A big problem is that most of the checks and balances were designed around the assumption that each branch would be independent and adversarial with one another. Unfortunately, the existence of political parties cross-cutting the branches breaks this assumption, and they were created by the very founders who designed our government in the first place.

We've been limping around entirely based on the honor system, and after significant capture of the media by a few wealthy individuals, the parties have dropped any pretense of acting for the benefit of the country.