of the electorate.  Hold your Senators accountable by demanding that these Czars, too, be held accountable.

Imagine my surprise, but one of the things I prize most in any discussion is intellectual honesty. To disagree with someone on a point simply because of their ideology or because you’ve disagreed with them on all previous points is simply intellectually dishonest.

Here’s the backdrop.  David Gregory has picked up the mantel of Meet the Press and clearly went to school on the man whose giant shoes he’s agreed to fill, the late Tim Russert. He does a good job and I recommend his program. Today, he asked Barney Frank why so many politicians fail to live up to the public’s expectations. I’m paraphrasing, but Rep. Frank said, “The voters do not hold us accountable enough.”

I couldn’t agree more. And let’s start with Rep. Frank. Why do the people of his district return him to Washington every two years? While he attempts to shift blame, he has Chaired the Financial Services Committee for over two years now. How is it in that time he never caught wind of the tsunami in which we now find ourselves. More, a year ago Rep. Frank was publicly proclaiming Fannie and Freddie fundamentally strong.

There are many issues on which Rep. Frank and I disagree, but that is not the point of this post. My point here is that until our representatives believe there are consequences for failure, their behavior will not change. Voter’s must enthusiastically cross party lines when their party’s incumbent fails to deliver. Democrats in Massachusetts should have gleefully sent Rep. Frank packing for his abject failure as Chairman.

Speaking for my lone vote, I have placed my Senators and Representative on notice, just because my state and district is Red/Blue, don’t be complacent. The people are roiling mad at your continued bickering and ineptitude. Your party affiliation will not protect you from incompetence, at least if I have anything to do about it.