If Men Were Angels...

Writing in Federalist 51, James Madison asserted

In framing a government which is to be administered by me over men, the great difficulty lies in ... enabl[ing] the government to control the governed ... and in ... oblig[ing] it to control itself.

The Madisonian Model's separation of powers and checks and balances (from chapter 2) and federalism (chapter 3) make up what James Madison called "a double security" for our rights:

"The different governments will control each other at the same time that each will be controlled by itself."

Madison's claim that institutions of government will control each other (checks and balances) is called into question by some behavior of congress and the executive recently. For instance, the New York Times reported on 1/26/06 that White House Declines to Provide Storm Papers. Congressional oversight cannot work without some cooperation from the executive.

Also, consider the implications of the Bush Administrations' arguments that Congress has no authority to check the power of the executive in Wartime, in his role as commander-in-chief -- that domestic spying is perfectly acceptable, despite stong legal evidence it violates the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978, and despite evidence that the Bush Administration has not briefed Congress as required by law:

Congressional Agency Questions Legality of Wiretaps

By Dan Eggen
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, January 19, 2006; A05

The Bush administration appears to have violated the National Security Act by limiting its briefings about a warrantless domestic eavesdropping program to congressional leaders, according to a memo from Congress's research arm released yesterday.

The Congressional Research Service opinion said that the amended 1947 law requires President Bush to keep all members of the House and Senate intelligence committees "fully and currently informed" of such intelligence activities as the domestic surveillance effort.

So What?

The Bush Administration makes a couple claims. One claim is they have the authority to conduct the spying under the 9/18/01 Congressional Authorization of Use of Force. The other is that they do not need any such authority.

As the previous post suggested, this is in part a struggle for what ideas you will accept: is the president acting appropriately? In your best interest?

According to Madison in Federalist 51,

"If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls would be necessary."

Finally: the End of Chapter two presents several ways we might change the Constitution -- amending, judicial review, and .... what else? How does this ongoing news story play into changing the Constitution?