dr. elsewhere here
Now, I do admit that I've been a little disconnected the past few days, but perhaps someone out there can tell me if I'm missing all those places where this mindbender should be noted:
For at least the domestic spying and torture issues, Gonzo and his boss's gubmint argue that Bush can do what he wants because of the unitary executive.
So can someone 'splain to me just how unitary this executive really is if he has signed over joint classification (and presumably declassification) powers to his binary vice-executive? Does this not weaken that argument just a wee bit?
(And a little side bar here: Note the date of that Executive Order 13292, March 25, 2003. Was that not about the time the "slime Joe Wilson" campaign was cranking up?)
No, I don't see that Bush's claim to Unitary Executive Power is weakened by the fact that he has delegated some of those powers to the Vice President. The Unitary claim is really about the power of the Executive branch (headed by the President) versus the power of the Legislature. On the other hand, the Senate is working on legislation that intends to put secret wiretaps back under statutory and FISA control ... but if you believe the Unitary Executive theory, this law is meaningless because Congress cannot dictate how the Executive branch goes about its business.
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