Comments on: The Unitary Executive, Part I: Signing Statements http://www.mahablog.com/2006/03/25/the-unitary-executive-part-i-signing-statements/ Exposing the ugly truths about the Bush Administration. Fri, 05 Dec 2008 14:07:34 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=1.5.1.3 by: cingular ring tones http://www.mahablog.com/2006/03/25/the-unitary-executive-part-i-signing-statements/#comment-90454 Sat, 17 Feb 2007 21:28:18 +0000 http://www.mahablog.com/2006/03/25/the-unitary-executive-part-i-signing-statements/#comment-90454 <strong>cingular ring tones</strong> verizon ring tones cingular ring tones

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]]> by: Suz at Large » And it gets scarier . . . http://www.mahablog.com/2006/03/25/the-unitary-executive-part-i-signing-statements/#comment-30174 Tue, 22 Aug 2006 22:58:28 +0000 http://www.mahablog.com/2006/03/25/the-unitary-executive-part-i-signing-statements/#comment-30174 [...] And second, about that &#8220;the intelligence activities I have authorized are lawful&#8221; claim. Look, W, we&#8217;ve already heard your unitary-executive Constitutional theory [explained here and here] that if you do it, it is therefore legal. And that no matter what Congress writes in those laws you sign, you aren&#8217;t necessarily bound to follow them*. Honeybuns, besides being a fat old socially liberal American woman, I&#8217;ve practiced law for 29 years. And it&#8217;s my informed opinion that you&#8217;re full of shit on that one. [...] […] And second, about that “the intelligence activities I have authorized are lawful” claim. Look, W, we’ve already heard your unitary-executive Constitutional theory [explained here and here] that if you do it, it is therefore legal. And that no matter what Congress writes in those laws you sign, you aren’t necessarily bound to follow them*. Honeybuns, besides being a fat old socially liberal American woman, I’ve practiced law for 29 years. And it’s my informed opinion that you’re full of shit on that one. […]

]]> by: The Mahablog » Failures of Leadership http://www.mahablog.com/2006/03/25/the-unitary-executive-part-i-signing-statements/#comment-7452 Wed, 03 May 2006 20:24:35 +0000 http://www.mahablog.com/2006/03/25/the-unitary-executive-part-i-signing-statements/#comment-7452 [...] When Bush doesn&#8217;t like a bill, instead of trying to compromise with Congress, or even veto the bill, he pretends to accept it and then negates the bill behind Congress&#8217;s back with a &#8220;signing statement.&#8221; I wrote about signing statements in more detail, including their use by past presidents, in this post. Bottom line, Bush is claiming power no other president has claimed, including Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War and Franklin Roosevelt during World War II, because he&#8217;s a &#8220;war president.&#8221; Or &#8220;the decider.&#8221; Or whatever he wants to call himself. [...] […] When Bush doesn’t like a bill, instead of trying to compromise with Congress, or even veto the bill, he pretends to accept it and then negates the bill behind Congress’s back with a “signing statement.” I wrote about signing statements in more detail, including their use by past presidents, in this post. Bottom line, Bush is claiming power no other president has claimed, including Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War and Franklin Roosevelt during World War II, because he’s a “war president.” Or “the decider.” Or whatever he wants to call himself. […]

]]> by: newsrack http://www.mahablog.com/2006/03/25/the-unitary-executive-part-i-signing-statements/#comment-6032 Mon, 03 Apr 2006 21:54:26 +0000 http://www.mahablog.com/2006/03/25/the-unitary-executive-part-i-signing-statements/#comment-6032 <strong>Lincoln v. Bush</strong> ...a wider "unitary executive" theory that was already being implemented by the Bush administration well before the 9/11 attacks -- a trend most apparent in its growing use and abuse of "signing statements," in which the president outlines reservat... Lincoln v. Bush

…a wider “unitary executive” theory that was already being implemented by the Bush administration well before the 9/11 attacks — a trend most apparent in its growing use and abuse of “signing statements,” in which the president outlines reservat…

]]> by: End of Silence - Random musings from a geek dad » Political Link Roundup http://www.mahablog.com/2006/03/25/the-unitary-executive-part-i-signing-statements/#comment-5672 Tue, 28 Mar 2006 23:02:36 +0000 http://www.mahablog.com/2006/03/25/the-unitary-executive-part-i-signing-statements/#comment-5672 [...] I&#8217;m linking this because of the graphic and also because of the message on the unitary executive and signing statements. [...] […] I’m linking this because of the graphic and also because of the message on the unitary executive and signing statements. […]

]]> by: jacob http://www.mahablog.com/2006/03/25/the-unitary-executive-part-i-signing-statements/#comment-5580 Mon, 27 Mar 2006 12:42:00 +0000 http://www.mahablog.com/2006/03/25/the-unitary-executive-part-i-signing-statements/#comment-5580 Is being the worst president ever an impeachable offense? If not, then will someone please give this guy a blow job so we can impeach him! Is being the worst president ever an impeachable offense?

If not, then will someone please give this guy a blow job so we can impeach him!

]]> by: Charlie http://www.mahablog.com/2006/03/25/the-unitary-executive-part-i-signing-statements/#comment-5578 Mon, 27 Mar 2006 10:16:01 +0000 http://www.mahablog.com/2006/03/25/the-unitary-executive-part-i-signing-statements/#comment-5578 Did no one listen to the man during his first campaign? "I have no problem with a dictatorship as long as I'm the dictator" If not dealt with soon, he still has three years to see that he "doesn't" leave office when his time is up, that is of course, if there is anything left for him to be a dictator of... Did no one listen to the man during his first campaign?
“I have no problem with a dictatorship as long as I’m the dictator”
If not dealt with soon, he still has three years to see that he “doesn’t” leave office when his time is up, that is of course, if there is anything left for him to be a dictator of…

]]> by: LT http://www.mahablog.com/2006/03/25/the-unitary-executive-part-i-signing-statements/#comment-5572 Mon, 27 Mar 2006 02:11:32 +0000 http://www.mahablog.com/2006/03/25/the-unitary-executive-part-i-signing-statements/#comment-5572 There’s a good rundown on the use of signing statements and other maneuvers in “The Semi-Sovereign Presidency: The Bush Administration’s Strategy for Governing without Congress,” by Charles Tiefer. I picked this book up at the library, thinking it would give me some insight into the current administration and was astounded to find that it was published in 1994 and examines the George H.W. Bush administration. Tiefer was acting legal counsel for the House of Representatives and witnessed many attempts by the executive branch to subvert the normal system of checks and balances and achieve its goals, no matter how radical or lacking in popular support they may have been. As deputy House legal counsel, he challenged Edwin Meese's doctrine that the attorney general and the president could declare laws unconstitutional and refuse to obey them. Tiefer devotes a chapter to signing statements, which, he writes, were the Bush White House’s “sovereign powers for shaping or escaping laws and for governing without Congress by voiding or revising key provisions in congressional enactments." And this description of the president’s governing style also sounds familiar: "In the language of the Framers of the Constitution, President Bush needed an approach that would sustain a sovereign's claims to 'personal rule.' ... the power claims of a sovereign who would accept a lesser scale of policymaking so long as he could work his will through internal and unaccountable channels. Such a strategy for a semi-sovereign presidency depends on personal staffs and special mechanisms outside the system of democratic checks and balances." Tiefer’s conclusion at the time was that semi-sovereign presidencies generally result from divided government, when the executive branch may feel frustrated with its inability to govern as it sees fit, given resistance from a legislative branch controlled by the other party. This of course isn’t the situation today. Nevertheless, the book was very enlightening in many ways and may be worth seeking out if you’re interested in learning more about past battles over separation of powers. There’s a good rundown on the use of signing statements and other maneuvers in “The Semi-Sovereign Presidency: The Bush Administration’s Strategy for Governing without Congress,” by Charles Tiefer. I picked this book up at the library, thinking it would give me some insight into the current administration and was astounded to find that it was published in 1994 and examines the George H.W. Bush administration. Tiefer was acting legal counsel for the House of Representatives and witnessed many attempts by the executive branch to subvert the normal system of checks and balances and achieve its goals, no matter how radical or lacking in popular support they may have been. As deputy House legal counsel, he challenged Edwin Meese’s doctrine that the attorney general and the president could declare laws unconstitutional and refuse to obey them.

Tiefer devotes a chapter to signing statements, which, he writes, were the Bush White House’s “sovereign powers for shaping or escaping laws and for governing without Congress by voiding or revising key provisions in congressional enactments.” And this description of the president’s governing style also sounds familiar: “In the language of the Framers of the Constitution, President Bush needed an approach that would sustain a sovereign’s claims to ‘personal rule.’ … the power claims of a sovereign who would accept a lesser scale of policymaking so long as he could work his will through internal and unaccountable channels. Such a strategy for a semi-sovereign presidency depends on personal staffs and special mechanisms outside the system of democratic checks and balances.”

Tiefer’s conclusion at the time was that semi-sovereign presidencies generally result from divided government, when the executive branch may feel frustrated with its inability to govern as it sees fit, given resistance from a legislative branch controlled by the other party. This of course isn’t the situation today. Nevertheless, the book was very enlightening in many ways and may be worth seeking out if you’re interested in learning more about past battles over separation of powers.

]]> by: The Mahablog » Fight the Power http://www.mahablog.com/2006/03/25/the-unitary-executive-part-i-signing-statements/#comment-5555 Sun, 26 Mar 2006 14:00:23 +0000 http://www.mahablog.com/2006/03/25/the-unitary-executive-part-i-signing-statements/#comment-5555 [...] This item sorta kinda relates to the last post &#8211; [...] […] This item sorta kinda relates to the last post – […]

]]> by: david http://www.mahablog.com/2006/03/25/the-unitary-executive-part-i-signing-statements/#comment-5554 Sun, 26 Mar 2006 08:13:07 +0000 http://www.mahablog.com/2006/03/25/the-unitary-executive-part-i-signing-statements/#comment-5554 so tell me, now we have Bush as dictator (except of course that he'll leave office after his term is out). Aside from that he thinks he runs the show. Trouble brewing.... so tell me, now we have Bush as dictator (except of course that he’ll leave office after his term is out).

Aside from that he thinks he runs the show. Trouble brewing….

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