Line-item veto?

[white_wolf]

This was discussed in my political science class today and I was just curious to know if you all think the president should have line-item veto power? I'm not sure about it, it could be useful, but I'm worried it could be easily abused especially in budgetary matters.

[rug]

1. It's legislation by pen.

[TheWraith]

2. It all depends who's in the White House...

...but you can bet your ass the first right winger who got into office would immediately line-item veto anything and everything they vaguely disliked: school lunches, Head Start, hell the entire fucking Department of Education. Healthcare, disaster relief, etcetera. Democrats typically don't operate that way because our guys know that being a psychotic asshole isn't a solution. So a line-item veto would favor the Republicans.

[pwb]

3. The republicans are in favor of it for a republican president but not for a democratic president.

Remember how they all wanted it for bush?. Today not so much talk of it.

[white_wolf]

4. Well they did pass a law in 1996 giving the president line-item veto power over budgetary matters

but the SCOTUS ruled it was unconstitutional.

[joeybee12]

7. Yup...nt

[rurallib]

5. Our governor used it to slash some huge funds from education this year.

I used to ask my congress critter - the so-called highly respected Jim Leach who was highly in favor of line item veto - just what his job would be if they gave legislating by veto to the President? 8 years later I still await a serious answer.

The first time I asked him he looked like the proverbial deer in the headlights and tried to just skip over it. It was like he had never even given it consideration.

I am against it in general and think that if the founders had wanted to give that power to the executive, they would have. This is hardly a new concept.

[KamaAina]

6. It would work best for a repuke President faced with a Dem Congress

rather than the other way around. So no.

[Motown_Johnny]

8. I'm against it

and I share your worries about how easy it would be to abuse that power

[struggle4progress]

9. Ask yourself how it would be used. It would represent a gigantic increase in Presidential power.

Right now, all those "line items" represent horse-trades between the various members of Congress. Line item veto would make the Oval Office the final arbiter of the deals:

Congressman A: I'll vote for X if you vote for Y
Congressman B: Done!
... later ...
The President: Congressman A gets X, and Congressman B gets nothing!

The President would be able to veto every project for Congressman B's district until Congressman B stopped criticizing him and so on

Really bad idea IMO