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In Cheney's Shadow, Counsel Pushes the Conservative Cause
The Washington Post ^ | October 11, 2004 | Dana Milbank

Posted on 10/11/2004 5:10:23 PM PDT by The Loan Arranger

Since he took office, Vice President Cheney has led the Bush administration's effort to increase the power of the presidency. "I have repeatedly seen an erosion of the powers and the ability of the president of the United States to do his job," he said after a year in office, calling it "wrong" for past presidents to yield to congressional demands. "We are weaker today as an institution because of the unwise compromises that have been made over the last 30 to 35 years."

Cheney has tried to increase executive power with a series of bold actions -- some so audacious that even conservatives on the Supreme Court sympathetic to Cheney's view have rejected them as overreaching. The vice president's point man in this is longtime aide David Addington, who serves as Cheney's top lawyer.

Where there has been controversy over the past four years, there has often been Addington. He was a principal author of the White House memo justifying torture of terrorism suspects. He was a prime advocate of arguments supporting the holding of terrorism suspects without access to courts.

(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Constitution/Conservatism; Culture/Society; Foreign Affairs; Government; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: addington; bleedingheartattack; bush; cheney; davidaddington; detainees; whitehouse
Interesting article on a "behind-the-scenes" player.
1 posted on 10/11/2004 5:10:25 PM PDT by The Loan Arranger
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To: The Loan Arranger
...it "wrong" for past presidents to yield to congressional demands.

I think Cheney's looking in the wrong place.

It's the Judiciary that's abused its authority, and it's the Legislature that's failed to rein them in.

An activist Judiciary is a threat to both the Executive and the Legislature.

2 posted on 10/11/2004 5:21:52 PM PDT by Noachian (A Democrat, by definition, is a Socialist.)
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To: Noachian
It's the Judiciary that's abused its authority, and it's the Legislature that's failed to rein them in.

Funny that you should mention that.

I have updated my FMCDH (From My Cold Dead Hands) sign-off with the addition of (BITS).....Blood In The Streets, which I foresee coming soon, due to the enormous increase of the Marxist progressive movement being shoved down the throat of this failing REPUBLIC through the Judicial tyranny of fiat law, the passing of unconstitutional laws by the Legislative and Executive branches of our government and the enormous tax burden placed upon the average American to support unconstitutional programs put forth by Marxist ideology.

Have a nice day.

FMCDH(BITS)

3 posted on 10/11/2004 6:01:08 PM PDT by nothingnew (KERRY: "If at first you don't deceive, lie, lie again!")
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To: Noachian; nothingnew
It's the Judiciary that's abused its authority, and it's the Legislature that's failed to rein them in. An activist Judiciary is a threat to both the Executive and the Legislature.

I agree. This is one of the top reasons that it is so important that we reelect President Bush. The next President will appoint Judges. The bottom line is that if liberal judges are appointed, we get liberal decisions. Indisputable. Irrefutable. And dangerous. Name your social ill - it can almost always be traced back to judicial tyranny.

1947: Violated the Constitution by banning freedom of expression. Enacting "a wall of separation between church and state." (Everson v. Board of Education)
1962: Prohibited nondenominational prayer from public schools. (Engle v. Vitale)
1963: Banned Bible teaching in public schools. (Abington Township v. Schempp)
1968: Allow teaching the theory of evolution. (Epperson v. Arkansas)
1973: Abortion: The right to kill the unborn.
1980: Ordered public schools to remove the Ten Commandments from student view. (Stove v. Graham)
1981: Freedom of press and speech is guaranteed to students unless the topic is religious.
1985: Disallowed religious benedictions and invocations from school activities. (Wallace v. Aguillard)
1992: Banning prayer at public school graduations. (Lee v. Weisman)
1992: Accused Colorado voters, of animosity towards homosexuals.
2000: Prohibited pre-game student-led prayers.
2000: Overturned the laws of 27 states banning partial-birth abortions.
2002: The Pledge of Allegiance is unconstitutional because of the words "under God."
2003: Rejected the 1986 state of Texas's ban on same-sex sodomy.
2003: Violated the First Amendment by ruling against Chief Justice Moore of Alabama in displaying a Ten Commandments monument in the state's judicial building.
2003: Supreme Court Upholds Campaign Finance Laws
4 posted on 10/11/2004 7:16:04 PM PDT by Jaysun (SORRY, this tag line is not an instant winner. Please play again.)
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To: Jaysun; nothingnew
The next President will appoint Judges. The bottom line is that if liberal judges are appointed, we get liberal decisions.

While I agree that conservative justices must be appointed to the High Court it's also obvious that an appointee, who is answerable to no one for the remainder of his/her life, would find it difficult not to succumb to the power of the office. All Justices are human, and all humans are venal.

Conservatives must be appointed not only to the Court, but also to the Congress. Without a truly Conservative Congress acting as an "active" watchdog over the Judiciary it doesn't matter how many conseravtive Justices are appointed to the Court.

5 posted on 10/11/2004 8:35:30 PM PDT by Noachian (A Democrat, by definition, is a Socialist.)
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