It's time to put aside party politics
The election may be over, but the political bashing continues.
It amazes me when I hear people go on and on over the perceived evils of one elected official or another.
Really, what we need to do is remember the political system at hand.
On Election Day, it's about more than one person. You also elect people to fill the seats in the Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives.
I've heard several people of late say that those seats just don't matter, that the president holds all the power. It's a statement that worries me.
Let's review our history lessons for a moment.
There are three branches of government: the executive branch, led by the president of the United States; the legislative branch, which includes the House of Representatives and the Senate; and the judicial branch, which is led by the Supreme Court.
Why does this matter, you may wonder? The three branches are interwoven to create a system of checks and balances. That way, one branch can't seize too much power over the others. If, for instance, a law is passed by Congress, the president can veto it. Congress could then vote to override the veto. Laws in general that are passed are subject to interpretation by the Supreme Court, which may decide to declare a law unconstitutional.
You wind up with a system where, in theory, the groups are forced to work together.
It all sounds pretty good, right?
Now, what happens when the president, the House and the Senate are at odds with each other? It's an ugly situation with much finger-pointing, where little gets done to further the good of the country as a whole.
Election Day has come and gone, but there's still time to make a difference.
Write to your elected officials, from the top to the bottom, and encourage them to set party politics aside. It shouldn't matter which side of the political fence they fall on. It's time our officials played well together and made some decisions for the betterment of the nation.
Roxanne Molenar is the assignments editor for the Yuma Sun. She can be contacted at rmolenar@yumasun.com or 539-6862.
