Our preoccupation with a U.S. Supreme Court appointment is another signal – if one were needed – that the three branches of government are badly out of balance. For decades, the legislative branches – federal and state – have ceded ground to the executive, to presidents and governors.

That we rely so heavily on the courts to resolve basic issues, including health care and abortion, the current hot button items, strongly suggests that Congress, which the Framers thought would lead, isn’t doing its job. In essence, lawmaking has fallen to third place, and no one seems even to imagine a new law could fix a pressing problem.

Take the Affordable Care Act, which provides less than the minimum any civilized nation should expect – a patchwork use of existing programs to provide at least some access for previously uninsured Americans. Affordable it is not; it hasn’t even “bent the curve” of our insanely high prices.

Yet the only question, taking the Democratic and Republican platforms seriously, is whether we’ll try to patch the ACA again, or repeal it and turn everything back over to the private sector – the insurers, hospitals and drug companies now running the show.

And in the background is the Supreme Court, possibly poised to take away even this tentative effort, under the preposterous notion the law is unconstitutional. If the ACA violates the Constitution, no federal program is safe.

A way out of this seemingly remorseless downward spiral is, in fact, Congress. Health care will take awhile to sort out, but can’t we do something about the right to vote?

That brings us to possibly the worst decision so far authored by Chief Justice John Roberts, who some fancy a “moderate.”

It’s Shelby County v. Holder, in which Roberts, backed by the usual 5-4 majority, gutted the historic Voting Rights Act of 1965, which finally allowed blacks everywhere to cast ballots. Roberts airily dismissed any possibility of racial prejudice, let alone systemic racism, as a vestige of the past.

Yet here’s the problem. The only bill in Congress to address this outrage against democracy would simply restore the same provisions, with a better rationale.

The Voting Rights Act, while a landmark, was a product of its time. Only Southern states denied blacks the right to vote, and the law rightly focused on preventing manipulation of state laws to disenfranchise black voters.

It required the U.S Department of Justice to “pre-clear” any electoral changes in the offending states, a process the law’s authors probably thought would be transitional. Yet it’s been reauthorized, decade after decade, with no revision of an awkward system that uses the federal bureaucracy to, in effect, control state election law.

By this time, we should have had a robust system to guarantee the vote, with Congress setting minimum standards for polling places per capita, absentee voting and accurate counting, which states must meet to retain federal funding. We have to think bigger.

On voting, health care and – especially, global warming – we need strong, far-sighted, balanced legislation providing the framework for implementation by the Executive Branch – with the courts, unless absolutely necessary, staying out.

Whether we can achieve these goals depends not just on who wins the presidential race, but whether Congress can resume its historic role as the instrument of the people’s will.

Legislative malaise isn’t confined to Washington. In Augusta, we saw the ultimate futility when lawmakers couldn’t even reconvene to complete unfinished business left behind in March.

It was clear Gov. Janet Mills had no interest in calling a special session, yet reconvening became a partisan squabble, with Republicans refusing even to vote. For this failure, Republicans bear primary responsibility, and several GOP candidates have criticized their own party on this point.

But both parties will be tested. Lawmakers will return in January, but whether much gets done depends on whether Democrats decline to take dictation from the governor, and whether Republicans – barring a huge upset – devise a constructive opposition role.

For, contrary to current beliefs, there are no wholly Republican or Democratic bills at the start, at least on matters of importance. There are only good ideas, bad ideas, and seemingly good ideas that aren’t workable.

Almost all great legislation has won support across party lines – the genius of the two-party system – because it doesn’t represent any single strand of thinking, but reflects the best of what all sides bring to the table.

We’ll see some results sooner in Augusta than in Washington. Legislation is never really finished, but here’s something to look for: Is this bill better than current law? Is it truly progress?

Douglas Rooks, a Maine editor, reporter, opinion writer and author for 35 years, has published books about George Mitchell, and the Maine Democratic Party. He welcomes comment at drooks@tds.net

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