Is Bush Becoming A New ‘King George’?

We are not bound “to His will, in all cases whatsoever.”Is Bush Becoming a New ‘King George’?By Cliff MontgomeryThe Congressional Research Service (CRS) is a group federally mandated to produce reports on the issues currently affecting Congress or Congressional oversight. CRS reports are renowned for their accuracy and lack of partisan politics.So when a CRS report states that President Bush is making grabs for power which should frighten any lover of liberty, it’s a charge that must be taken seriously.According to a September 20th CRS analysis, the Bush Administration‘s use of presidential signing statements to object to enacted legislation reflects an attempt to expand and consolidate presidential authority at the expense of both Congress and the American people.”It seems evident that the Bush signing statements are an integral part of the Administration’s efforts to further its broad view of presidential prerogatives and to assert functional and determinative control over all elements of the executive decision-making process,” the CRS study said.As the CRS report makes clear, presidential signing statements have been issued for over a century, and are not inherently problematic. In fact, they may even prove beneficial if they alert Congress and the public to presidential actions and intentions.Yet the Bush signing statements appear to be part of a larger campaign to seize increased presidential authority, the CRS added.An August 2006 report from the American Bar Association agrees, boldly declaring that these instruments are “contrary to the rule of law and our constitutional separation of powers” when they “claim the authority or state the intention to disregard or decline to enforce all or part of a law…or to interpret such a law in a manner inconsistent with the clear intent of Congress.”But thanks to the current G.O.P.-run Congress, that may not be a huge concern after all. This House and Senate are more than ready to crown Dubya Caesar without the fussiness of signing statements from the White House.Instead of defending Congressional prerogatives, this Congress appears eager to transfer ever new, unchecked authorities to this president, all in the name of “security.”A congressional bill on military commissions for trial of enemy detainees was signed on Oct. 17th by a much more powerful George W. Bush. It permanently alters the complexion of the U.S. government by authorizing the torture of prisoners, curtailing prisoner access to the judicial system, and other previously unthinkable steps.“It is a rare occasion when a president can sign a bill he knows will save American lives,” Bush crowed at a ceremony in the East Room of the White House. They are interesting words from a man who also “knew” American forces would be greeted in Iraq with flowers, and “knew” that Michael Brown, head of FEMA at the height of the Hurricane Katrina debacle, was “doing a heck of a job.”Meanwhile, House Democrats said that pending legislation on domestic spying–laughingly referred to by such euphemisms as “surveillance intelligence“–would destroy existing checks and balances, thereby going a long way to trashing what remains of the Constitution.The Electronic Surveillance Modernization Act, is “a dangerously broad bill that would turn FISA [the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which regulates domestic intelligence surveillance] on its head by making warrantless surveillance the rule rather than the exception,” said House Democrats.”[Its] vague definitions and broad loopholes allow the Executive Branch to conduct electronic surveillance of telephone calls and e-mail in the United States without court orders and without meaningful oversight, ” added House Democrats.These bills mark an attempt by Republicans–who are almost sure to lose the House, and possibly even both branches of Congress in the Nov. 7th elections–to appear “tough or terror.” They’re awfully big on the “Style over Substance” logical fallacy, and not too hot on worrying about what such moves do to American rights and liberties.They of course claim these moves are needed to protect liberty, and during less sober moments may even claim that anyone who disagrees is “weak” on American pride and patriotism. Of course, in America being a patriot means fighting to keep and expand liberty, never to destroy it.The following words may shed light on the foolishness of the current Republican argument:“Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce [those who disagree with you] for lack of patriotism, and exposing the country to greater danger.” – Hermann Goering, No. 2 man of the Nazi Party, at the Nuremberg Trials.We would do well to remember that the American Revolution began when an idiot king called George told the American people he had “the right to bind us to His will, in all cases whatsoever.” The reason for this ‘Divine Right of Kings’, of course, was the people’s “security“. The similarities to today are startling.Such was the essential argument of tyranny more than 200 years ago. It remains the argument of tyranny today.