Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., was among the many GOP no-shows at an important Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Tuesday — on President Bush’s use of signing statements 750 times to flex his executive power and signal his disdain for all or parts of laws he has signed. Committee Chairman Arlen Specter, R-Pa., is so concerned about the practice that he’s thinking Congress might sue the president over the dismissive statements.
Meanwhile, Deputy Assistant Attorney General Michelle Boardman argued that Bush has shown Congress respect by using the statements rather than vetoing whole bills. “Respect for the legislative branch, when we have a well-crafted bill, the majority of which is constitutional, is shown when the president chooses to construe a particular statement in keeping with the Constitution, as opposed to defeating an entire bill that would serve the nation,” she said.
So let’s use an example to see if we understand this correctly. Bush argues that Congress shouldn’t outlaw torture. Congress considers his arguments, rejects them, and overwhelmingly passes the ban. Bush holds a press conference and says he supports the ban. But then Bush quietly adds a signing statement saying he has the power to ignore the ban. This is respecting Congress?
As Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., noted during Tuesday’s hearing: “This administration has said, even with a rubber-stamp Republican Congress, they don’t care what we think. They’re going to decide what laws to follow and what laws to disobey, and . . . nobody up here will call them on it.”
Posted by Rhonda Holman
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17 Comments
What’s good for the goose is good for the gander:
Just on Jimmy Carter’s last day in office alone, the Federal Register (a daily summation of new rules for the executive branch) was three times its normal size. The regulations drafted by President Carter and numerous lame-duck regulators earned the nickname: midnight regulations. By the time all the dust settled, it was estimated that President Carter added about 24,500 pages of last-minute regulations. President Clinton surpassed that record with over 30,000 pages of new regulations in the last 90 days.
Bush has used more signing statements than all his predecessors combined, you can bet he’ll do the same with regulations.
Bush has appointed himself dictator and this Republican Congress, led by the nutless Pat Roberts, busies itself by running around defending the Liar in Chief’s lawless behavior.
And now Arlen Specter wants to do something about it? I’ll believe it when I see it.
Meanwhile, I think I’ll help Pat Roberts look for his brain and his balls. Senility is a terrible thing.
Lets just hope the Dems score the punch in November.
I personally want to see justice brought against the Bush Administration.
Gary C. Keep dreaming, because it isn’t going to happen as you wish, because nothing you think that illegal activity is being done is true.
“because nothing you think that illegal activity is being done is true”
Joe?What does that even mean?I don’t mean to be picky. But can you clarify?
Good on Specter for looking into this.The counter opinion in the header that “well bush is actually facilitating the legislative process by putting his personal take on the Constitution to these bills instead of just vetoing them”is no arguement at all! We have seperation of powers and a system to follow that has served pretty well for 2 centuries. I do not trust bush to improve on the founders! Let him get out his veto pen and put his “invisible ink” pen away! Thank you NO on the Constitution according to georgie bush!
Pennsylvania is lucky to have a Senator that considers the Constitution more important than pleasing georgie boy. Roberts and Brownback could learn from him.
Line Item Veto will take care of that.
Clarify that earlier I asked about Joe. Could you?
Line item veto is WORSE than signing statements! It is also not part of the Constitution.Joe is it just me or are you actively advocating increasing the power of the executive? That is NOT a very conservative position! Not in the true sense of conservatism anyway. You continue to puzzle.
New poster over on the Times thread Joe. I think you will like “him”? He is confusing too!
Actually I think the Senate is overstepping their bounds. Specter wants to be involved in everything that the administration is doing. He is clearly going beyond his judical chairmanship and demanding that Administration give him every single document and detailed secret information to him so he can make a judgement to the media.
Who made Specter the single authority to judge what the administration is doing right or wrong. That is for the courts to decide, not the Senate.
He is clearly just political pandering. He is losing credability very quickly with me. When you become a media hound, it just doesn’t serve the American Public right.
I’m not a conservative. And increase of executive power is only a political perception. When it effects you personally, then you can say that the President is overstepping his Constitutional Authority and applying too much executive power.
What the Bush Administration doing is specifically on the War on Terror. It’s not for anything else. All they are doing is fast tracking to get around the beuacracy, because time is of the essence. Working through normal channels in government will take a decision several years, and with Terrorism, we don’t have that luxury of waiting.
Look what your President did during WWII, when he interned thousands upon thousands of Japanese Americans. What that too much executive power?
You think that the Bush Administration is a boogy man and out to take your rights away and spy on you. Hardly! He is trying to protect America from terrorist. Don’t you remember 9/11? An intelligence failure. Who is to blame?
Glory hound or not he is doing his JOB Joe. Are you not familiar with checks and balances?
I note you judge many politicians not on the job they do but on your perception of them personally.
And you have not answered as to accumulation of power to the executive.
Isn’t this the same Arlen Specter that was going to investigate illegal wiretapping? I see how far that got. Congress led by Specter is going to sue the president?
Yeah, suuure.
I answered it. I gave reasons and why the President is making the decisions that can be percieved as accumulating executive power.
Yeah! I heard of Checks and Balances. But Specter is not a balance on this. He is the one trying to overstep his own power. He’s not doing his job, he is trying to accumulate power within his own job description that goes way beyond his own oversight.
If you think what Bush is doing is illegal, take it to court. Not Specter or the Senate. They cannot take executive powers away.
“He is trying to protect America from terrorist. Don’t you remember 9/11? An intelligence failure. Who is to blame?”
Joe the failures did go back several years prior to 9-11, the CIA was reluctant to put any of their own people in to areas that were dangerous. The FBI, CIA and the DOD were reluctant to share information with each other and would see any attempt to force them to share as stepping on the others toes. That said, one of the first things G. W. did was cut funding for counter terrorism, dissolve our anti-terrorism task force and relegate them to different branches of the government.
He had been warned of the threat of Al-Qaeda several time and he would tell them to “Quit swatting at flies”. He focus was on Saddam to the point that he saw no other threats. The FBI noted that there seem to be quite a few Middle easterner taking flying lessons. The CIA noted that there were several persons on the terror watch list within the U.S. If either had asked the other, the plot would have been on the radar. But Bush had diverted them to trying to get the goods on Saddam.
The plot for 9-11 had already been made by the time Bush took office, but if he had followed through and allowed the anti-terrorism task force to work. It could have been seen. The facts are out there, with no partisan spin to them, in black and white.
If it is the case Joe that he is focusing on only the terrorists. Then why has the A.G. argued that the wiretapping and the latest I learned the warrant less physical searches applied to all Americans? The A.G. has argued to the SCOTUS that the President is empowered to suspend the right to a hearing, legal council and a fair and speedy trial to anyone. American citizens included that the POTUS see fit to.If it is only the terrorists why would he do that?
If our Founding Fathers could only see us now……….with a lunatic president………chasing his own shadow………and calling it a “war”……….
There is “suppose” to be a system of “checks and balances”, however in today’s government there is not. Roberts and Brownback should both be brought to trial for failure to live up to their oath of office. Roberts is more worried about the media uncovering and exposing the crimes of this administration than he is about performing his job. Kansans deserve to lose their freedoms, such as they are, when they support such violations of the United States Constitution.The A.G, members of the Grand Oil Party (GOP) and the Kansas senators and representatives work for the BushCo and the rewards they receive from them for such faithful service to weaken the Constitution and enslave the American citizen.
Have a joyful 4th of July to celebrate the few and weaken Constitutional Rights that are remaining.