As you probably heard, the Boston Globe ran a deeply disturbing item a few days ago, which highlighted the fact that the [tag]president[/tag] has “claimed the authority to [tag]disobey[/tag] more than 750 [tag]laws[/tag] enacted since he took office, asserting that he has the power to [tag]set aside[/tag] any statute passed by [tag]Congress[/tag] when it conflicts with his interpretation of the [tag]Constitution[/tag].”
Among the laws Bush said he can ignore are military rules and regulations, affirmative-action provisions, requirements that Congress be told about immigration services problems, ”whistle-blower” protections for nuclear regulatory officials, and safeguards against political interference in federally funded research.
Legal scholars say the scope and aggression of Bush’s assertions that he can bypass laws represent a concerted effort to expand his power at the expense of Congress, upsetting the balance between the branches of government.
It’s simply stunning. The president is working with a Congress controlled by his fellow [tag]Republicans[/tag], who tend to do whatever he asks of them. And yet, after his allies have passed over 750 pieces of legislation, Bush has decided that he’ll sign the bills into law, he just won’t follow them afterwards. There’s simply no precedent for Bush’s sweeping approach to reshuffling the constitutional deck.
Yesterday, some [tag]Senate[/tag] [tag]Democrats[/tag] had the temerity to argue that [tag]Bush[/tag] is not a [tag]king[/tag].
”We’re a government of laws, not men,” Senate minority leader [tag]Harry Reid[/tag], Democrat of Nevada, said in a statement. ”It is not for George W. Bush to disregard the Constitution and decide that he is above the law.”
Senator [tag]Patrick Leahy[/tag] of Vermont, the ranking Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, accused Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney of attempting to concentrate ever more government power in their own hands. ”The Bush-Cheney administration has cultivated an insidious brand of unilateralism that regularly crosses into an arrogance of power,” Leahy said in a statement. ”The scope of the administration’s assertions of power is stunning, and it is chilling.”
Senator Edward M. [tag]Kennedy[/tag], Democrat of Massachusetts, also said that the Bush administration, abetted by ”a compliant Republican Congress,” was undermining the checks and balances that ”guard against abuses of power by any single branch of government.”
The Globe noted that Bush’s use of “signing statements” to explain which laws he’ll follow and which ones he won’t are, according to constitutional scholars, an attack on the legal process. It’s the kind of thing that Congress, which used to take some pride in its legislative responsibilities, might want to look into, except they refuse to even raise any questions or hold a single committee hearing. GOP lawmakers are, Pat Leahy said, content to let Bush “pick and choose which laws he deems appropriate to follow.”
”Just as disturbing as the president’s use of press releases to announce which laws he will follow is the abject failure of the Republican-controlled Congress to act as a check against this executive power grab,” Leahy said. ”Until Republican leaders let Congress fulfill its oversight role, this White House will have no incentive to stop this [tag]abuse of power[/tag].”
Reason #4,636,921 for a Democratic Congress.