One of the greatest characteristics of the American federal government is the system of checks-and-balances imposed on the three branches by the founding fathers. The notion that if one part of the government gets too out of control, the others have a means to impose sanity is a powerful one, which has generally kept Washington from getting too nutty over the past couple of centuries.
Unfortunately, the founding fathers didn’t contemplate the formation of political parties. As a result, there is always the potential that one part of the American political duopoly can gain control of both the Executive and the Legislative branches, and potentially the Judicial as well. A single political agenda wielding power over both houses of Congress and the White House can go a long way towards bypassing Constitutional checks on power.
Consider, for example, the excesses of the first six years of the current administration…or the excesses of the first two years of Bill Clinton’s White House.
I have said before, and I will continue to say, that I am happiest with the government when no one political party controls both chambers of the Legislative branch, and the Executive branch.
I’m aware that some folks are concerned that divided government inevitably leads to gridlock. If I can indulge in a little bit of flippancy… gridlock is the point.
Seriously, I have a healthy distrust for politicians. Yes, I know that many, if not most, politicians are fine, upstanding individuals. However, the demands imposed by fundraising to be elected and reelected, the need to support partisan goals in order to gain support for your own interests, and the general corrosive influence of spending so much time in political circles rather than the real world leads to a climate where too much shenanigans can be created.
In theory, a divided government — with the two major parties controlling different parts of the government — should be a potentially effective check on such shenanigans. It is, after all, in one party’s interest to highlight and block the other’s antics. If each party accomplishes nothing but the blocking of the other party’s bad ideas…the country is probably the better for it. Lock the politicians inside the beltway, and let the rest of us lead our lives free from their interference. 
Despite my cynicism towards day-to-day political antics, there are things that the government needs to accomplish. There are generally enough bright, good folks in elected offices belonging to both parties that I have faith that should something need to be done, it will be done in a bi/non-partisan manner.
I could wish for some sort of Constitutional change to ensure divided government…but frankly, imposing such a certainty would likely lead to some other forms of abuse and gaming, including a further solidification of the Democrats’ and Republicans’ duopoly on political power.
Instead, I’m going to have to hope that more voters will see the sanity and logic of imposing the check-and-balance of divided government as they consider who they will vote for on Election Day.
