Wednesday, January 21, 2009

The Boot's On the Other Foot Now

From The Volokh Conspiracy:

Just A Reminder, for the folks who thought that President Bush had the power to arrest anyone in the United States and detain them as "enemy combatants" without any hearing as part of his Commander-in-Chief power, that this power is now enjoyed by Barack Hussein Obama. That's right: A liberal with the middle name "Hussein" who pals around with terrorists and is adored in Paris now has all that Commander-in-Chief power. And if he decides that you're a threat to the nation, he can order you seized and locked up indefinitely. Congress can't get in B. Hussein Obama's way: As the FISA Court of Review emphasized back in 2002, Congress "could not encroach on the President’s constitutional power." And that meddling Supreme Court can't stop "The One," either. Or at least that's your view of things.

Heh. I've been saying something similar  for years to the Bushistas who loudly insist that the Commander in Chief's powers in time of war are unlimited, and that he can lock up, torture, or "render"anyone he wants, just by taking the Magic Wand of Presidentness out of his flight suit, waving it about, and shouting "I declare thee an Enemy Combatant! BOOGA BOOGA BOOGA!" 

Well, wingnuts, having pissed away your support  and screwed a whole kennel full of pooches so badly that your white-haired boy and his egregious sidekick got thier asses kicked worse than the bastard son at a family reunion, what's your position on "plenary authority" and the "Unitary Executive" now? 

Of course, late conversions into believers of checks and balances are more than welcome.

Only if they stand in the corner with the dunce cap on their heads for a while. 

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Schadenfreude tastes good sometimes, don't it.

Fran said...

Heh. Well said!

Anonymous said...

Can he arrest someone for not paying taxes?

Or is an "I'm sorry" good enough for a pass?

Just breaking your shoes a little early, JD ...

John McFetridge said...

"Our founding fathers faced with perils that we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations.

Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake."

I guess we're supposed to say, "We'll see," or, "Let's not hold our breath," or something like that, but I'm tired of being cynical all the time.

JD Rhoades said...

Can he arrest someone for not paying taxes?

They've always been able to do that, dude.

Or is an "I'm sorry" good enough for a pass?

Actually, I think they'll even skip the "I'm sorry," so long as you pay the tax, penalties and interest. Which, IIRC, Geithner [sp?] did.