Democratic and Liberal political analysis and commentary

James Madison, one of our founding fathers, years before he became our nation's fourth president warned us against letting the president use executive privilege to run affairs of the state:

"In war," Madison wrote in 1795, at a time when the young republic still faced its share of dangerous enemies, "the discretionary power of the Executive is extended ... and all the means of seducing the minds are added to those of subduing the force, of the people."

"A delegation of such powers [to the president] would have struck, not only at the fabric of our Constitution, but at the foundation of all well organized and well checked governments."

Because "[n]o nation could preserve its freedom in the midst of continual warfare," Madison urged that the constitutional separation of powers he had codified be respected. "The Constitution expressly and exclusively vests in the Legislature the power of declaring a state of war...the power of raising armies," he wrote. "The separation of the power of raising armies from the power of commanding them is intended to prevent the raising of armies for the sake of commanding them."

This argument is incredibly documented and highlighted in this article by Robert Scheer.

Madison understood the paralyzing fear that grips leaders in times of war and impedes sound judgement. We don't need our leaders playing follow the leader in times of war, we need them to loudly question the rationale and withhold the money to pay for the war if that doesn't work. So, Congress, if you are listening, put away the checkbook and get our troops out of harm's way.