<p><strong>To the editor:</strong></p>
<p>"Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely."</p>
<p>This well-known statement is accredited to Lord Acton, an English politician, in a letter in 1887. We now have a situation in the U.S. in which the balance of power to govern at almost all levels of government, including the Supreme Court, is held by the Republican Party. Republicans have tight control of all three branches of the federal government, as well as control of a majority of state governments.</p>
<p>Is this a wise or healthy situation? The framers of the Constitution went to great lengths to prevent just such a situation. They did so by creating three branches of government: executive (president), congress (House of Representatives and Senate) and the Supreme Court. Each branch is independent and co-equal, and each serves as a powerful check on the other two. When all three branches are completely dominated by a single party the entire system of checks and balances established by the Constitution is weakened.</p>
<p>Some would argue that domination by a single party is a good thing because congress and the president can work together to implement a party’s agenda without the stalemates that occur when the president and congress are of different parties. There is some truth to this view, as evidenced by a parliamentary system of government. In a parliamentary system the executive (Prime Minister) gets its power from and is accountable to the legislature. In fact, this linkage does promote harmony within the government and allows the party in power to more quickly implement its agenda.</p>
<p>The difference between the two forms of government is that in a parliamentary system, elections can occur at any time. The prime minister can scrap a government that has lost the support of the people and call for re-elections. This, of course, is not the case in American government. The president and members of congress are elected for set terms, and Supreme Court justices are elected for life.</p>
<p>Lord Acton went on to say that "Liberty consists in the division of power: absolutism in the concentration of power." Liberty is in danger when one party or individual seizes complete control and uses it to eliminate opposition, attack free expression of individuals and the press, and maintain power indefinitely. Extreme examples can be seen in Turkey and Russia today, where strong men have seized control and make a mockery of democratic processes.</p>
<p>Our democracy has flourished when others have failed because of the two-party system and the checks and balances within the governmental structure. Vote for the best people in both parties and our democracy will flourish as never before.</p>
<p><p style="text-align: right"><strong>Jim Curry</strong></p>
<p><p style="text-align: right"><strong>Franklin</strong></p>
