Cato report says Bush’s in a “ceaseless push for power…, [with] disdain for constitutional limits.”
[quote]President George W. Bush had shown disdain and indifference for the US constitution by adopting an
Sigh. Why does the Cato Institute hate America? In a post 9/11 world, criticizing the president is the same as giving aid and comfort to the terrorists. And those terrorists hate our freedom, you know.
Exactly…
I think that there has been a lot of work done in the post 911 years that were done (ostensibly from some people’s POV) to protect the country; some of the legislation passed is iffy for sure; some of the actions taken in the name of homeland security are disturbing for sure.
I say, run the problems through the system. That’s why we have checks and balances. The Consitution is a flexible thing. It can bend without breaking and it can recover if it has been bent too far in one direction.
Sigh.
The Disappearing Constitution or What One Hand Giveth, The Other Hand Taketh Away:
". . . Bush has repeatedly asserted that the Constitution gives him the right to ignore numerous sections of the bills – sometimes including provisions that were the subject of negotiations with Congress in order to get lawmakers to pass the bill. He has appended such statements to more than one of every 10 bills he has signed.
“He agrees to a compromise with members of Congress, and all of them are there for a public bill-signing ceremony, but then he takes back those compromises – and more often than not, without the Congress or the press or the public knowing what has happened,” said Christopher Kelley, a Miami University of Ohio political science professor who studies executive power. . . .
In October 2004, five months after the Abu Ghraib torture scandal in Iraq came to light, Congress passed a series of new rules and regulations for military prisons. Bush signed the provisions into law, then said he could ignore them all. One provision made clear that military lawyers can give their commanders independent advice on such issues as what would constitute torture. But Bush declared that military lawyers could not contradict his administration’s lawyers. . . .
The new law also created the position of inspector general for Iraq. But Bush wrote in his signing statement that the inspector “shall refrain” from investigating any intelligence or national security matter, or any crime the Pentagon says it prefers to investigate for itself.
Bush had placed similar limits on an inspector general position created by Congress in November 2003 for the initial stage of the US occupation of Iraq. The earlier law also empowered the inspector to notify Congress if a US official refused to cooperate. Bush said the inspector could not give any information to Congress without permission from the administration. . . .
In December 2004, Congress passed an intelligence bill requiring the Justice Department to tell them how often, and in what situations, the FBI was using special national security wiretaps on US soil. The law also required the Justice Department to give oversight committees copies of administration memos outlining any new interpretations of domestic-spying laws. And it contained 11 other requirements for reports about such issues as civil liberties, security clearances, border security, and counternarcotics efforts.
After signing the bill, Bush issued a signing statement saying he could withhold all the information sought by Congress. . .
A president who ignores the court, backed by a Congress that is unwilling to challenge him, Golove said, can make the Constitution simply “disappear.”. . . Bush has declared himself the sole judge of his own powers, he said, and then ruled for himself every time. . . ."
Sigh. Bait and switch. A neoconservative specialty. And why not? It’s worked every time so far.
So, I guess you’re still part of the fervent Bush supporters?
yeah, I noticed with great relish this roll-over Congress when it came to getting our judges approved. Works every time…
Oh and yes… sigh…
Why is Spook objectively pro-Islamofascist? Doesn’t Spook want Victory Freedom? What if the Bathists steal all of our Apple Pie? You all do realize that we live in a post 9/11 world, don’t you? Homocide bombers!
Big Time.
He is not. He just shares some of their same concerns regarding certain groups and their disproportionate influence in world, media, financial affairs.
Actually, I think he may be big on the Freedom but strangely (I certainly cannot understand it) is against the Victory.
The Open Forum can be accessed by going to Forums and selecting Open. This is the IP as in International Politics Forum.
Step away from the ledge…
Sigh…