Frontline: Cheney's Law

The Frontline special called Cheney's Law has once again reminded M.O.W. of why it is so important to maintain the balance of power between the three branches. We have long believed that the Judiciary and the Executive, which are the two least democratic branches, are also the most dangerous branches, precisely because they are less directly controlled by the people. These two branches of government have the potential to conspire together, as they apparently have for the past 6 years under the Bush/Cheney Regime. We believed then that the coup d'etat of 2000 was portentous, and as Frontline demonstrates, we were correct: the same people who disregarded both the will of the people and the constitutional mechanisms for deciding the presidency in 2000 are precisely the people who would later consolidate power in the Executive Branch and use that power to reward their friends and punish their enemies.

Abuse of power comes as no surprise.

Yet, the thing that makes M.O.W. so very sad is that Bush/Cheney have been permitted their coup d'etat. We have allowed them to usurp the power of law. We have allowed them to tyrannize the people. No one has stood up to them. Where is the opposition party? Of what use is the two party system if no one will stand up? Of what use are the three branches of government if each branch does not check upon the others?

Thomas Paine wrote in Common Sense that one would not be able to find "the King of America," because in "America the law is King." Cheney has explicitly reversed Paine and the rest of the Revolutionary generation's understanding of the correct ordering of law and leader: he has put himself above the law, and what is worse, he has put himself above the constitution. M.O.W. fears a day soon when she will hear "Long Live King Cheney!"

Where are the real patriots when you need them? Who will defend the constitution from these attacks?

Who, indeed.