The Founders had lived through a lot of high-handed rule by unelected, unaccountable minions of the British crown and sought to eliminate the possibility of a return to such arrangements. Thus, the Constitution put limits on governmental authority, divided it, and sought to ensure that those who made the laws could be removed from office if the people were not happy.
Over time, however, their vision was eroded by the administrative state, Congress’s relinquishing of spending control, and accretions of executive power. If James Madison could look at the way Americans are ruled today, he’d be aghast.
Perhaps, though, the pendulum is swinging back, as Ivan Eland explains in this Independent Institute article.
He writes, “The nation’s founders believed that Congress would and should be the preeminent branch of the new government and created a semi-independent executive and judiciary to push back so that Congress would not become too dominant. Yet in the 234 years since the Constitution was ratified, Congress’s abdication of its duties and powers in important areas has led to a marked diminution of its vital role in the constitutional checks and balances system.”
Indeed, Congress has abdicated its duties, choosing to pass vague laws and turning the actual business of legislating and enforcing over to administrative agencies. The appointed administrators don’t have to weigh the pros and cons of their decisions as would elected representatives, and often they act with incredible arrogance. Just think about the way federal bureaucrats responded to Covid.
Eland nails the truth here: “Regrettably, Congress, no matter which party has control, has become nothing more than a platform for its members to showboat in the media, rather than instead legislating and take the heat or accolades for its actions.”
If the Court continues to decide cases in a way that re-establishes the constitutional framework, that’s certain to cause wailing from “progressives” who put their faith in governmental control (especially federal) over society. Too bad. Bloated, unaccountable government is every bit as undesirable for most people today as it was at the time of the Revolution.