George W Bush: Signor of Signing Statements

In a truly audacious move that shouldn't surprise anyone who has been paying attention, the Bush Administration has neglected to enforce laws passed by Congress and signed by the President.  Many readers may recall Bush has written more "signing statements", a little note jotted at the bottom of a bill he is about to sign into law, than any other president.  Those signing statements typically say that he refuses to enforce all or part of the bill he is signing.

Since there is no "line-item veto" the president is required by law to enforce bills he has signed into law in their entirety.  George W. Bush does not like this law, thus the signing statements, but according to background research into 19 of his signing statements he is in fact disobeying the law nearly a third of the time.

Congress passed a law requiring the Pentagon to disclose the budget for Afghanistan separate from the budget for Iraq.  Bush signed the law, but made a note that he wasn't going to enforce that part if it — and in fact he has not.  The Pentagon withheld the information they were legally required to give Congress.

In several other cases, Congress passed laws requiring certain federal agencies to get approval from a congressional oversight committee before taking certain actions, Bush signed the bills into law but again made signing statements that he would disregard the portions he didn't like, and those agencies have continued to function without the legally required congressional oversight.

Congress has made it clear that impeachment is off the table, despite blatant violations of the law by Bush and his administration in this case, the NSA wiretap case, and more than a few others.  Perhaps they fear having Cheney as President, but whatever the case it has become clear that a congress with a Democrat majority might as well be 100% Republicans, and personal friends of the President, because they have done nothing and apparently plan to continue doing nothing.

In this way, past illegal actions have not been punished — as future illegal actions will not be punished — and the only light in the tunnel is November 2008, where we will very likely reward one of these very same, completely useless people with the Presidency.

On a related note, if you don't know who Ron Paul is — look him up.  He just might be the only candidate who does what he says, and I think what he says will appeal to most who listen.

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