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even though the president is often thought of as the head of the nation, the president doesn't come first in the Constitution

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it is congress that is described in Article I

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it's probably an over-simplification to call the president the leader

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each branch is supposed to lead in some ways or circumstances

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what is congress

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the Senate

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represents the states

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2 senators from each state

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chosen by state legislatures, originally

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the House of Representatives

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represents the people

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number determined by population

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chosen by population

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as far as making laws, the two houses function in the same way

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a bill has to get a through both houses

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the senate can filibuster

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this can be ended by three-fifths majority vote

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this is not in the constitution and so the senate could get rid of it any time it wanted

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what kinds of bills

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a state legislature can pass anything it feels is a good idea

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but congress has only the specific powers set out in the constitution

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basically on issues that couldn't be left to the states

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interstate commerce

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foreign affairs

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once bill passes both houses it goes to the president

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if he signs it, it becomes law

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if not, it goes back

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two-thirds can override it

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courts will decide whether the law complies to the constitution or not

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separation of powers protects you from corruption in the government

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generally a law needs the participation and approval of all three branches

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congress enacts law

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executive enforces law

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judicial agrees that law is constitutional

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a jury (your peers) can also be brought in to determine guilt

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what were the drafters worried about?

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concentrating power in the hands of one branch of government or of one person, someone like King George

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what device did they use to protect us from it?

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separation of powers

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how has that worked out over the years?

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two things that have made the separation of powers work differently than how the framers anticipated

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1. 17th amendment: took election of senators away from the legislatures and gave it to the people of the states

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people-elected senators generally care less about the states per se than state-elected senators

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today in congress, more weight is given to the people than to the states

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2. the party system:

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a system of government where elected officials belong to, and commonly vote with, a like-minded political bloc

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the idea behind the separation of government is that the different branches of government will see each other as rivals

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congress will feel a sense of loyalty to congress

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the president will feel a sense of loyalty to the office of the presidency

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the framers didn't think about political parties, which eventually conflict with separation of powers

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a congress controlled by the same party as the president is much less likely to check or balance that president

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a congress controlled by the opposite party has an interest in going out of its way to make the president fail in order to win the next presidency

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the party system tends to give us too much or too little checking and balancing

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how can we fix this?

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this is a problem that comes from political polarization, from thinking of politics as if it were a team sport rather than a shared attempt to promote the common good

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so one thing we can do, probably the only thing we can do, is to stop thinking of politics in this way