"We Didn't Elect Obama To Preserve Bush's Anti-Constitutional Power Grab-We Elected Him To End It"

[kpete]

Secrecy and Executive Power
March 2nd, 2009

Glenn Greenwald’s description of the common liberal sentiment that “Bush’s secrecy theories and assertions of unchallengeable executive power were grave and tyrannical threats to liberty” is spot-on. But as Greenwald notes, these same assertions of power and privilege are no less grave in the Obama administration. The similarities between the Obama administration’s response to the 9th Circuit Court’s ruling in the Al-Haramain case, requiring the government to turn over classified information and the legal views espoused under the Bush-Cheney administration by the likes of John Yoo and David Addington are simply stunning.

I expect better from the Obama administration. They must be able to make decisions that honor the Constitution. President Obama must not only have, but seek out, counsel that prioritizes the rule of law over the preservation and protection of executive branch powers.

I don’t know if the Obama administration’s response to the 9th Circuit ruling is due to the advice of President Obama, Vice President Biden, AG Eric Holder, dead ender US attorneys from the Bush administration, or a combination of these people. But to paraphrase John McCain, either President Obama or someone who values the Constitution and isn’t going to like this (Dodd, Feingold & Leahy come to mind), should get his cohort in the room and tell them to stop the bullshit. We didn’t elect President Obama to preserve the Bush administration’s anti-constitutional executive power grab. We elected him to end it.

http://holdfastblog.com/2009/03/02/secrecy-and-executive-power/

[jody]

1. Now you've done it, apologists will be posting soon. n/t

[ThomWV]

2. No apologist here and I think that Greenwald does this country a service every day

This matter of the Constitution - it trumps everything in my mind.

[ck4829]

3. K&R - No more power grabs.

[QueenOfCalifornia]

4. No matter how much I like Obama

this sort of shit pisses me off.

Oy.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

5. And he still hasn't publically revealed the real cause of the WTC collapse.

[balantz]

18. Tell us about the Towers Mr. Obama. Then we can move forward honestly! nt

[tomp]

19. yes. nt

[Common Sense Party]

45. ....

:spray:

[democrank]

6. K & R

End the Bush nightmare.

[Fireweed247]

7. K&R

This is bullshit and I cannot believe there are actually people that will tell us Obama is playing chess.

[leftstreet]

8. K&R

[ThomWV]

9. There is only one question to ask - is this Holder or is this the President?

Because if its Holder then his resignation should be on the President's desk.

[Baby Snooks]

28. It's the shadow president and her grey eminence...

It's Hillary Clinton and Rahmbo. Our shadow president and her grey eminence. Serving the dynasty in order to preserve it.

?

[jody]

10. Kick n/t

[TahitiNut]

11. I dunno. What if the ONLY way to force a SCOTUS condemnation of Cheney/Bush behavior ...

... is to take the tack they're taking? I haven't examined this in detail, but I suspect that they COULD be acting in a way that forces the issue up the judicial chain to the point that a SCOTUS decision is forced.

[ThomWV]

13. I have seen that hope expressed before

And I sure hope you're right.

[FlyingSquirrel]

14. Why did it not make it up to the SCOTUS in the past 8 years?

What would be different this time?

[omega minimo]

16. The SCOTUS with 2 Bush appointees who champion the Unitary Executive. Good luck with that.

:thumbsup:

[tomp]

20. that seems so convoluted. can you explain in more detail...

...what you expect might happen.

[TahitiNut]

29. Like I say, I dunno. I've not studied it, but I keep thinking "Devil's Advocate."

It seems there'd be ways to make it moot ... to choose to not contest it. But contesting it assures a continued judicial process.

I dunno. :shrug: My instincts/impressions give me pause.

[tomp]

50. that's what i'm not getting. where's the devil's advocate part?

if the obama white house (bush) challenge is favored by the court, the process pretty much stops. it's only if the court rejects the argument that anything goes forward, or goes forward with any gusto. it seems logically that the only thing the obama challenge COULD DO is slow down or halt the process of challenging bush in court. what am i missing?

[indepat]

12. Hear! Hear!

:D

[kentuck]

15. K & R !

Thanks for posting this.

kentuck

[omega minimo]

17. impeachment advocates here warned about this.

[acmavm]

21. I'm waiting patiently to see what will happen. I don't think that

too much more time should pass before Obama comes out with whether or not he's going to do what's right. If he does, for which I still hold out hope that he will, fantastic!

If he doesn't, I change my party affiliation. And so do others that I know. This is just as important as the economy. In some ways maybe even moreso because it determines what kind of nation we are and who's guilty of war crimes and genocide. I will not stay in the party because I will not accept any of the blame for the bush** admin.

The clock is ticking.

[Vattel]

22. Congress should pass laws that define the scope

of Executive Prilivelege in federal courts. The Constitution gives Congress the power to "make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution . . . all other powers vested by this Constitution in the government of the United States, or in any department or officer thereof." In order for the federal courts to execute their powers, they must have access to evidence that bears on the cases they must decide. In order to execute his powers the President needs some control over state secrets. Congress should determine how to balance these concerns.

[jody]

23. IMO laws are useless if a president ignores them. Congress has the power of the purse and must learn

how to use it to rein in a unitary president.

[azul]

25. Hypothetical scenario to prompt congress and supreme court:

The president kidnaps and imprisons a supreme court justice declaring him an enemy combatant on evidence that the executive will not share.

Would such a move force the issue of legislating executive powers?

[Vattel]

26. How can the power of the purse

be used to stop a President from abusing executive privilege?

[jody]

35. Congress can proscribe appropriated funds from being used for specific purposes. n/t

[Vattel]

36. refusing to provide documents or testimony doesn't cost much money

[jody]

38. What does that have to do with Congress' authority to appropriate funds for all government programs?

[Vattel]

44. I thought we were discussing abusing executive privilege.

[jody]

47. You stated "Congress should pass laws that define the scope" and I said IMO that would not work

because presidents ignore the law.

I then stated my opinion that Congress could control a president through it's control over the purse.

For example, if congress wants our troops out of Iraq or Afghanistan, simply pass budgets that do not authorize funds for those wars.

Of course that requires a veto-proof congress but IMO that is the only way congress can control a rogue president.

[newtothegame]

24. We would have elected a progressive if we wanted a progressive.

We wanted to make history books, and we got what we deserved.

[L. Coyote]

27. No, the People elected their choice in a field of candidates, and this is who we got.

It is the 'Political Sum' game, and a few votes here and a few votes there made the pendulum swing the way it did.

[Baby Snooks]

30. Are you referring to Hillary Clinton?

?


They truly are just one great big happy progressive family...

[Yes We Did]

34. Pfft!

:spray:

[Luminous Animal]

33. The rule of law is not "progressive".

And the Bush administration's extralegal activities were neither centrist or conservative. The were radically reactionary.

[dflprincess]

42. WE would have elected a progress but the media decided we would make history

that's why the only candidates that got much air time were Clinton & Obama (both of whom could be trusted to protect corporate interests). The average voter doesn't spend as much time on politics as those of us here do. They get their information from the MSM and make decisions based on that.

[SlowDownFast]

31. K&R n/t

[panzerfaust]

32. Shocking, or Expected ??

This topic - what do/did we expect from a president - is important enough that I am reposting most of a comment made in reference to the decision to use national security to hide whatever a government wants hidden.

For anyone who thinks that the fundamental nature of a given government can be changed for the BETTER, I suggest a long weekend spent watching the British series "Yes, Minister" followed by "Yes, Prime Minister" ...

Governments, all governments, slowly become ever more corrupt and controlling over time, until swept away by revolution: Then the process begins all over again. In our own case, I anticipate another actual revolution in this country within the next 2-3 generations. In the interval, we will continue to lose civil liberties to the evermore suffocating State, which seeks only to retain power.

Now, I am glad that we won; for ... I prefer the illusion of democracy provided by Democrats, to the overt Fascism evident under Republicans. I simply recognize that it is an illusion.

I see the movers-and-shakers of both parties to be self-similar. I see they are primarily motivated by the drive for power, for access to the wealth of the nation simply in order to use it for person gain.

Additionally, I believe that the vast faceless bureaucracy of our, of any, government, is driven by a consuming desire for control over the lives of the rest of us.

This drive for power, for control, is the natural state of government - no more to be unexpected than that cats kill birds.

Many, even I will say the majority, of the restrictions of civil liberties and rights engineered by the previous administration, will be defended, if not extended, by the new.

I almost believe that democracy would be better served by selecting people at random off the voter rolls to be 'our national leaders.' I believe that most people, unlike most politicians, would strive to do the right thing by the country.

I am coming to think that the desire for power should automatically disqualify someone from having it.

[anitar1]

37. k@r

[ooglymoogly]

39. Dam straight!

This is the scary side of Obama that none of us voted for and is only, after the election, becoming very apparent. F*king around with the constitution is not acceptable, no mater how much short term good he does.

[ooglymoogly]

40. KR nt

[quickesst]

41. At this early stage...

...of Obama's presidency, he's in the classic, goddamn if you do, goddamn if you don't situation, fueled by ignorance, and the belief that the mythical "easy button" is real. It's only a commercial designed to get a reaction to increase sales. It does not really exist. I know one thing for a fact. A lot of people, in an ideological drunken stupor, told everyone that Obama was "the one". If only they had actually listened to what he was saying during the campaign, it might not have come as such a shock that he is doing exactly what he said he would do. People here get angry if you call them whiners, but jeez, if that's what they're doing, what else can you call it and still be honest? Where were you before he was elected? No need to answer, I know already. Thanks.
quickesst

[ananda]

43. Logical contradiction

The imperial presidency cannot end itself.

The balance of powers can only be returned
by the people, to whom government is supposed
to be both beholden and subordinate.

[Spike89]

46. We didn't really elect him to "do anything" specific

We simply elected him to do what we hoped he'd do. Except for a very few hard and concrete promises, he (like all the other major candidates) spoke in generalities. I didn't see McCain (R) - For Preserving Bush's Crap vs. Obama (D) - For ending Bush's Crap on my ballot. If you saw that on yours, it was your imagination that put it there.

I wanted a president that would open government back up, put single payer health care in place, and immediately end both the Iraq and Afganistan wars--but I didn't get to vote on issues, just between a couple guys.

[americanmutt]

48. Well stated,,, and

I think there is more pressure in other things that keep his focus right now. Guys and Gals, it has only been 7 weeks. Give the guy some time, He has been pretty busy. I don't think he is ignoring anything.

[G_j]

49. yep n/t