http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/06/serving_the_presiden I've been wondering when Congress would throw a hissy about President Bush basically nullifying their powers. From the Boston Globe: WASHINGTON -- The Senate Judiciary Committee chairman, Arlen Specter, said yesterday that he is "seriously considering" filing legislation to give Congress legal standing to sue President Bush over his use of signing statements to reserve the right to bypass laws. Specter, a Pennsylvania Republican, made his comments after a Judiciary Committee hearing on signing statements, which are official documents that Bush has used to challenge the constitutionality of more than 750 laws when signing legislation . We'll see if this... Copyright 2007 Wed, 28 Jun 2006 09:35:43 -0800 Wed, 28 Jun 2006 14:10:01 -0800 http://www.movabletype.org/?v=3.34 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss but then won't Bush have to return from Gaul to fight the Senate and take the title of Emperor? If Specter is Cato, who is Marc Antony?

]]> el ganador http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/06/serving_the_presiden#c384746 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/06/serving_the_presiden#c384746 Politics Wed, 28 Jun 2006 10:00:23 -0800 The problem I have with all the articles about the signing statements is that they assert, as if it were a _fact_, that the statements "basically nullify [the laws'] powers." That is not a fact -- it is something that Bush dearly wishes were true and he is acting as if it were true. But I know of no authority in the Constitution for that proposition.

Bush's breach of his legal authority needs to be a much bigger issue than it is.

(I am admitted to practice law in Washington and California, for what it's worth.)

]]> Sachi http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/06/serving_the_presiden#c384755 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/06/serving_the_presiden#c384755 Politics Wed, 28 Jun 2006 10:21:55 -0800 But since the President is in charge of enforcing the laws he says he's under no obligation to obey, how do you stop him from violating them?

]]> Napoleon XIII http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/06/serving_the_presiden#c384761 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/06/serving_the_presiden#c384761 Politics Wed, 28 Jun 2006 10:27:03 -0800 I'm not an expert on political issues like that (I do criminal defense and I also follow higher education law) but, as far as I know, the only way to get Bush to behave is to impeach him and then remove him from office.

Unfortunately the smug bastard knows it. He has no _ethical_ compass that would lead him to honor the oth of office or the Constitution. So without a political check, he'll just do what he damn well pleases, and laugh all the way.

]]> Sachi http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/06/serving_the_presiden#c384783 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/06/serving_the_presiden#c384783 Politics Wed, 28 Jun 2006 10:46:19 -0800 The funny thing is that most of the signing statements will be used by a Dem president to make Bushies toe the line in just a couple of years.

]]> Will in Seattle http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/06/serving_the_presiden#c384796 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/06/serving_the_presiden#c384796 Politics Wed, 28 Jun 2006 11:09:56 -0800 Impeachment is certainly an option. Would that our Senate, however, respect the precedents of its Roman forebearers...

]]> Napoleon XIII http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/06/serving_the_presiden#c385061 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/06/serving_the_presiden#c385061 Politics Wed, 28 Jun 2006 14:10:01 -0800