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You don't have to look too far in politics to find politicians who get elected with the best of intentions to serve the public good, but get broiled and scandal rife with greed and selfish ambition.

Would America's founding fathers be rolling in their graves at the depravity of human nature and how it has deteriorated our republic?

Quite the contrary.

It may come as a consolation to modern Americans that the Founding Fathers saw this coming .

In a series of 85 essays called The Federalist Papers, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison laid out their arguments in favor of the Constitution In Federalist Number 51, Madison writes, if men were angels, no government would be necessary.

If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary.

They knew government was necessary to create an orderly society and protect the life, liberty, and property known as natural rights of the people.

However, in creating a constitution, they maintained a cold eyed view of human nature.

They believed that when you give selfish people the power to govern themselves and then essential freedoms speech, assembly, petition to do that, they will use these freedoms to look out for numero uno.

In fact, they will join with other citizens who have similar self-interest and use the power given to them in a democracy to get what they wanted.

Without regard for whether it is good for everyone else.

The Federalists called these self-interested groups factions, and today you don't have to look very far to find examples of such groups.

That is why, in the words of John Adams, the government must be one of laws, not of men.

And in the words of Federalist number 51, quote, A well constructed union breaks the violence of faction, Knowing that factions were inevitable in any government that derives its power from the people.

After all, you can't force people to look out for the good of their country above self.

The task of the Founding Fathers was to design a government that would prevent factions from wreaking havoc on the government, from manipulating it for their own selfish ends.

Herein lies the genius of the American Constitution.

It counts on people to pursue their own selfish tendencies, but when they do, they will inevitably clash with other interests.

After all, for every faction, there is an opposing faction.

Hence the necessity of constitutionalism, the belief in limiting the power of government through a written charter.

James Madison and Federalist Number 51 puts it this way in framing a government which is to be administered by men and over men.

The greatest difficulty lies in this.

You must first enable the government to control the governed, and then the next place oblige it to control itself.

As the ultimate rule book for American politics, the Constitution places strict controls on the government.

It limits the power of government explicitly by stating what the government cannot do, for example, infringe on the freedom of speech and assembly of the people.

But it also limits the power of government implicitly by saying what the government can do.

Then, if any branch of government, political actor or level of government goes outside the powers granted to it by the Constitution, those actions violate the rule book and are struck down by the courts.

This is important to remember in election years, as presidential candidates promise us, the world to secure our votes.

Americans would do well to consider whether the president has the constitutional authority to do the things that are promising.

And our constitutional system, separation of powers means that the legislative branch makes the laws.

The executive branch enforces the laws, and the judicial branch interprets the laws.

But frustrated with Congress's failure to act on the pressing issues of the day.

Presidents and recent administrations have taken matters into their own hands by signing executive orders.

Technically, the purpose of these presidential actions is to clarify existing law.

But sometimes these orders look a lot like making a new law, which, of course, is the job of Congress under the Constitution.

And while we may be inclined to look the other way, if we agree with the policy, we must remember the reasons why strict limits are placed on the powers of each branch to protect our liberty.

After all, if a single greedy faction took over the entire government, it could use its power to trample the rights of others.

The constitution provides a means by which each branch of government can influence the primary functions of the other branches.

The president can reject a law passed by Congress.

Congress can impeach the president or simply withhold funds for his initiatives.

The judicial branch can strike down any law that violates the Constitution, as the Supreme Court has done with presidential executive orders, such as Trump's travel ban or Biden's plan to relieve student loan debt.

All these checks are like booby traps for factions.

They stop a faction in its tracks before it can wreak havoc on the entire government.

Whether these checks have proven effective is a topic for another day.

But the point here is that the genius of our constitutional system and why it has stood the test of time, lies in the boundaries of places on both well intentioned and nefarious political actors alike, in the form of separation of powers and checks and balances, and that we as Americans would do well to elevate our respect for this system and hold our elected officials accountable when they undermine or impede it.

To borrow from political theorist Harry Jaffa, the same constitution that creates a regime of liberty must prevent the enemies of liberty from using that regime for destructive ends.