Feb 20th, 2009 at 8:44 am
Right-Wing Rediscovers Threat of Executive Power
You read the the strangest things on the Corner these days: “As Montesquieu once wrote, ‘When the legislative and executive powers are united in the same person, or in the same body of magistrates, there can be no liberty.’”
The specific outrage here has to do with congressional delegation of spending discretion to the Obama administration. Something like illegal wiretapping, detention without counsel, or torture wouldn’t bother National Review of course.
54 Responses to “Right-Wing Rediscovers Threat of Executive Power”
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February 20th, 2009 at 8:54 am
Not sure that the executive and legislative powers are “united in the same…body of magistrates.” The individuals in these two capacities are different, elected in different ways by different electorates, and cannot even be said to have similar political agendas despite having a unifying party symbol.
February 20th, 2009 at 8:55 am
Of course this is another Europe-bashing view, since contemporary parliamentary governance is characterised above all by uniting executive and legislative powers.
February 20th, 2009 at 9:08 am
The specific outrage here has to do with congressional delegation of spending discretion to the Obama administration.
When spending priorities are ordered by congress, they are known as “earmarks” which is, according to McCain and other members of the Republican party, one of the great spending crises of our time.
February 20th, 2009 at 9:14 am
Hip Hop GOP … keepin’ it real.
February 20th, 2009 at 9:17 am
Come on, Matt. The only reason anyone ever goes to National Review is to read the articles by Kathryn Jean Lopez. That, and the hope that she one day puts up nude photos of herself.
February 20th, 2009 at 9:21 am
‘We are now completely opposed to that whole Unitary Executive thing. Thank you for listening.’
February 20th, 2009 at 9:22 am
We are at war! Why do they hate America?
February 20th, 2009 at 9:27 am
Yeah, I’m not sure they know what the word “liberty” means either. I certainly didn’t feel like our liberty was threatened until the President started talking about spending money to help fix the housing crisis.
February 20th, 2009 at 9:45 am
And let us never forget the supreme Mystery of the Vice President, uniting in one flesh the Executive and Legislative, two “persons” (hypostases) having a single “essence” (ousia), fully both without diminishing either.
February 20th, 2009 at 9:47 am
Craig: You know, in all the time I heard of and mocked the absurd “Fourthbranch” Cheney, I don’t recall having it so clearly linked to dogma regarding the trinity. That’s absolutely apt.
Of course, I still like Wonkette christening “Fourthbranch” Cheney as one of the Planet of the Apes villains.
February 20th, 2009 at 9:50 am
Craig FTW.
February 20th, 2009 at 9:57 am
Perhaps they should recommend that Obama, in order to avoid excessive executive authority, issue a signing statement when he signs the bill, stating that he won’t implement that part of the law as Congress wrote it.
You see a lot of hypocritical things in politics, but this one if the motherlode.
February 20th, 2009 at 10:04 am
I imagine that we will get the usual doses of hypocrisy from both ends of the spectrum.
I’ve not heard the Matt screaming at ObaMessiah for taking Bushit’s positions on state secrets vis a vis the illegal wire tapping of Americans.
And when is that first division coming home from Iraq? Month one almost done!
Of course Barry wants to send them straight off to Afghanistan so will that even meet the spirit of his campaign lies?
Geez, how often was Bushit rightly beat up for his metric free pronouncements?
Now that ObaMeister wears the pointy hat and pink satin slippers well, never mind!
Jobs Saved!
Job done!
February 20th, 2009 at 10:06 am
No, what would be truly hypocritical is if the Republicans complained about Democratic hypocrisy. That would blow my mind…
February 20th, 2009 at 10:16 am
THEY DID IT SO WE CAN DO IT TOO
grow up
February 20th, 2009 at 10:21 am
Craig wins the thread. Excuse me while I get a towel to map up spewed coffee.
February 20th, 2009 at 10:29 am
and JT lands himself a job at the pie factory!
who says the economy is in the shitter?!
February 20th, 2009 at 10:57 am
We are at war! Why do they hate America?
@ The Corner: Obama is The Decider now with political capital to spend so shut up!
February 20th, 2009 at 10:58 am
Month one almost done!
LOL!!! That is so awesome! “Hey, you’re guy said we would be out of Iraq in 16 months, and we’re still there, and it’s already been one month. Almost.”
Of course Barry wants to send them straight off to Afghanistan so will that even meet the spirit of his campaign lies? You mean when he promised to send more troops to Afghanistan throughout the primary and general election campaign?
February 20th, 2009 at 11:03 am
Craig may be the winner here but I want to put in a down-ballot vote for joe from Lowell, for the unitary executive jujitsu, a difficult move to pull off. Nicely done.
February 20th, 2009 at 11:14 am
One damn “f” between me and greatness, Navigator.
February 20th, 2009 at 11:34 am
I wrote to Jerry Taylor the author and he responded:
To: Jerry Taylor
Subject: “When the legislative and executive powers are united in the
same person, or in the same body of magistrates, there can be no
liberty.”
illegal wiretapping, detention without counsel, or torture wouldn’t
bother you of course
his reply:
Why do you say that? Cato (where I work) has thundered against all of
those things for a decade. And I agree with our thundering. Go to
http://www.cato.org and peruse to your heart’s content.
February 20th, 2009 at 11:43 am
Thanks, folks. Available for birthday partys and weddings, too.
February 20th, 2009 at 12:14 pm
Joe, don’t even bother. The only time conservatives use the “Messiah” thing is when they don’t have facts or logic on their side. So really, JT already admitted that he doesn’t know anything.
As for “hypocrisy”, I wish I could give the Republicans the benefit of the doubt. ‘Cause honestly, the Unitary Executive idea and merging of legislative and executive functions ARE dangerous, no matter who’s doing it. So I’d like to think that the Republicans have just realized the truth, I’d like to embrace the fact that they’re right (although Obama isn’t really guilty of it yet) and gloss over the fact that they were wrong before. But they’ve lost my trust, I can’t say they’d fall right back into old habits if, say, Mark Sanford is President in 2013.
February 20th, 2009 at 12:15 pm
That is, I can’t say they WOULDN’T fall back into old habits.
Also, Judson brings up a good point, some Republicans did criticize Bush’s excesses.
February 20th, 2009 at 12:34 pm
Joe, don’t even bother. The only time conservatives use the “Messiah” thing is when they don’t have facts or logic on their side.
Naw, I see them doing it all the time.
HEY, WAIT A MINUTE…!
February 20th, 2009 at 12:53 pm
Speaking of executive power, one of the AM talk radio shows was mentioning this morning that President Obama’s Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board can direct an inspector general to refrain from conducting an audit or investigation. That doesn’t seem like a good idea to me if it’s true.
February 20th, 2009 at 2:39 pm
Right-Wing Rediscovers Threat of Executive Power
===========================================================
Just like the left wing did in 2001.
February 20th, 2009 at 5:52 pm
That’s a fair-enough point, Campesino. Clinton did take a broad view of executive power, and the left didn’t do much to stop him. But still, there are a couple of meaningful differences worth considering.
First, the right has spent the past 8 years passionately, overtly, and with great effort making the case for expanded executive power. The left didn’t spend the Clinton years arguing for the expansion of executive power; they were more or less silent on the issue.
Second, the left woke up and began denouncing executive power in response to Bush and Cheney going on a sustained drive to vest the executive with as much power as possible. Conversely, the right has begun denouncing executive power in response to an Obama administration which has begun to roll back all sorts of executive powers.
So, the left went from standing still to fighting executive power grabs in response to executive power grabs.
The right, which has been pushing for much greater executive power, completely reversed itself and began fretting about executive power in response to a president that is rolling back executive power.
Those are not the same thing at all.
February 20th, 2009 at 10:13 pm
a president that is rolling back executive power.
=========================================================
What executive power is BO rolling back?
February 20th, 2009 at 10:49 pm
“What executive power is BO rolling back?”
He’s completely rolled back Bush’s increased restrictions on Presidential papers. Biden’s completely rolled back Cheney’s “dual” role- he doesn’t sit in on Senate conferences and doesn’t get the PDB first. The new TARP and stimulus rules, approved by Obama, require more reporting than Bush had (FAR more than he proposed, of course). The “torture” EOs limit the interrogation techniques the administration can use, and the places they can send prisoners. The EPA decision means the federal government can no longer tell states they “can’t” regulate emissions. He let Congress write the stimulus, rather than drafting it in the White House. That’s all a lot of changes from the last 16 years, and the rhetoric of Holder, Panetta, Napalitano, Biden, and Obama himself indicate he’s pushing for more.
February 21st, 2009 at 1:02 am
These are pretty feeble examples
>He’s completely rolled back Bush’s increased restrictions on Presidential papers.
I can almost give you credit for that one, but we’ll see how it plays out
>Biden’s completely rolled back Cheney’s “dual” role- he doesn’t sit in on Senate conferences and doesn’t get the PDB first.
Not really an expansion or contraction. The President decides who he wants to have in the PDB or who in the EB reviews it. That’s not poaching outside of the EB
>The new TARP and stimulus rules, approved by Obama, require more reporting than Bush had (FAR more than he proposed, of course).
That’s merely changing the level of oversight and reporting within the EB. The law for TARP is vague on reporting – this has nothing to do with executive power. I frankly don’t remember Bush saying he wouldn’t sign the first TARP bill if there was too much oversight, do you?
>The “torture” EOs limit the interrogation techniques the administration can use, and the places they can send prisoners.
Bogus as he has famously reserved the right to enhanced interrogation and rendition if he wants it. This is eyewash – he hasn’t given up anything at all while sounding like he has
>The EPA decision means the federal government can no longer tell states they “can’t” regulate emissions.
Baloney – you’re completely wrong. The Clean Air Act (written by Congress) requires any state that wants to exceed Federal air standards to obtain a waiver from the EPA. Bush wouldn’t give the waiver, Obama says he will. The law still says states can’t regulate in excess of Federal standards without the waivers. If California wanted to change the standards again next year, they’d still have to go to Obama’s EPA and ask for another waiver. It’s a policy change – Obama has no more or less power than Bush did here, and that power is expressly delegated by Congress.
>He let Congress write the stimulus, rather than drafting it in the White House.
So what – Congress drafts most laws and always has. If you think the EB wrote most bills over the last 8 years you’re totally wrong. Not really any change at all
>That’s all a lot of changes from the last 16 years, and the rhetoric of Holder, Panetta, Napalitano, Biden, and Obama himself indicate he’s pushing for more.
Rhetoric without substance is pretty much all it is. Do you see him making any moves to stop warrantless wiretapping? Hell, he voted in support of it last year. Do you see anybody making any moves to repeal Patriot Act. It’s not even on the radar. He’s basically told the left wing of the party and the human rights constituencies to go jump. He’s promised to study closing Gitmo a year from now. I’ll bet you lunch this time next year most of those guys are still there or being detained in a similar facility somewhere else. Eyewash. Yesterday the JD asserted prisoners in Afghanistan don’t have access to HC or US courts. Same Bush policy.
You guys got taken for a ride.
February 21st, 2009 at 2:37 am
“I can almost give you credit for that one, but we’ll see how it plays out”
We certainly will, but unless and until it plays out with Obama rescinding that EO, it’s a roll back on executive power. Credit me, don’t, do whatever you want, it’s a roll back on executive power.
“Not really an expansion or contraction.”
Biden’s diminished Senate roll is CERTAINLY a contraction (odd how you didn’t address that one). So that’s another roll back of EP.
OTOH, the PDB issue isn’t really a roll back of EP, I’ll concede that. I kinda get the Hyper-Powerful-VP and the Unitary Executive thing conflated, as Cheney was such an advocate of both. But the PDB thing is only a roll-back of VP power.
“That’s merely changing the level of oversight and reporting within the EB.”
Oversight and reporting are CLASSIC examples of roll backs of executive power. And Obama increased how much oversight and reporting has to be done. So that’s yet another roll back of executive power.
“Bogus as he has famously reserved the right to enhanced interrogation and rendition if he wants it.”
That’s not true. He’s appointed a commission to study if any enhanced techniques are necessary, but check who’s running the committee- Eric Holder. The committee’s the real “eyewash”, it’s not going to even CONSIDER anything beyond the Army Field Manual. So, no Bill and Ted, this isn’t “bogus”, it’s a roll back of executive power.
“Baloney – you’re completely wrong.”
Saying it doesn’t make it so. By not granting the waivers, Bush gave the EB, through the EPA, sole power to set emissions standards. If Obama grants the waivers, he’s taking sole power away from the EB. Cut-and-dry roll back.
“So what – Congress drafts most laws and always has.”
“Most”, maybe- but not signature bills that the President campaigned on. Clinton wrote health care. Bush wrote his tax cuts, NCLB, and the prescription drug plan. For Obama to let Congress write the bill that could very well define his Presidency is a major roll-back of executive power.
“Rhetoric without substance is pretty much all it is.”
They’re indicating they want to do more. Maybe they won’t, but someone said we’ll see how it plays out.
“He’s promised to study closing Gitmo a year from now. ”
Also false. The administration is studying it right now, and it has to be closed a year from now. Though I wouldn’t actually call that one a roll-back of EP.
“Do you see him making any moves to stop warrantless wiretapping? Hell, he voted in support of it last year. Do you see anybody making any moves to repeal Patriot Act. It’s not even on the radar.”
I share your frustration on those issues. But the fact that he hasn’t rolled back specific EPs does not prove that he hasn’t rolled back ANY- and the arguments you made above do not prove that, either.
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