Separation
of Powers - Executive Orders
The
Liberty Committee
Nov 2000
It may seem strange to
begin by stressing the ways in which
the Constitution limits governmental power, but we
must keep in mind the dilemma the framers faced.
They wanted a more effective national government, yet at
the same time they were keenly aware that
the people would not accept too much central
control.
Efficiency and order were
important concerns, but they were not as important as
liberty. The framers wanted to ensure
domestic tranquility and prevent future rebellions,
but they also wanted to forestall the emergence of a
home-grown George III. Accordingly, they allotted
certain powers to the national government and reserved
the rest for the states, thus establishing a system
of federalism.... Even this was not enough.
They believed they needed additional means to limit the
national government.
The first step was the
separation of powers, that is,
allocating constitutional authority to each of the
three branches of the national government. In The
Federalist, No. 47, James Madison wrote, "No
political truth is certainly of greater intrinsic value,
or is stamped with the authority of more enlightened
patrons of liberty, than that...the accumulation of all
powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in
the same hands...may justly be pronounced the very
definition of tyranny."
Separation of
powers: Constitutional division
of power among legislative, executive, and
judicial branches. The legislative branch is
assigned the power to make laws; the executive is
charged with the power to apply the laws: and the
judiciary receives the power to interpret laws.
Government by the
People, 14th edition,
Burns, Peltason, Cronin, Prentice Hall
American presidents of
both political parties; Congress regardless of its
majority party; and the courts have failed to honor the
American constitutional requirement of the separation of
powers – the separation of powers our country’s
founders knew to be necessary in order for them and for
us to live in liberty.
During the remaining few
months of his term in office, how many and what kind of
executive orders will President Clinton issue?
"The
fact that the amendment did not survive conference
was disappointing, and led the administration to issue
essentially the same policy in executive-order
form."
U.S. Trade
Representative Charlene Barshefsky, The Wall Street
Journal, May 11, 2000
"We've
switched the rules of the game. We're not
trying to do anything legislatively."
Interior
Secretary Bruce Babbitt, The Washington Times, June 14,
1999
"...he
[Clinton] has also pursued an 'executive order strategy'
that goes way beyond trying to guide federal agencies
in how to implement laws."
The Wall Street
Journal (editorial) August 6, 1998
"Stroke of
the pen. Law of the Land. Kinda cool."
Paul Begala,
former Clinton advisor, The New York Times, July 5, 1998
"Clinton is
pushing the envelope. He's consistently trying to
take
more power than Congress gives him."
David
Schoenbrod, New York Law School professor, Los Angeles
Times, July 4, 1998
Executive
Order 13175?
See these links:
Executive
Orders Legislation
Background
Information
News
Articles and Commentaries
Frequently-Asked
Questions
List
of Executive Orders & Other Reference Sources
Bibliography
© 2000 The
Liberty Committee
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