Is our system of government broken?

[kentuck]

Is the government envisioned by the Founders now obsolete? They worked and sweated over a document which would have separation of powers of the 3 branches of government with the "people" in charge.
However, I do not see their vision working at this time.

The Congress was to be divided into two separate branches - the House and the Senate. The House was to be the branch of the "people". They were to be voted in by the people in their districts and they were to represent the people in the "legislative" branch of our government. The Senate was created to prevent hasty decisions without due debate and to offer wisdom and patience to our creation of laws.

In their "document", the Founders stated clearly that only Congress could declare war. In their wisdom, they knew that if a war was declared there would need to be one person in charge. That person would be the President. He would be called the Commander in Chief.

However, that part of our Constitution is now broken. Congress has forfeited its responsibility to declare war. With legislation such as the War Powers Act, they have given the President, the Executive Office, powers never imagined by the Founders. Now we find ourselves with a tyrant at the helm and in the midst of a constitutional crisis.

This same Executive Office has tried to stack the Court in its favor, since they were used initially to put him into office. The Judiciary has failed as much as the other two branches. If we look at our government today, it is difficult to see any part that is working as envisioned. Our government is broken. It does not work.

It is a stark reality. Can it be fixed? Do we need a new "Constitution"? Or do we simply need to return to the old one?

[nebenaube]

1. The old one is just fine thank you..

However, this bullshit notion of a "unitary" executive must be explicitly crushed.

[kentuck]

2. And just how would we crush that notion?

The Congress? The Judiciary? Explain.

[Labors of Hercules]

3. the people.

[bluescribbler]

22. Impeach

The people must demand that the Congress impeach the pResident and his puppet master, remove them from office, try, convict and imprison them.

[Cosmocat]

24. It is going to take ...

MORE of what occured last November ...

The sheeple finally got stirred enough to actually pay a LITTLE attention to what is going on, and do their jobs ...

The system isn't broke ... The most important people involved have not been doing their jobs - THE PEOPLE ...

We as democrats, and our leaders, need to work REAL hard the next two years to take this country back ... To answer the question, no the system is not broken ... But, it was taken over by radicals, ideologues and those far more concerned with their own interests ... But, they were allowed to do so by THE PEOPLE ... If the people pay freakin attention and vote accordingly, the system is just fine ...

[Tellurian]

6. For those of us not familiar with the "unitary executive" theory..

a wiki explanation..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unitary_executive_theory

[Strawman]

4. Probably

But I'm not sure I'd want to put those big questions that are resolved by the constitution back on the table. Do we want to put the Bill of Rights up for negotiation, for example?

And once we break that taboo, whow do we know it won't be broken again in response to some sort of panic where anti-democratic forces would have the upper hand?

[Lost4words]

5. Is sure as hell is being subverted, if not broken.

8643

[Doctor_J]

7. I believe it is

It's looking more and more like we'll never restore the rule of law without something really drastic happening.

For reasons unclear to me, the roughyl 2/3 of us who realize we are being ruled by a fascist tyrant don't have any recourse to take him down, or even rein him in. If we cannot stop escalation in Iraq or an attack on Iran, then the government is indeed broken. the Constitution will serve just fine, IMO - we just need to enforce it.

Fortunately or not, I think the World may step in to help. If Smirk attacks Iran, I believe that they will strike back aggressively, possibly prompting WWIII, part of which will be fought in the US. That sort of catyclism will certainly cause a re-ordering of the government that will be healthy in the long run. It's too bad that things got to the point where we need help from outside.

I personally assign a large part of the blame to the media. Hate radio and Cabal "News" have rendered the populace extremely ignorant of theimportant issues and events happening in the country. personally I think that Limbaugh, Hannity, Ingram, Coulter, Liddy, North, Gallagher, Hewitt, O'Reilly, Wiener, Morgan, the other Limbaugh, Reagan, Schlessinger, and all the local wannabes have done immeasurable harm. they'll be one of the first orders of business when the next revolution comes.

[Double T]

8. The Constitution and the Bill of Rights, as founded, should NOT......

be changed or altered; the RW neocons would have a field day turning this country into a 'LEGAL' tyrannical dictatorship. bushco and EVERYTHING associated with supporting the current administration MUST BE eradicated from our system of government; politicians, judges, prosecutors, intelligence agency directors, lobbyists, corporate media propaganda pushers, traitorous corporate america and the like, ALL must go!!!! The current administration is/has been run by three corporate psychopaths (bush, cheney and rumsfeld) that believe THEY can do whatever THEY want, whenever THEY want and don't require anyone's approval other than their own. 'WE' CAN fix this horrible MESS and it MUST begin in the voting booth in 2008. Meanwhile our NEW Congressional Majority better put some teeth into their current legislation.

[Tellurian]

13. Agreed...

Our problem is, it's already been altered by Bush and the neocons..

ck in here:

http://www.tpmcafe.com/blog/coffeehouse/2006/sep/29/the_star_chamber



K&R

:dem:

[unpossibles]

9. I think some things could be updated (such as the Electoral College)

but overall, our system is fine. But we need to stop letting people abuse the system. Right now, Bush, Gonzales, et al are ignoring the system, and many of the people (through the media's complicit behavior) are ignoring it or are ignorant of it, so a "better" system would not matter.

[kentuck]

10. Your are right that some are "ignoring" the system but ?

isn't there someone to fix that? Or is that a flaw in the system? It appears no one is able to prevent the abuses or the law-breaking? What's the solution?

[unpossibles]

16. I think the answer is "we the people"

as corny as it sounds (and I have had folks tell me that, sadly), the powers of the government are granted by us. The People. I figure our first recourse is to try to get rid of those people using the proper channels within the system. If that continues to not work, then perhaps more drastic measures are required, but only as a last resort. The first thing we need to do is somehow get average people to believe that they have power, that politics doesn't have to be boring, corrupt, or out of their reach, and that it is their Right and Responsibility to keep a watchful eye on the government.

I suppose if I can credit Dumbya with anything, it is that he has unwittingly awakened a lot of people to the hazards of not paying enough attention, myself included.

[generaldemocrat]

11. No, it's just that the GOP needs to be banned.........

The system isn't rotten, only one component of it is and that's the GOP.

At least Dem leaders don't abuse executive power like this when they come to power. Only the GOP has a history of doing so (Watergate, Iran-Contra, Bush Admin).

I have reached the conclusion that we need to take concrete steps to ban the GOP and to allow another conservative party (maybe the Libertarians) to take it's place. If we don't ban these Rebublican criminals, then they will come back again and again, committing the same misdeeds.

[sabbat hunter]

12. under a free country

you cannot ban a political party or vote it out of existence. the leaders of the party may be corrupt, but you are preventing the people from expressing their political voice. the libertarians have a vastly different platform than the republicans.


what would prevent another group from gaining power and 'banning' the democratic party?

[generaldemocrat]

14. Damned if we do damned if we don't.......

I am sick and tired of this filthy party creating a living hell and causing messes every time they come to office. McCarthyism, Watergate, Iran-Contra, and the quasi-fascist policies of the Chim admin.

Either the Dems get off their @sses and start acting like an opposition party instead of limp wristing around or there will be little option left but to ban the GOP.

[underpants]

15. Not yet but they are working on it

As Gonzalez said yesterday, "It's not for a lack of effort"

[leftofthedial]

17. it has been crippled, I hope not permanently,

by public apathy

and the corrupt influence of rabid oligarchical capitalists on all three branches

[closeupready]

18. I've long thought that its broken.

I wonder if this is just a natural stage of an evolutionary cycle which all organic things go through?

[kentuck]

19. If it was only one branch, then I could be more optimistic...

However, it seems to me that all 3 branches of government are not working the way they were envisioned or the way they worked in the past. The Executive makes and breaks laws at will. The Legislative branch does nothing to make sure there are consequences when the laws are broken. The Judicial has become an accomplice of the Executive Branch. What do we fix first?

[baldguy]

20. When a monkey gets behind the wheel of a car, it doesn't mean the car is broken.

[kentuck]

21. But when nobody removes the monkey, it is broken...

As the monkey weaves down the road ready to drive off the first cliff...

[pat_k]

25. As with a drunk driver, must pull over and take the keys or watch the crash.

What part of drunk with power don't Members of Congress understand?

Impeachment is the ONLY way they "can take the keys" and fulfill their oath to defend the Constitution.

Failing to impeach is no different than a cop who turns a blind eye to a drunk driver. That cop not only betrays their oath to protect the public, they are morally responsible for the deaths the drunk causes.

The power of a 2 ton car is NOTHING compared to the massive power of the American Presidency.

Every single day that a Member of Congress fails to stand up and fight for impeachment, they add to the balance sheet of horrors they are complicit in.

[pat_k]

23. Our Constitution went into breach 12-Dec-00. ONLY Impeachment can enforce our common contract. (nt)