Religion forbids us from assuming a God-like character. This is especially true in politics and government, where limiting the power of the state, division of powers, and the doctrine of checks and balances are established in order to prevent accumulation of power that might lead to such Godly claims.
The BJP must nurture the institutions that put credible checks and balances in place.
We all learn in school that the judicial, legislative and executive branches of government must check and balance each other. But other non state institutions must participate in this important system of checks and balances as well. These checking institutions include the academy, the media, religious institutions and NGOs.
Tea Party attendees and health care town-hall protesters share the common belief that the extravagant spending of President Obama and the Democratic Party - absent any checks and balances - will eventually lead more people into government dependency, higher taxes, and, perhaps, our country's financial ruin.
In a small lab, if you make a mistake, you can go in the next day and fix it. But here, when you are committed to spending a hundred thousand or a million dollars, you can't fix it later. You need to have a system of checks and balances internally. In particle physics, that's just part of the structure.
As a member of Congress, I believe Congress must provide oversight of actions by the Executive Branch as our system of checks and balances requires.
Balance is a good thing - checks and balances are a good thing.
There's value in checks and balances. And there's value in having independence in the governor's office with respect to the legislature.
When you're elected to Congress, you take a vow to uphold the Constitution and its system of checks and balances. That vow doesn't say, 'Unless it's politically uncomfortable.'
We must have systems of checks and balances to make sure that those people who are making critical decisions for our country are held accountable, and nowhere is that more important than in the area of national security.
