I just started reading over
Indivisible’s new guide for going on offense and of course I only got a couple sentences into Chapter 1 before my mind went off on a tangent.
As is so often the case, Chapter 1 focuses on the basics, recapping the three branches of government, how they work in tandem, and defining the role of legislation. Not a few sentences in I came upon this section:
While control of the House opens up new opportunities, we have to also understand the risks and limitations of this new state of play. Most important, of course, Democrats can’t unilaterally enact laws. We can safely assume that the vast majority of good legislation passed in the House will die in the Republican-controlled Senate. Plus, we would still need Donald Trump to sign any bill that clears Congress in order for it to become law.
Emphasis mine there at the end.
This is what sparked my curiosity and made me start to wonder if perhaps our forefathers erred in conveying this power onto the Presidency. And I started to wonder, what would our government look like if we didn't rely on the President to sign bills into law?
As the head of the Executive branch, it makes sense for the President to "execute" laws written by Congress. But having her/him also have the responsibility of codifying bills into law makes the position itself inherently much more political.
I love the checks & balances provided by a Republic and the three branches of government in America, and I still think conceptually it is by far the best form of government in the world. Democratic Republics are just better - and safer - than Parliamentary systems, in my opinion. I just think that we might be better off with a much less patriarchal view of the Presidency if we make it more of a truly executive position, as the name suggests.
There's no other branch of government that enjoys some/any of the powers vested in any of the other branches. The Judiciary doesn't get to make laws, only interpret them. Congress doesn't get to execute laws, only legislate them.
By giving the President the final say in signing bills into law, we are effectively supplementing the office of the Presidency’s executive powers with legislative power. It's the only branch that gets this benefit.
Vote below and tell me what you think. I suspect most will reflexively vote against the idea, because people fear change (even liberals). But I would love to hear one good argument in the comments section against it.