By Stopping Bush on Iraq, Dems Can Restore Congress's Power

[kpete]

By Stopping Bush on Iraq, Dems Can Restore Congress's Power

By Rachel Morris, Washington Monthly. Posted January 19, 2007.


Under Republican control, a passive legislative branch has allowed the executive to claim unprecedented powers in this area, with disastrous results. Congress now has a responsibility to restore the balance.

.........................

Of course, even if the House and Senate mustered the majorities required to override a presidential veto and pass such measures, it's highly likely that Bush would just ignore them. After all, since 9/11 he has repeatedly made the sweeping claim that he alone has the power to decide what "methods to use to best prevail against the enemy." That's precisely why Democrats should go ahead anyway.

Politically, if President Bush were to defy a law passed by a newly-and resoundingly elected-Democratic-controlled Congress, it would place responsibility for the war unavoidably with him. It would also draw public attention to the administration's previous abuses of the law.

There's a larger motive too. The authors of the Constitution split war powers between Congress (which gets to declare war and manage the armed forces) and the President, (who gets to direct the war) for a reason: It didn't want an English-style monarch with a monopoly on military matters. Under Republican control, a passive legislative branch has allowed the executive to claim unprecedented powers in this area, with disastrous results. Congress now has a responsibility to restore the balance.

more at:
http://www.alternet.org/story/46905/