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Bush Governs In Dictator Style
by Robert L. Black Jr, Retired Judge, May 21, 2006
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Last Updated:
Thursday, May 25, 2006 06:24:27 PM |
 THE
INVESTIGATION BY CONGRESS of the surveillance of domestic
telephone and emails calls is an absolute necessity, because the
greatest threat at this time is not so much to our "security" as to
the preservation of our constitutional system of government.
The underlying question is whether we will discard the checks and
balances of the Constitution in favor of some sort of mythical
guarantee of our security.
President Bush's approval of domestic surveillance is just the tip
of the iceberg. The Boston Globe on April 30 (and the New York Times
on May 12) reported that President Bush claims authority to disobey
more than 750 laws enacted since he took office.
He has used statements made in writing at the time he signed the
laws (known as "signing statements") to state his position that he
need not enforce specific provisions of the act. His assertion is
that he thinks they are unconstitutional because they encroach on
his inherent powers as president. In brief, his position is that he
alone can decide what is constitutional.
An outstanding example is the one he issued after the torture law
was enacted placing clear restrictions on the use of torture. He had
agreed to the wording of the law during the legislative process. In
the signing statement he basically repudiated the whole act by
claiming he could decide when the law would be enforced and when it
would not be enforced.
The Constitution says that the president must enforce congressional
enactments without exception.
 Bush
has implicitly defied the Supreme Court's ruling that Congress could
legally give certain executive branch officials (such as, a special
prosecutor) the power to act independently of the president or the
executive branch. He has said that the Constitution gives him
control over all executive officials regardless of what Congress
enacts.
The leadership style is hierarchical, with the top guy able to make
any decision he pleases basically without any approval from any
quarter. It is the style of a dictator. It is 100 percent subversive
of our Constitutional framework.
Are we read to discard our Constitution because we are afraid of
Osama bin Laden?
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Robert L. Black Jr. is retired judge
for the Ohio 1st District Court of Appeals.
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Source:
The Enquirer:
http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060521/EDIT02/605210301/1021/EDIT
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Disclaimer
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