Freedom and popular government in Britain and America became possible because over the course of many years the English House of Commons, and later the American colonial legislatures, were willing to exert the power of the purse to discipline an overreaching executive.
In Britain, the House of CommonsโParliamentโs lower chamberโsometimes defunded the executive in order to curb it. The House was willing do this despite threats from the Crown and โbad pressโ from the English establishment. In America, the colonial assemblies were willing to defund the kingโs governors to check their power.
Freedom likely would have been impossible without the constancy of the โpeopleโs houses,โ led by great parliamentary leaders like Edward Coke in England and Patrick Henry in America.
The U.S. House of Representatives is the direct descendent of the House of Commons and of the colonial assemblies. Like them, it enjoys power to defund government programs. Yes, the Senate has to approve financial bills. But those bills have to originate in the House, and nothing forces the House to send to the Senate a money bill for a program the House doesnโt want.
Todayโs headlineย says that although the Republicans control the House of Representatives, there still are not enough votes to defund Obamacare.
Now, let me see if Iโve got this straight:
*ย ย ย Obamacareโs massive new bureaucracy is a classic case of executive branch overreach;
*ย ย ย Most of its promises turn out not to be trueโhealth care premiums are going up, not down; andย people are losing the insurance coverage the President promised they could keep;
*ย ย ย The President himself says he isย forced to suspend part of it;
*ย ย ย Aย clear majority of the American peopleย want it to go away;
*ย ย ย Most members of the House of Representativesย sayย they want Obamacare to go away;
*ย ย ย Those Representatives have the power of the purse;ย but
*ย ย ย They still โcanโtโ defund it?
Just whom do they think they are kidding?
If these pusillanimous politicos were in charge during critical moments in the 17th and 18th centuries, no doubt America would never have been free, and weโd all be slaves of the British Crown today.
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