The Power Game

Our government is constantly rallying for power, even within its own system. However, this intra-governmental power struggle is absolutely necessary to the success of our federal system. Former President Clinton's initial struggle against a united republican party and a divided democratic party in the early 1990s was a prime example of this. Congress prevented him from pushing through his own agenda; rather, they limited his power by implementing their own ideas into the agenda. But likewise, Clinton restricted the power of Congress when he vetoed the republican balanced budget bill promoted by Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich. Moreover, Clinton turned the bill against the republicans. In short, both the legislative and executive branches checked each other such that neither branch got their way entirely.

This is an explicit demonstration of checks and balances and shows the principle helps to prevent our government from becoming too one-sided and even tyrannical. Power is constantly rising and falling between our branches of government; it is this constant oscillation that makes the separation of powers in the American system successful. The Clinton-Gingrich affair only reiterated the idea that no one group can get their way by pure brute force. The American political system requires compromise and bipartisanship; only then can our system succeed and serve its people.