Curb power or perish

It doesn’t matter whether the name is Reagan, Clinton, Bush or Obama.

Americans in general and Congress specifically have ceded far too much power to the president, and if we have any desire for this great nation to endure, to capitalize on the unprecedented wisdom of the framers of the Constitution, that must change.

As distinguished constitutional scholar Dr. David Adler explained to an enthralled audience in Coeur d’Alene on Thursday, our nation’s founders took great care to dramatically limit presidential powers. In rejecting every aspect of the type of monarchy under which citizens had suffered, framers of the Constitution put the lion’s share of authority into the hands of Congress, not the president. They were committed to the concept of a republic, or, as Dr. Adler describes it, “the conjoined wisdom of the many.”

Consider that as the framers determined that the president should never have the authority to send the nation to war, General George Washington, who would become our first president, was in the room. Our country’s founders loved and respected Washington but placed their greater trust in the decision-making ability of a congressional body that would benefit from the invaluable process of discussion and debate.

What we have today would deeply disappoint, if not outrage, the Constitution’s creators. We have a president to whom Congress has given far too much power in dealing with our nation’s fiscal crisis, energy policy and more. Why? Because many members of Congress are more intent upon getting re-elected than they are in carrying out their Constitutional duties and the will of their constituents. Further, they can blame the president for failures that should land firmly on their own plates.

To a degree, Americans see through this ruse. According to Dr. Adler, the current approval rating of Congress is a dire 9 percent. But until voters hold members of Congress accountable, nothing is likely to change.

The road that led to this point of imperial-like presidential powers is at least a half-century old and daunting for dozens of reasons, but it’s not too late to get back on the track envisioned by Madison, Jefferson and Hamilton. Educators must place far greater emphasis on students understanding civics. So long as most Americans are ignorant about their Constitution and the way government is supposed to work, change is unlikely.

Voters must hold their elected officials accountable. Insist that as members of Congress, they resolve the fiscal crisis, create a strong federal energy policy, and prevent President Obama or his successors from ever again unilaterally sending our nation to war.

In other words, demand that they do their job.

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Speak up, North Idaho!

• Sen. Mike Crapo

239 Dirksen Senate Office Building

Washington, D.C. 20510

Phone: 664-5490 (CDA)

202-224-6142 (D.C.)

To email, go to:

http://www.crapo.senate.gov/contact/email.cfm

• Sen. Jim Risch

483 Russell Senate Office Building

Washington, D.C. 20510

Phone: 667-6130 (CDA)

202-224-2752 (D.C.)

To email, go to:

http://www.risch.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/contact?p=Email

• Rep. Raul Labrador

1523 Longworth House Office Building

Washington, D.C. 20515

Phone: 667-0127 (CDA)

202-225-6611 (D.C.)

To email, go to:

https://labradorforms.house.gov/email-me