Separation of powers is en vogue again

I’ll happily admit to being a broken record on the importance of separation of powers. I am by no means an agnostic on questions of policy — far from it — but, ultimately, I care about process more than anything else. As James Madison understood so well, the neutral application of principle is the prerequisite to any functioning republic; without it, we have power and nothing else besides. Can it be frustrating to watch your “team” being blocked by the dissenters — especially when it is trying to advance something you care about? Of course it can. But is it worth it? You’re damn straight it is. At least, it’s worth it providing that the system is respected by everybody. Because we do not know who might come to office — and because our views and interests will not always be in line with the transient opinion of the majority — it is rational to oppose the concentration of power. Today your friends ride high and the levers of state are operated by saints. But tomorrow?

For the last six years, alas, this view has not been fashionable. Indeed, those who express it have routinely been accused of masking their own self-interest. Time and time again in making the case for Congressional power, we have been charged with “justifying obstructionism,” of “blocking the mandate,” of “preventing governance.” Critics of Obama’s executive actions have been called “racists,” “hostage takers” and “fetishizers” of an “outdated” system. For exercising its constitutionally enumerated powers within the Congress, the Republican party has been deemed the “Party of No.” A few weeks ago, asked about the prospect of divided government, Nancy Pelosi went one further: “Checks and balances,” she said, were “code words” for “obstruction.” Her message? That nobody cares about process, except as a cover for their deeper policy objections.