CounterPunch | N St. Clair
Stanford University History Professor Jack Rakove offers a more professional, succinct explanation. In a functioning constitutional republic, the executive (President) lawfully and constitutionally executes the nation’s laws; the parliament (US Congress) passes the laws and provides a check on unlawful or excessive use of executive power; and a constitutional court (Supreme Court) ensures the other two branches of government act lawfully and constitutionally. He observes that none of these things now occur in the United States.