Checks & Balances

When we're taught American history in school, one of the first things we learn about the government is the system of checks and balances. That's what supposedly makes us a democracy - constant regulation of the amount of power that each branch of the government has, thus the House of Representatives, the Senate, and the Supreme Court exist. The President is also a part of this system, as head of the executive branch. Every formality and process is essential to keeping the peace and making sure nobody gets some kind of unfair advantage over the other.

We all know that there will always be a "butting of heads" between the Republican and Democratic party. But, when the two parties agree - something is sincerely wrong. It's all over the news...Obama's decision to bypass the Senate and appoint officials to handle the new health care system. Articles say that presidents of both political parties are able to use this kind of bypass, but GOP and Democratic leaders alike are concerned.

The House of Representatives and the Senate are there by vote of the people. In turn, these represented officials vote and make decisions with the people's general well-being in mind. If President Obama would like to spurn the legislative branch and simply romp around making his own decisions...is he spurning the people, too?

Obama says that he doesn't want political parties to be so critical, because what's most important right now are people's needs. Thus, we badly need someone to head the Medicare system and just get things back on track so change can be implemented immediately. But how do you know what's good for the people when you've just ignored the very representatives who the PEOPLE selected to represent THEM where they cannot be represented otherwise?

So we have checks and balances...minus the "checks" part...minus the "balances" part...
So now what do we have?