David Broder raises a good point in his column today: in the current one-party Washington, who is there to hold the government accountable? The answer is no one:
If Bush and Cheney are reelected, the Republicans are likely to maintain control of the House and Senate, with all the investigative and oversight powers that reside in the legislative branch. That is an inherently risky situation, particularly when the president and vice president are disinclined to question their own or their associates’ judgment.
That is why the voters I met are right to think this election is so important. They themselves are the ultimate — and only — enforcers of accountability.
I’m generally not split-ticket kind of guy, but at least in theory, a divided government led by responsible people provides a check on some excesses. Obviously, such an arrangement sometimes has its drawbacks, as we saw with the attempted Republican takeover in the late 1990s (thus the responsible people qualification). But looking back even those days don’t seem so bad in comparison to the unchecked abuses we have going on now.
UPDATE: William Niskanen offers three reasons why divided government is “probably a better protection of our liberties.”