What can the government do?

 

I just had an interesting set-to with an acquaintance regarding what our government can (lawfully) do.  He said (paraphrased) "if Congress passes it and the President signs it, it must be okay.  They have the consent of the governed because they were lawfully elected."

I have to admit I have no come-back for this line of reasoning.  I know it would be useless to say anything rational like "Article I section 8 begins 'Congress shall have the power to...'.  Why would they go to the trouble to list all the things Congress can do when it's obvious Congress can do anything the President will let them do?"

I have the uncomfortable feeling that his attitude is widely-held among the low-information voters who do the electing.  It's why I keep predicting collapse.  They're like the lady who told her bank "I can't be out of money.  I still have checks."