Quote:
Sen. Specter preparing bill to sue Bush
Republican committee chairman fighting against 'signing statements'
Reuters file Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA)is leading the fight against President Bush's "signing statements."
Updated: 2 hours, 3 minutes ago
WASHINGTON - A powerful Republican committee chairman who has led the fight against President Bush’s signing statements said Monday he would have a bill ready by the end of the week allowing Congress to sue him in federal court.
“We will submit legislation to the United States Senate which will...authorize the Congress to undertake judicial review of those signing statements with the view to having the president’s acts declared unconstitutional,” Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter, R-Pa., said on the Senate floor.
Specter’s announcement came the same day that an American Bar Association task force concluded that by attaching conditions to legislation, the president has sidestepped his constitutional duty to either sign a bill, veto it, or take no action.
Practice 'harming the separation of powers'
Bush has issued at least 750 signing statements during his presidency, reserving the right to revise, interpret or disregard laws on national security and constitutional grounds.
“That non-veto hamstrings Congress because Congress cannot respond to a signing statement,” said ABA president Michael Greco. The practice, he added “is harming the separation of powers.”
Bush has challenged about 750 statutes passed by Congress, according to numbers compiled by Specter’s committee. The ABA estimated Bush has issued signing statements on more than 800 statutes, more than all other presidents combined.
Signing statements have been used by presidents, typically for such purposes as instructing agencies how to execute new laws.
But many of Bush’s signing statements serve notice that he believes parts of bills he is signing are unconstitutional or might violate national security.
White House defends practice
Still, the White House said signing statements are not intended to allow the administration to ignore the law.
“A great many of those signing statements may have little statements about questions about constitutionality,” said White House spokesman Tony Snow. “It never says, ’We’re not going to enact the law.”’
Specter’s announcement intensifies his challenge of the administration’s use of executive power on a number of policy matters. Of particular interest to him are two signing statements challenging the provisions of the USA Patriot Act renewal, which he wrote, and legislation banning the use of torture on detainees.
Bush is not without congressional allies on the matter. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, a former judge, has said that signing statements are nothing more than expressions of presidential opinion that carry no legal weight because federal courts are unlikely to consider them when deciding cases that challenge the same laws.
© 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Only in america. Hope it goes thru and they sue his ass out of all his Oil money.
spikej wrote:
Only in america. Hope it goes thru and they sue his ass out of all his Oil money.
LOL I don't think they are suing him for monetary damage. If they were to sue him for that he'd owe us all like 4 trillion dollars
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LOL
To sign up to recieve a check from the Bush screwed Americans class action lawsuit go to ....
spikej wrote:LOL To sign up to recieve a check from the Bush screwed Americans class action lawsuit go to ....
www.bushfukkedusinthearseand theresnothing wecandoaboutit.com
arlen specter needs to change to a democrat to not mislead people....thats my opinion. I am from pa, and the R sure fooled a lot of us i think.
Matt wrote:arlen specter needs to change to a democrat to not mislead people....thats my opinion. I am from pa, and the R sure fooled a lot of us i think.
both sides need to drop the democrat and republican labels, cause really not either side actually stands for what their designated terms refer to....
hell the republicans who were against the war demonstrators speaking out against families that had members die, supported ann coulter when she did the same thing and wrote a book about the "godless church"....
same thoughts and ideas, different medium.
on "Specter General", doubt anything will come about from it. more publicity bs it seems to be thus far.
dump the party system. It's against the original spirit of equal representation.
Transeat In Exemplum: Let this stand as the example.
I don't know enough aboot how this all works to give an informed opinion on it, but I don't think anyone should be able to sue the freaking President of the United States of America.
Team GREEN
Suspension Division - "Handling Before Horsepower"
Making the turns since 1999
1998 EK Civic Hatch - Yes, it's a Honda.
Why?
How do you not hold the person with the greatest responsibility accountable for their actions or misactions (or inactions)? Congress hasn't got the sack (or idiot streak) to start something like this with off-year elections looming and the bad press that comes with that. They're not even holding up for scrutiny the Ports deal or half a dozen other MAJOR screw ups that they bailled on the president over.
Seriously, there has got to be a populace way, other than open revolt, to depose a sitting president, especially when there is no resolve or even effort to do so with elected representatives. It's one of the reasons the party system has GOT TO GO.
(Before someone says something: YES, you can sue the Prime Minister, and YES, a sitting PM and the party can be unseated by a vote of no confidence.)
Transeat In Exemplum: Let this stand as the example.
Ahh, a vote of no confidence. I remember that from Star Wars I.
NE ways, I don't think you should be able to sue the Prez. You should be able to vote him out, as stated above, but not sue. You could blame anything and everything on the Prez and get money from him, that is why you shoudn't be able to sue him.
Team GREEN
Suspension Division - "Handling Before Horsepower"
Making the turns since 1999
1998 EK Civic Hatch - Yes, it's a Honda.
Suit would have to be determined case-by-case, but in this one, the allegation is that both houses do one thing, and Bush directs each Department to do whatever he wants anyways.
Votes of No Confidence are part of Common (ie sane) Law. Even though it basically requires parties as a defacto standard, you can recall a representative by referendum, and you can't sit in the House of Commons without representing a riding... The Senate is a different matter entirely as it's by appointment only, and those appointments are pretty much FOR LIFE, unless you manage to really screw the pooch.
Transeat In Exemplum: Let this stand as the example.
Rails/GAM
That's where my idea to revamp the government comes in.
Since There's ALWAYS an election ever november, on that election ballot, for ever office that you can vote for, but their term is not up, you vote a simple, "Should XXX remain in the office of YYY" Yes/No. If yes, then they get to keep their job. If no, then the next november is an election year, and the incumbant can choose to run again or not.
This goes for President, Vice president, all Congressional seats, Governor, Leiutennant Governor, et al.
This would add extra checks and balances to the system. After all, even a coroporate CEO is held accountable to the board of directors and shareholders, why shouldn't el presidente be held accountable to the voters? And that system might have gotten our troops home from Iraq sooner.
After all, how many of you woukld slack off at your job if you had to go through personnel reviews every 4 years? I have mine every year--why shouldn't everyone?
Goodbye Callisto & Skađi, Hello Ishara:
2022 Kia Stinger GT2 AWD
The only thing every single person from every single walk of life on earth can truly say
they have in common is that their country is run by a bunch of fargin iceholes.
it's going to be 6 years for all this to go through anyway, thanks to our slow-a$$ judicial system. the court is going to have to go through all 800 signature statements. he's not going to be President by the time the judgement comes out.
Desert Tuners
“When you come across a big kettle of crazy, it’s best not to stir it.”
the time they get this threw the court bush will be out before 2008 election year anyways so they really to stop this little cry baby @!#$ and focus on important stuff then fighting over this small crap
Opening Soon Kustom J's
Kustom J's wrote:the time they get this threw the court bush will be out before 2008 election year anyways so they really to stop this little cry baby @!#$ and focus on important stuff then fighting over this small crap
Sage advice, maybe Dubya could follow it as well.
Transeat In Exemplum: Let this stand as the example.
if this is the case couldn't you hold accountable anyone that agreed with him when the war started in the first place?? which would be anyne in politics probably. as well as hold accountable the head of the CIA for giving false information.
What ever the case i don't give a damn i think this guy should be held for treason simple as that. same goes for the new york times. you want to do something so you stand out to make yourself look good do it after the fact before the enemy can laugh at our faces and see how stupid we all are. If yuo ask me he is just helping the enemy to get rid of the leader of the "free world" out of the way.
Why don't you just go suck an egg?
“Poor Al Gore. Global warming completely debunked via the very Internet you invented. Oh, oh, the irony!” -Jon Stewart
I think anyone that could be considered a "politician" from every point in history could be convicted of "treason"
I know all of the past presidents could.
Goodbye Callisto & Skađi, Hello Ishara:
2022 Kia Stinger GT2 AWD
The only thing every single person from every single walk of life on earth can truly say
they have in common is that their country is run by a bunch of fargin iceholes.
As true as that is, i just say that to piss off all of the @!#$s here who think we can't breathe, eat, @!#$, or @!#$ without the government.
Goodbye Callisto & Skađi, Hello Ishara:
2022 Kia Stinger GT2 AWD
The only thing every single person from every single walk of life on earth can truly say
they have in common is that their country is run by a bunch of fargin iceholes.
