True or False: Anytime one suggests that any one branch

[BootinUp]

of the US government is all powerful or all responsible for a direction/ result of the government as a whole, there is a flaw in one's reasoning.

True or False?

For further study: Can the same answer be applied to one person or one party in the government?

[JuniperLea]

1. True on the first question...

The second is not so easy... as much as I think we blame on Bush, I think that people (here at least) understand that there were many puppeteers during that bloody, evil show.

[Ozymanithrax]

2. all powerful and all responsible are two different things.

No branch of the government is all powerful. We have three, coequal branches of government.

And all responsible: Each branch has specific named powers. Power not given to the branches of government are held by the states. There are checks and balances on those powers. The checks and balances are limits on powers but do not necessarily spread the responsibility.

The President is all responsible for foreign relations, but his power is checked by the Legislative Branch in two ways. (1) All treaties must be approved by Legislative branch. (2) If the President wants to spend money pursuant to foreign diplomacy, Congress must raise those funds. But the President can still act as if a treaty was signed by the Senate, even if they refuse to approve it. So if the President negotiates a treaty, the Senate refuses to sign it, but the President follows the treaty requirements, how is responsibility split.

Only the Congress can declare war. However the President, as Commander and Chief responsible for defense and head of the armed forces, can and has ordered troops into armed conflict without congressional agreement.

I don't think the simplicity of the question fits the reality of the situation.

But if they are all responsible, then even those that oppose a policy and vote against it, are still responsible. So when the President and Congress take us into a war that we do not approve, everyone is Responsible, and since the power is derived from us, every citizen is responsible for each death.