Terry Newell is currently director of his own firm, Leadership for a Responsible Society. His work focuses on values-based leadership, ethics, and decision making. A former Air Force officer, Terry also previously served as Director of the Horace Mann Learning Center, the training arm of the U.S. Department of Education, and as Dean of Faculty at the Federal Executive Institute. Terry is co-editor and author of The Trusted Leader: Building the Relationships That Make Government Work (CQ Press, 2011). He also wrote Statesmanship, Character and Leadership in America (Palgrave Macmillan, 2013) and To Serve with Honor: Doing the Right Thing in Government (Loftlands Press 2015).
All in Constitution
Those who wrote the Constitution feared the rise of political parties. They came anyway - for good and ill.
The president’s demand that four members of Congress who disagree with him should leave America misunderstands and disrespects the Constitution. It was designed to manage disagreement, not ensure unity.
The campaign against government waste and gridlock has been a hallmark of elections for decades. But we should be wary of a government that acts too swiftly.
For some, the growth of presidential power is welcome; for others, it is frightening. The Constitution's framers did not want a king, but if the Congress and the courts are not careful, we may get effectively get one.
We will never reach agreement on what the Constitution says in some cases, but government officials must protect it against misuse and we have a responsibility to act reasonably.
Whatever political party controls the White House or Congress demands acceptance of their right to govern and acquiescence to their policies. The view that the Constitution gives the majority party a mandate is not quite correct.
Freedom is not an end in itself. The Constitution treats it as a means to an end. James Madison reminds us that “justice is the end of society.”
Recent years have witnessed many calls for more direct democracy, but its passions threaten to break free from reason and compromise. The Constitution was wary of democracy. We should understand why - and use appropriate safeguards.
