This is interesting from a constitutional perspective.
I agree with you. Specter is all about the Senate and its prerogatives.
In a very bad way.
Signing statements have been around since George Washington, the gripe with Bush is that, he uses them far more often, and in different ways, and voices concerns allowing for them to be used to strike down parts of a bill.
Congress, threatening to sue Bush is upsetting to the balance of powers, and would open the door at some point to vice versa.
Really which constitution, ours or the hidden Scottish one?
At first glance I would think this is more of a constitutional "loophole" as opposed to a violation of the Constitution. Challenging the constitutional validity of something is the right of any branch of the government, but this seems to be going too far.
It's playing fast and loose with the rules, but is more of a violation of spirit than of the letter of the law.
Of course, anything that pisses Arlen off can't be all bad...
"This is interesting from a constitutional perspective."
Essentially Bush is making the House and Senate meaningless by deciding which laws they pass he will enforce or not. King Bush?