Notable Quote - Mark Tapscot - Granite Grok

Notable Quote – Mark Tapscot

of the Constitution?On separation of powers (emphasis mine):

Ultimate test of checks and balances

The credibility of Congress and the courts thus now depends upon their successfully exposing the truth about the IRS scandal and punishing those responsible.

If they fail, the executive branch will be effectively liberated from constitutional restraint. Thus, the IRS scandal has now become the ultimate test of the Founders’ faith in checks and balances as a bulwark against tyranny.

This would not surprise James Madison, the great proponent of checks and balances, who suggested in Federalist #51 that such a combination of two defending branches supporting “the constitutional rights of the former, without being too much detached from the rights of its own department” as a substitute for the Constitution not giving any one branch an “absolute negative” on either of the other two.

In other words, the system is working in the IRS scandal as the Founders intended.

– Mark Tapscott, Executive Editor, Washington Examiner

The problem is that one half of that Congressional power is in the tank for the Executive Branch (e.g., Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid) for ideological interests against his institutional interest. It also is a problem when the other half (the House) refuses to use all of its powers to rectify this impending Constitutional crisis – the Power of the Purse (as they are too weak kneed politically) or Impeachment process (and yes, I understand the politics in the Senate).  One would expect that each branch would defend its own turf with extreme jealousy – but it does not seem that way.

 

>