pudge's Journal: Coequal

I've mentioned this before, but sometimes things are worth rementioning. Several times. From Meet the Press this weekend:

MR. RUSSERT: Does he believe that the executive, legislative, judicial branches are equal?
SEN. CORNYN: Well, I don't know. We'll ask him, but I assume he would, that they're co-equal under -- that is basic high-school civics course.

I agree it is basic high school civics. However, it is also incorrect.

As Madison said in Federalist 51, "... it is not possible to give to each department an equal power of self-defense (from the other departments). In republican government, the legislative authority necessarily predominates." He goes on then to explain some ways in which that predominance can be mitigated, such as with two separate (and therefore opposing) houses in the legislature. But it is without question that they beleived the legislature to be the most powerful branch of government.

And any modest perusal of the Constitution bears this out. The Congress can overrule the President on almost any matter, and the Court too, except in Constitutional matters, where the Congress can amend the Constitution, without any input or interference from the other two branches (though, of course, they require the aid of the states, but the states are comprised of the people who elected the Congress in the first place).

Congress can, in effect, do anything it pleases to, if it puts its collective mind to it, which is precisely why we've done so much work to prevent them from doing just that. Madison continued: "The remedy for this inconveniency is to divide the legislature into different branches; and to render them, by different modes of election and different principles of action, as little connected with each other as the nature of their common functions and their common dependence on the society will admit." And this, in a nutshell, is why the 17th Amendment was such a bad idea.

What's sad to me is that Senator John Cornyn is a lawyer, the former Attorney General of Texas, and is on the Senate Judiciary Committee, and he doesn't know these things. Of course, I'd not single him out: he's probably in "good" company in his misunderstanding.

Update Ugh. Senator Grassley asked whether Judge Alito believed all three branches were coequal, and Alito responded affirmatively.

But actually...

[nandorman]

...it somewhat depends on the time in history. YES, I agree that it is written in the constitution that the power of congress CAN be larger than the power of the other two branches. However, congress rarely exercises its Constitutional powers. Currently, BOTH the executive and judicial have more "power" because Congress lets them.

I suppose one might say this is still Congress exercising ITS power in that it is currently granting the Executive and Judicial branches more-than-usual freedom to do what they

Re:But actually...

[pudge]

...it somewhat depends on the time in history. YES, I agree that it is written in the constitution that the power of congress CAN be larger than the power of the other two branches. However, congress rarely exercises its Constitutional powers. Currently, BOTH the executive and judicial have more "power" because Congress lets them.

Sure, but if you mean *effective* power instead of *Constitutional* power, the Congress is probably the *least* powerful. At best, it's in a tie for second with the President. Th

Cornyn is not acting as a lawyer

[johndiii]

He is acting as a politician. The purpose of the Meet the Press is political - public relations, not education. So, as is normal for a politician when not actively trying to change something, he parrots the conventional wisdom. His purpose at this point is to get Alito confirmed, not educate the public. With the people who oppose the nomination ready to blow up any chance remark into a fight, he is probably wise to stay under their radar on this particular issue.

Not that I think that people should n

Overriding the courts

[jdavidb]

and the Court too, except in Constitutional matters, where the Congress can amend the Constitution, without any input or interference from the other two branches (though, of course, they require the aid of the states, but the states are comprised of the people who elected the Congress in the first place).

That is important to remember. In Florida, during the Terri Schiavo tragedy, a court overturned a law (or perhaps constitutional amendment) put out by the Florida legislature with no reason other than