When I saw this ad I started thinking and noticing other news stories of late. A question came to me: Is the Bush Administration trying to expand the powers of the Executive Branch? The founding fathers wanted checks and balances to keep everyone honest. Though if you passed Junior High School U.S. History you knew that. Admittedly, every President wants all of his nominees approved and all his proposed legislation passed but there is a different tone in some of this. I offer some additonal examples.
We, of course, have the pre-emptive ad mentioned above and this week it was reported that President Bush may use a recess appointment for United Nations Ambassador nominee John Bolton. We have been reading about Mr. Bolton for several months now and it doesn't appear as though he will ever get out of committee. The Senate panel seems to come away with more questions than answers. Several Democrats and Senator George Voinovich (R-Ohio) have asked Mr. Bush to nominate someone else but he has refused.
More recently, "The Bush administration, led by Vice President Dick Cheney, is working to kill the amendments that GOP Sens. John McCain of Arizona and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina want to tack onto a bill setting Defense Department policy for next year."(more) The crux of this is that the administration is claiming these Senators attempt to put wording in the bill to dictate the standards for treatment of terror detainees and their interrogations would hamper the Presidents ability to fight the war on terror. Huh? Senator McClain-whom we like around here- has said that the wording is designed to hold the military to its rule book. So, what is the White House saying?
Finally, some Senate Democrats are asking for Congress to hold hearings into the CIA leak. Congress has had time in the past for the likes of Frank Zappa, Dee Snider, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa to testify about things that had nothing to do with national security maybe we could make some time for this thing. However:
"There is no oversight of the White House in this Congress. None — it's a free pass. And that is dangerous for the country." - Senator Frank Laughtenburg D-New Jersey
Where does all of this lead? Nominees who the Bush administration wants approved and if they aren't no others will be put forward. President Bush is asked by members of his own party to sign a bill that will contain language ensuring the letter of the law will be followed. Yet, following the law will somehow hamper the President's ability to wage the war on terror. And finally, some members of Congress don't feel they are being allowed to do one of their jobs: oversee the executive branch. Is this a power grab? Put it in terms of your job and your boss doing things like this in spite of his boss and get back to me.
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This is an update on the above regarding the Defense spending bill that John McCain et al are adding wording too. Gun Manufacturer Liablility Gains Top Priority After Defense Bill Shelved
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