Wednesday, October 10, 2007

A Democratic Unitary Executive

If the next president of the USA is a Democrat and if he/she insists on using the new "expanded" powers of the executive office, what will the Republicans say? I've been wondering about this for some time. Well, here is an interview with a historian and VP Dick Cheney that provides some insight on the responses of conservatives. Here is a small taste of the interview (written by Gary Hart):
The Historian: But this administration has said it is merely continuing your theory of the "unitary executive," that you merely laid the groundwork for a new powerful executive.

Cheney: Big difference. We knew what we were doing. This crowd doesn't. We knew how to use power. They're totally out of control, as I said.

The Historian: With due respect, Mr. Vice President, your lawyers, particularly Mr. Addington and Mr. Yoo, said that the Constitution permitted aggregation of power in the presidency, that anything not specifically denied by the Constitution could be done by the president and his administration and neither the Congress nor the Courts could do anything about it.

Cheney: Look. Don't try to twist things. That was then. This is now. Everything is different.

No comments: