Change Doesn’t Come by Electing a President

We have heard during this presidential election cycle – ad naseum – how our country is in dire need of “change.” We are promised by each of the candidates that they are the ones – the only ones – who can bring about this much needed change. Of course, this is all disingenuous politicking. The fact of the matter is this: the office of the presidency is quite limited in its power to affect any change at all. The real entity capable of affecting immediate and dramatic change in government, the governmental branch with the real power, is the Legislative Branch.

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When we examine the Charters of Freedom – and specifically the US Constitution – it is clear that the Executive Branch is charged with executing the laws of the land created by the Legislative Branch (with the consent of the Executive Branch via the signature of the President) and that the Legislative Branch is charged with crafting legislation; charged with debating, weighing and then enacting legislation that would become the law of the land. The Framers even established a mechanism where the Legislative Branch might “override” a presidential veto should the Executive Branch oppose legislation brought forth by an enlarged majority of Congress. This factuality accepted, it is next to impossible, but for the bully pulpit afforded the stature of the presidency, for the President of the United States to be an effective “change agent.” While he (or she) can certainly execute executive orders and signing statements, the fact remains, it is Congress that holds the power to legislate and fund laws and government programs. Therefore, simple logic mandates that for all the tall rhetoric of “change” coming from the presidential candidates – especially the Democrats – their promises will, for the most part, ring hollow. In order to bring about real change in government, one must “change” the Legislative Branch. In this truth the American people are in luck. By the structure of our constitutional government we find that the easiest political contests to affect are in the Legislative Branch. This is so because each of those we vote for are specific to our location, one more immediate than the other. Where the president represents the whole of the nation’s populace, our US Senators are elected by the whole of the populace in a singular state. Even more localized in voter constituency are those selected to become US Representatives. More...