Gary Hart: Rushing Towards a Constitutional Crisis

The Huffington Post

by Gary Hart

The trouble with the course of action President Bush has taken is that it directly contradicts both the letter and spirit of the U.S. Constitution. The Founding Fathers, who always come to mind when the Constitution is in danger, anticipated the possibility of power grabs. Writing in the Federalist Papers, James Madison defined tyranny as the concentration of powers in one branch of the government, going on to point out that "the great security against a gradual concentration of the several powers in the same department consists in giving to those who administer each department, the necessary constitutional means, and personal motives, to resist encroachments of the others."

Warming to his subject, Madison continued, "Ambition must be made to counteract ambition;" the interest of the office holders must "be connected with the constitutional rights of the place." Recognizing that he was making an appeal to interest over ideals, Madison concluded that it "may be a reflection of human nature, that such devices should be necessary to control the abuses of government."

"But what," he asked, "is government itself but the greatest of all reflections on human nature? If men were angels, no government would be necessary; If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary."

What James Madison would have thought of a latter-day president who held himself above the law, treated Congress as a nuisance, subjected American citizens to state intrusion, and manipulated intelligence, meant to protect the people as a whole, is difficult to fathom. But it is most certainly the kind of presidency he was concerned to curb.

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