Constitution Week 2011

To the editor:

Almost every time I watch the news lately, those immortal lyrics made famous by Hank Williams Jr., pop into my head.... "The President's against the Congress; the Senate is against the House; people are against politicians...." and so the song continues quite truthfully - - art reflecting life. This particular reflection of the American political scene is by no means an accident, as it was designed to be this way by the creators of our United States Constitution as the balance of power.

September 17 - 23 is Constitution Week, and marks the 224th anniversary of the establishment of our nation's Constitution. What a timely reminder it is, too, as our elected officials wrangle some of the toughest difficulties the country has faced in decades. As the national debate over one crisis or other roars on, with different factions representing the experiences or ideology of "their" constituents, and proposing to hold fast to the wishes of their base, I am amazed to realize that our government is working exactly as it was designed to do. Article 1, Section 1, paragraph 1 states "All legislative or lawmaking powers granted by this Constitution shall be vested exclusively in the Congress of the United States". Let's review the intent of the founders for future generations... Madison wrote "The powers delegated by the proposed constitution to the federal government are few and defined." The House was to examine proposed laws as the representatives of the people; the senate to scrutinize new laws from the perspective of the states; the President evaluates them from a national viewpoint, and the courts to review them in light of the Constitution.

Thomas Jefferson, during his term as our country's third president, observed that government going along quietly, "unattractive of notice, is a mark that society is going on in happiness." Perhaps so, but in times of great national debate the balance of power assures that issues may be thoroughly examined, and the separation of powers guarantee the continuation of freedom, as countries where these powers are blended do not remain free very long. Jefferson went on to warn against all power being concentrated in Washington, as it would eventually "render powerless the checks provided of one [branch] on another, and will become as ... oppressive as the government from which we separated."

What has happened to that original intent of lawmaking limited by the Executive and Judicial branches? How has it become so eroded over the years until we have become a nation of regulations? Up until Teddy Roosevelt, the greatest number of executive orders was issued by any one president was Cleveland with 71. However, good old Teddy issued 1,006, with the view that he could do anything not specifically prohibited by the Constitution... missing the doctrine of enumerated powers, which said a president can do nothing except what the Constitution authorized. By 1935 there were so many edicts that Congress had to pass the Federal Register Act, which required publication of executive orders and their subsequent filing in the National Archives.

In 1984 the Supreme Court declared it was a violation of the separation -of- powers doctrine to have the Congress monitoring the administration of the executive branch. .. Yet it did not say that it was a violation of that same doctrine to have the Congress delegating its lawmaking powers to the Executive branch in the first place. Thus enters the Judiciary.

The catch-phrases for the courts involved in the law-making process are "judicial activism", "judicial legislation", and "judicial administration". They may rule on some particular issue citing "established public policy" or "social necessity". The courts may believe there is some great social need unmet by Congress, and they take action by legislating from the bench. This kind of reasoning was not what the framers of the Constitution had in mind and that is why the selection of good justices is so crucial to the integral balance of power.

There is something built into the Constitution that may be taken in the event that constitutional irregularities get out of hand. Article V allows the state legislatures may call a convention and reverse the Congress and the courts. A "New Bill of Rights" would be submitted to a constitutional convention that could restore the original intent of a divided, balanced and limited government that our Founders created.

So, while the debate rages on in Washington D.C., don't turn your television off. Follow it - contact your senators and representatives who work for you! Get involved! Voice your opinions to them for they represent you... and remember, we are seeing living proof every day that the balance, the separation - of - powers is working as it was designed to do.

Oh, just for the record, I once more agree with Hank Jr.'s song.... I'm against fishing in the rain.

Kind Regards,

Margaret Allison Shackleford, Poplar Bluff