Op-Ed: When Branches Collide Democracy Happens

Another tip from a loyal reader led to this article on the potential for big battles ahead between President Obama, he of the progressive agenda, and a decidedly conservative Supreme Court.  Interestingly, each branch of government has been accused of running rampant over democracy for various reasons by various political opponents and pundits over the past year and a half, obviously for much different reasons. However, maybe a different view of the situation is more appropriate. Perhaps these collisions represent the best hope America has of approaching a democratic government.

President Obama was elected without so much as a hanging chad controversy. He clearly had a majority of Americans backing him, and he was likewise handed majorities in both Houses of Congress. Despite being given two opportunities to name Justices since, however, he was not handed a majority on the Supreme Court. And, it seems unlikely, based on ages alone, that he will ever have one. This has led to potential situations over the next few years which could see laws or sections of laws overturned by the court, thus erasing certain legislative victories for the White House and Congress. Some argue that this is bad for the country, and that it impedes progress.

Isn't this how our democracy works however? Wasn't it the intent of the Founders that the equal, yet varied, powers of each branch would be required to, at times, protect the rights and values, sometimes of the majority and just as often the minority? I think the answer to both is yes. Therefore, the looming battles between branches, rather than be viewed as negative, should be embraced as an important part of a democratic political system that should, in reality, be labelled as no better than representative, and will certainly hardly ever be able to capture the exact mood of the country.

America will never be a true democracy (interestingly Dictionary.com did a piece on this for the holiday). However, despite the near impossibility of capturing the mood of a clearly fractured electorate, competing branches seem to be the best hope for laws and rules to at least come close to representing the views and values of the nation. And that is exactly what the Founders intended.