Al Gore on Bush abuse of power

“Unlikely VioLin, very unlikely.”

“Can it be true that any president really has such powers under our Constitution? If the answer is "yes" then under the theory by which these acts are committed, are there any acts that can on their face be prohibited? If the President has the inherent authority to eavesdrop on American citizens without a warrant, imprison American citizens on his own declaration, kidnap and torture, then what can't he do?

...

This legal theory, which its proponents call the theory of the unitary executive but which ought to be more accurately described as the unilateral executive, threatens to expand the president's powers until the contours of the constitution that the Framers actually gave us become obliterated beyond all recognition. Under this theory, the President's authority when acting as Commander-in-Chief or when making foreign policy cannot be reviewed by the judiciary, cannot be checked by Congress. And President Bush has pushed the implications of this idea to its maximum by continually stressing his role as Commander-in-Chief, invoking it has frequently as he can, conflating it with his other roles, both domestic and foreign. And when added to the idea that we have entered a perpetual state of war, the implications of this theory stretch quite literally as far into the future as we can imagine.

This effort to rework America's carefully balanced constitutional design into a lopsided structure dominated by an all powerful Executive Branch with a subservient Congress and subservient judiciary is ironically accompanied by an effort by the same administration to rework America's foreign policy from one that is based primarily on U.S. moral authority into one that is based on a misguided and self-defeating effort to establish a form of dominance in the world.

In the context of his speech, he is saying that no matter what legality Bush establishes, it does not supercede our contitutional rights. The same constitutional rights he violated. As I said. He's a hypocrite.”

“Sarge: you are conflating the issue of the constitutional balance between the executive and the legislative. Gore's central argument is Bush is usurping legislative power and eliminating those checks on his power.

I still don't see a statement regarding Gore's infringement of the constitution.”

“I met a guy tonight who can vouch for the wire tapping. He had it done to him. He is a photographer for the International Committee of the Red Cross. He made 19 phone calls one night to one country. He was checking up some provisions for a family. Little did he know that Bush was flying to that country in 6 hrs. The gov't contacted him and wanted to know why he was making all these calls to that country in the middle of the night.

here is his website http://www.photozen.com/index.htm

the photo show he put on tonight was very good.”

“If they were wiretapping him, wouldn't they have known why he was making the calls?

Sounds more like they were checking phone connections from the phone company to find patterns.”

“So the government is wire tapping and then telling the people they were wire tapped?

I don't think so. If that were the case this would not have taken three years to hit the press.”

“I'm not sure how Ewker is defining "wiretap".”

“so I used the wrong wording..sue me

point is the govt was checking/listening in. Yes they contacted him about the phone calls.”

“Again, now you are saying they "listened in". How do you know this? I think they'd know what he was saying if they were listening in. Right?”

“you would think so but that didn't stop the gov't from contacting him.”

“Patriots to Restore Checks and Balances (PRCB) today called upon Congress to hold open, substantive oversight hearings examining the President's authorization of the National Security Agency (NSA) to violate domestic surveillance requirements outlined in the Federal Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).

Former U.S. Rep. Bob Barr, chairman of PRCB, was joined by fellow conservatives Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform (ATR); David Keene, chairman of the American Conservative Union; Paul Weyrich, chairman and CEO of the Free Congress Foundation and Alan Gottlieb, founder of the Second Amendment Foundation, in urging lawmakers to use NSA hearings to establish a solid foundation for restoring much needed constitutional checks and balances to intelligence law.

"When the Patriot Act was passed shortly after 9-11, the federal government was granted expanded access to Americans' private information," said Barr. "However, federal law still clearly states that intelligence agents must have a court order to conduct electronic surveillance of Americans on these shores. Yet the federal government overstepped the protections of the Constitution and the plain language of FISA to eavesdrop on Americans' private communication without any judicial checks and without proof that they are involved in terrorism."

The following can be attributed to PRCB members:

"I believe that our executive branch cannot continue to operate without the checks of the other branches. However, I stand behind the President in encouraging Congress to operate cautiously during the hearings so that sensitive government intelligence is not given to our enemies." -- Paul Weyrich, chairman and CEO, Free Congress Foundation

"Public hearings on this issue are essential to addressing the serious concerns raised by alarming revelations of NSA electronic eavesdropping." -- Grover Norquist, president, Americans for Tax Reform

"The need to reform surveillance laws and practices adopted since 9/11 is more apparent now than ever. No one would deny the government the power it needs to protect us all, but when that power poses a threat to the basic rights that make our nation unique, its exercise must be carefully monitored by Congress and the courts. This is not a partisan issue; it is an issue of safeguarding the fundamental freedoms of all Americans so that future administrations do not interpret our laws in ways that pose constitutional concerns." -- David Keene, chairman, American Conservative Union


http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=59381”

“The AP calls 'bullchit' on the administration:

McClellan said the Clinton-Gore administration had engaged in warrantless physical searches, and he cited an FBI search of the home of CIA turncoat Aldrich Ames without permission from a judge. He said Clinton's deputy attorney general, Jamie Gorelick, had testified before Congress that the president had the inherent authority to engage in physical searches without warrants.

"I think his hypocrisy knows no bounds," McClellan said of Gore.

But at the time of the Ames search in 1993 and when Gorelick testified a year later, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act required warrants for electronic surveillance for intelligence purposes, but did not cover physical searches. The law was changed to cover physical searches in 1995 under legislation that Clinton supported and signed.

Bush's attorney general, Alberto Gonzales, made the same arguments as McClellan during interviews Monday on CNN's "Larry King Live" and Fox News Channel's "Hannity & Colmes."

http://www.forbes.com/business/manufacturing/feeds/ap/2006/01/17/ap2456266.html”

“Sarge, after going through and reading this topic, I have come to the foregone conclusion that the left opposes virtually every anti-terror mechanism that the Bush administration has put into place. And yet, the left fails to offer up any alternatives to put a stop to this crap. This country has not been attacked since 9/11 because of what the current administration has done to prevent it. I will not insult the left by calling them names, but I do understand now why they are called the "looney left" by some. I understand now that the left thoroughly believes any republican just blindly follows everything our party does and says and that we don't think for ourselves. I greatly fear for the security of our country if the Democratic party comes to power in the next election; for I fear they will sell out the entire country trying to appease these radicals. I remember a time when it was God and country, baseball and apple pie...the good days; not any more. Keep up the fight Sarge.”

“Is that your response to the press release from the very conservative members of the "Patriots to Restore Checks and Balances"?”

“No sir, it is not. It is a short paragraph to Sarge.”

“msg received - thanks for the encouragement and please join in”

“being rather conservative in overall nature myself, i must agree with.........

the fact that wiretaps can be done properly, and they can be done illegally. our country would be safe in either situation. illegal wiretaps are just that, illegal.

i draw the line at someone thumbing their nose at the constitution and trying to say it's okay because it makes things safer. especially when it can be done legally and just as effectively.

trailkicker67, get your head out of sarge's ass, your breath is starting to stink.

if a person is brazen enough to stomp on one constitutional right, what makes yuo think any of your rights are safe? because you have a gun? hahahaha. they'll stick that gun up your ass and laugh at you while you're crying about how you "have the right".

W appears to be out of line on this one.”

“baume 66 - If Bush is violating the Constition, of course it should stop. The issue is that he might not be violating the Constitution. Your conclusion makes an assumption which is debatable. I don't think anybody is arguing that "illegal" wiretaps are ok. There is obviously disagreement as to whether or not they are legal.

So - you're not really arguing with anyone as far as I can tell.

If you want to debate, debate whether or not it is illegal what Bush is doing.

(PS - My "party" is the Constitution party. I am not a Republican or a Bush apologist.)
last edited: 1/18/06 12:27:19 PM”

“Well baume 66, thanks for kind words. I was simply stating my personal opinion to Sarge, as we appear to agree on the same things. However, by your personal attack on me, it would appear that you feel differently; good for you! Thank God we live in a country where you have the right to express your opinion. Have a nice day!”

“i'm arguing with myself right now sarge, i'll get back to you when i get this cleared up.”

“The Bush administration appears to have violated the National Security Act by limiting its briefings about a warrantless domestic eavesdropping program to congressional leaders, according to a memo from Congress's research arm released yesterday.

The Congressional Research Service opinion said that the amended 1947 law requires President Bush to keep all members of the House and Senate intelligence committees "fully and currently informed" of such intelligence activities as the domestic surveillance effort.

The memo from national security specialist Alfred Cumming is the second report this month from CRS to question the legality of aspects of Bush's domestic spying program. A Jan. 6 report concluded that the administration's justifications for the program conflicted with current law.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/18/AR2006011802158_pf.html”

“http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bal-op.gore19jan19,1,7587451.story?coll=bal-oped-headlines

This is in today's Baltimore Sun.

We would do well to heed the warnings.”