"Why won’t Obama voters `break up’ with him?" by Greg Sargent at WP

[kurt_cagle]

38. Absolutely Agreed

I think this should be broadcast widely.

The Republicans want kings. Scratch a Republican and you will find a Royalist - someone who believes that the President has absolute power (or at any rate can be controlled by kingmakers to exercise absolute power on someone else's behalf). Aristocracies generally like this kind of structure, because it makes it possible for decisions to be made that generally benefit only the aristocracy, usually at the expense of the peasantry and the mercantile class. It's ironic given that the Republicans essentially started out as mercantilists, who have traditionally been the yeoman middle class, but not all that surprising.

I think most Democrats actually prefer a weaker president, one who does not have absolute powers, even in times like now when we could wish that we had control of the House back. They prefer distributed power, believe that checks on authority keep people honest and root out corruption, and that informed debate actually improves the quality of legislation. They believe in the power of government, but also believe that government needs to constantly police itself lest it become captured by one or another constituency, and that the role of the electorate is to watch the watchman.

Democracy is a messy process, it can move slowly, and it can be frustrating for those who want direct, rapid action to happen. But there is a reason why the legislature is called a deliberating body, and why the president isn't all powerful.