ICYMI: Coequal or Co-opted? How Congress Can Restore Its Rightful Role in Government

Former Rep. Mickey Edwards (R-OK) writes at the Ripon Forum:

“The problem is long-standing and difficult: it often appears that many members of Congress have no clue as to what the Constitution requires of them.  Perhaps some of these approaches might over time help redress the balance between the branches and return us to something closer to the constitutional model the Founders envisioned.   The Constitution did not make the Congress the principal repository of federal authority because its authors thought the Congress would be infallible.  Rather, in a hybrid governmental system, a republic in form but a democracy in the selection of leaders, the Founders believed that by giving Congress the power to tax, spend, and go to war, the ultimate authority would rest with the people themselves.  When members of Congress surrender this authority, it is not themselves they are betraying.  It is the American people.  That is why the balance of powers must be restored….”

Read more at http://www.riponsociety.org/article/coequal-or-co-opted/

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Topics: Reform Efforts
Tags: Rep. Mickey Edwards