Congress and the President

I've been thinking about this latest spat between the legislative branch and the executive branch over the recent search of Congressman Jefferson's offices. READ HERE

Of course, at stake is the separation of powers that the constitution establishes. I don't claim to know how to sort out all the legal and constitutional questions here. But, I have been considering the genius of the framers of the constitution. Perhaps they broke up the governance of the country into three separate but equal branches of government not merely to avoid the threat of tyranny, but to insure a continual gridlock.

Tom Jefferson, Jim Madison, Benny Franklin and the gang intuited that separate but equal branches of government would constantly covet the powers of the other branches and would, as well, resent the limits that the existence of the others imposed on them. That would mean that the government would spend a great deal of time fighting with itself. So, the government would not have time to hassle its citizens. The only time that such in-fighting would cease would be in moments of dire national emergency or national interest. Then the limited government would have to work together. I think that the proponents of self-rule and personal liberty would have liked the present conflict.

The only down side -- that our framers did not have to face -- is the modern day reality of a federal income tax. A federal government that takes our money by force and then wastes it really rubs us the wrong way. That is an important, but separate issue. But, lets not be to hasty to hope that the politicians in D.C. get along. Let them fight. It is good for freedom.