USNews: Bush Preparing Series Of Executive Orders

[sabra]

http://www.usnews.com/articles/news/politics/2007/11/02/ken-walsh-on-the-presidency.html

<snip>

Bush readies government by executive order

Faced with potential gridlock almost across the board, Bush has ordered his staff to prepare a variety of executive orders and administrative actions that will let him end-run Congress for the remainder of his term. This has been done by presidents before, but Bush's plans seem more extensive. White House officials say that Bush is considering a lengthy series of unilateral actions on hot-button topics such as reducing reliance on fossil fuels by encouraging alternative energy sources, limiting the importation of dangerous toys from China, restricting illegal immigration but still allowing needed agricultural workers to enter the country, improving veterans' healthcare, and alleviating air-traffic congestion.

"He wants to be thoughtful about this," says a senior White House official. "In almost every case, we would like to see legislation." But if Congress can't or won't act, Bush tells aides, he will move ahead on his own. Of course, this will further inflame the Democrats and make cooperation on Capitol Hill even less likely.

[iconoclastic cat]

1. Yeah, I'm so sure *those* are the issues he'll tackle.

It'll be more like, "Telecoms are immune from prosecution, screw the national parks, and no voting for you!"

[Union Thug]

8. I disagree...those will be his issues....He will

defend the rights of chinese sweatshops to send us deadly toys, find ways to reduce dependence on oil by reducing the surplus population of rabble by sending them off to war, protecting the interests of employers by letting them hire undocumented workers for low wages, etc.

:-)

[DCKit]

14. USNews reports to the sheeple "It's a GOOD thing." nt

[Arugula Latte]

21. How thoughtful of them to spare us all "gridlock"

:eyes:

[spanone]

2. bu$h* has no history of complying with the constitution, why should he now?

[nadinbrzezinski]

3. Another marker into a fascist state

Oh wait, I am supoosed to be happy go lucky

[calimary]

10. No, you're simply supposed to go shopping.

:eyes:

Um, Congress? Hello? Anybody home in there? Any backbone in there? My kingdom for a backbone... Hello? :banghead:

[ChairmanAgnostic]

27. or as Maher put it, How about just ONE BALL?

that would be a start.

[Cha]

38. How about SHOPPING for a NEW

CONGRESS? :)

[dbonds]

4. This makes it seem like congress is there as a matter of formality.

The president any time can just do what he wants.

[spanone]

12. more of a bother than formality

[Solly Mack]

26. Yes & he'll claim they are 'do-nothing' and 'refuse to compromise and work with him'

and he'll sign his XO's....and claim he had to do what Congress wouldn't

[tularetom]

5. Why should he bother? They'll fold and give him everything anyway

Except for SCHIP they always have.

[bdamomma]

6. * and Cheney are dismantling Congress, will the Congress fight back

to save their own jobs, or will they just blindly follow * over the cliff.

[Trillo]

7. FDR and Hoover had the most executive orders per year

It was originally allowed in the U.S. for minor things like granting a half-day off to government employees for a holiday. IIRC, FDR and Hoover had the most executive orders per year on average, I think it was something like 250 or thereabouts. These numbers were huge compared to prior presidents of the 1800s, this I concluded deductively as executive orders are numbered consecutively.

Many congresses have let the use of the executive order swell beyond a minor order into blatant rewriting of our laws. As they are used in the modern corporatist era, executive orders make legislation, thereby usurping congress's legislative function, and disturbing the balance of powers.

Do you suppose that past congressional democrats didn't want to do anything about any other president's issuing of executive orders because posterboy FDR was one of the biggest issuers of them?

[sicksicksick_N_tired]

41. I don't suppose that, at all. I figure no one anticipated a figure that would BE dictator-like.

No one imagined an American pResidency that would be so abusive as to crash and burn constitutional basics,...for purposes of concentrating power in complete contradiction of this nation's meaning and purpose.

Moreover, this pResidency still holds onto control. It's alarming.

[Trillo]

46. You're probably right.

To date, US courts have overturned only two executive orders: the aforementioned Truman order, and a 1996 order issued by President Clinton that attempted to prevent the US government from contracting with organizations that had strike-breakers on the payroll. <1> Congress may overturn an executive order by passing legislation in conflict with it or by refusing to approve funding to enforce it. In the former, the president retains the power to veto such a decision; however, the Congress may override a veto with a two-thirds majority to end an executive order. It has been argued that a Congressional override of an executive order is a nearly impossible event due to the super majority vote required and the fact that such a vote leaves individual lawmakers very vulnerable to political criticism. <2>

Wikipedia Executive_order link

An Executive Order is essentially a King's Decree, as others on this thread have pointed out.

What better way to enact a corporatist agenda, and still be able to get reelected to congress? Hey, don't blame your Senator or Representative, after all, The President did it!

[CGowen]

42. The Great Depression ? n/t

[Richard Steele]

9. Rule by decree. That's what dictators do, not Presidents. Which do we have now? nm

[Ian David]

11. If this were a dictarorship..

http://humor.beecy.net/politics/bushisms/dictator/

[Cha]

39. Yeah, fuck you,

dic.

If I wanted to live under a fucking dic-tator I'd move to fucking China.

[AndyA]

13. If Congress allows this, they're just ignoring themselves right out of a job.

If the President can do anything he wants, with no oversight and no restrictions, Congress should just pack it up and go home, because they've obsoleted themselves.

Congrats, Nancy and Harry: you've just made your jobs obsolete by doing nothing. :(

[ChairmanAgnostic]

16. what do you mean? They worked hard to take impeachment off the table.

That's hard. Hard work. Working hard. Doing the people's business. Triangulating and bending over for the president.

Do you KNOW how many knee pads Nancy and Harry go through a month when the president is in town?

[AndyA]

20. Please forgive me, I had not considered this.

Do you KNOW how many knee pads Nancy and Harry go through a month when the president is in town?

I shudder to think, but no doubt Wal-Mart keeps them on sale constantly! :rofl:

[ChairmanAgnostic]

24. by the way, I met Edwards in Chicago

when he attended this Kos convention thingie. If you haven't had the pleasure, he is one great guy and an even better nominee for president. He's got my vote.

[sicksicksick_N_tired]

43. Yes. He and his wife are the real deal,...genuine to the core,...smart, informed,...

,...I can not praise them, enough. They are in touch with the two worlds in this country and have the capacity to bridge that divide.

The Edwards are exceptional and have my vote, too.

[Cha]

40. Doing nothing?! Surely showing up

and telling us how we don't understand how their hands are tied and having congressional lunches and cocktail parties..you know..carrying all that water for fascism..now that's fucking hard work.

[MagickMuffin]

15. No 5 and off to the greatest

Seems like it's business as usual.

What is the democratic "leadership" afraid of???????

Where are their legs???? They should each have two to stand on and use them to stand up against this abuse of power.

Sheesh.

[ck4829]

17. K&R

[progressoid]

18. "...will further inflame the Democrats..."

Wouldn't that be great?

As it is, they don't seem to be inflamed about much.

[Elspeth]

19. Good old "US News and World Distort"

There has got to be a way to stop him from doing this.

[Rex]

22. I'm sure he is getting ready.

Fucking warmonger.

[AuntPatsy]

23. Bush's dream of Carte Blanche come true...and the American people

bow their head in a submissive gesture of respect....

Ummmm

:banghead:

[Supersedeas]

25. hot button issues?? with whom...his OWN allies in Congress

[BeHereNow]

28. Remember this- who ever is sElected next will inherit these powers.

We are so "screwn."
They aren't even pretending anymore.

BHN

[librechik]

45. unless the VERY LAST ORDER he writes is something like

"and all these (enumerate orders) will only apply so long as I am president, not some effing Democrat!"

[MLFerrell]

29. Translation:

"...reducing reliance on fossil fuels by encouraging alternative energy sources, limiting the importation of dangerous toys from China, restricting illegal immigration but still allowing needed agricultural workers to enter the country, improving veterans' healthcare, and alleviating air-traffic congestion."

What he REALLY means is:

"Increasing reliance on fossil fuels by outlawing alternative energy sourecs, encouraging the importation of dangerous toys from China to fatten Wal-Mart's bottom line, encouraging illegal immigration to further fatten Wal-Mart's bottom line while encouraging agricultural concerns to also fatten their profits by hiring illegal immigrants, completely eliminating veterans' healthcare, and ignoring air-traffic congestion due to the potential for limitations cutting into airline profit margins."

[screembloodymurder]

30. J.H.C.! Could be things be any worse?

Our foreign policy is a disaster of epic proportions. The economy is on the brink of a meltdown. The dollar is collapsing. The environment is near the point of no return. War, torture, famine, floods and he wants to assume full control? WTF? I say impeachment is way too slow to save the union.

[gateley]

31. MY GOD! Looking back at the actions Hitler took, step by step - we think -

HOW could THEY have let that happen?

Well...

[Hekate]

32. Bush is right: It's so much easier when he's the dictator. Now I think I'll go throw up. nt

[Canuckistanian]

33. I wonder if Congressional Repubs and Bush Dog Dems realize

That their powers are being taken away little by little every day that Bush remains in power?

Is there no instinct of self-preservation here?

[Joanne98]

34. Those aren't the issues he's going to tackle...

There's no problem with those. I say bullshit. He's doing something else. Worthless MSM!

[B Calm]

35. this will further inflame the Democrats YEAH RIGHT, HA HA HA

[Cha]

36. First of all..Fuck the white house senior

official(ain't got a name, eh? Too fucking chickenshit to get your name down for historical purposes?)

Secondly..I'll just bet ol' monkeytard is preparing executive monkeyfuck orders and surely wants "legislation" for Almost all Cases.

Fuck feinstein and schumer and fuck nancy pelosi for letting the monkeycoup achieve this and any other dino whose hands are covered in blood.

[sicksicksick_N_tired]

37. BULLSHIT!!! "encouraging alternative energy" BULLSHIT! "improving veterans'" BULLSHIT!!!

"restricting illegal immigration" BULLSHIT!!! "limiting importation,...from China" BULLSHIT!!!

"alleviating air-traffic congestion" :rofl:

HOO-YAH-BULLSHIT!!! Kinda' like "Clean Skies" and "Leave No Child Behind" and "Patriot Act" and "Operation Iraq Liberation" OIL OIL OIL (they had to quickly change that one, though).

He's gonna carry the dictator thingy to the max during his last year. Freakin' USNEWS is, obviously, going to help him.

USNEWS ain't "news". USNEWS is a fascist organization, C-L-E-A-R-L-Y!!!

There was a time when I would be stunned any "news" agency would indulge like this. No more.

[Hydra]

44. HA!

and people though Bush would step aside after 8 years. Only if he's bored and wants to spend more time in bed with Jeff Gannon.

Bush and his cronies are going NOWHERE and there will be no election. "It would be dangerous to national security to hold elections at this time!"