President Bush Jokes About Signing Unconstitutional CFR Bill

comment found in Washington Post article here ^ | Sunday, March 24, 2002 | Kristinn

[kristinn]

The Washington Post reported today that President joked about signing the unconstitutional Shays-Meehan campaign finance reform bill passed by the Senate last week.

Bush, in a statement issued Wednesday night, had expressed misgivings about whether parts of the bill were constitutional but said that he would sign the bill anyway.

His decision to sign the bill has kicked up a firestorm of dissent in the conservative community, including a scathing editorial by The Washington Times and a letter from the American Conservative Union signed by 60 conservative leaders.

[KDD]

I might believe you if they(senate)had enough votes to overturn a veto. But they don't. The Patriot Act was the beginning of questionable actions by this administration. That Act also has blatant unconstitutional provisions in it. Then he goes with steel tarrifs, making a lie of his talk of free trade at the Heritage Foundation before the election. No firm "No" on stem cell research. Attacking the states who have legalized marijuana for medical use with DEA BATF agents...and this after he spoke about the issue being a "states rights" issue before the election.

Immigration? Hah.

When he said that "too often my party balances the budget on the backs of the poor", I should have known.

[arly]

The real joke will come thru for him when he trys to get reelected in three years!..

[kristinn]

It wasn't written by Lloyd Grove (who pushed the Stevie Wonder story.)

We'll see if Ari Fleischer has something to say about this later today.

[Humidston]

I'm sorry, but I could not disagree more...

President Bush took an oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States, period.

If he signs this bill, I'll blame him. Nobody else. RINOs and Dems do what they always do. That's why I voted for Bush!

[Aria]

Tell me if I'm wrong. A. Bush knows this won't pass the test with the Supreme Court and therefore signs it, knows the challenges are coming and that the Court will dismantle it B.It passes the Court and therefore couldn't be stopped in the long term and a Republican might as well be the one to take away the issue from the Dems. Seems to be W is about taking away issues from the Dems. Not saying I like it, just that this is what I see. God bless Ronald Reagan - I don't think he would have done it this way.

[Polonius]

Thoughts?

[Brimack34]

I heard that the 2000 polling showed most conservative's stayed home and did not vote for BUSH. So I do not know if they are counting on them or not.

[TLBSHOW]

It sounds ratty.

[Texasforever]

The real joke will come thru for him when he trys to get reelected in three years!..

Well I assume you are a conservative and are not willing to elect Gore, and he will more than likely be the nominee, who do you have in mind to elect? I am not using the lesser of two evils argument, I am just asking for a viable candidate to challenge Bush in the primaries or as a 3rd party candidate.

[68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub]

"Bush will sign the bill. The Supreme Court will void it."

Yeah, as soon as the void the Brady Bill.

[RamsNo1]

No one can persuade a leader of the free world to do anything. If history is any guide, this President is pretty stubborn on what he wants no matter who bucks him. You can't tell me that some wimpy congressmen are to blame for Bush signing this bill. Dick Armey won't be signing it, Dick Gephardt won't be signing it, Daschle won't be signing it, Lott won't be signing it, GEORGE W BUSH WILL BE SIGNING IT AND HE CAN'T RELINQUISH RESPONSIBILITY FOR THIS ACTION WHETHER OR NOT IT IS OVERTURNED!

[patriciaruth]

Being President means making choices between awful and God awful much of the time.

What if you had a crystal ball, and could see into the future, and could see that if you signed the CFR bill that you would get control of the Senate back and be able to appoint pro-life judges to the appellate and Supreme court, and that the parts of the bill you didn't like would be declared unconstitutional by SCOTUS.

And then you looked into the crystal ball and saw that if you vetoed the bill, that you would not get control of the Senate, and that all pro-life judges you appointed would not be allowed on the courts as the Democrats continued to use a religious test for office to determine their consent.

What would you do?

[68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub]

"I still support him as commander-in-chief and his leadership in the war on terror."

My thoughts EXACTLY.

[TheGrimReaper]

You could well be correct about the "strategic thinking" which may be going on at the White House.
Nonetheless, GWB as well as the 535 members of the legislative branch took the oath to "preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States of America".
Therfore, every last SOB who voted "For" this CFR bill has failed to uphold his/her oath of office.
The Constitution is far more important than any political agenda.

[Polonius]

If Bush is making the same calculation as his father — trying to get by on wartime popularity — he's playing a dangerous game. I'm certainly not willing to abandon the Republicans quite yet, considering the alternatives, but Bush is putting a second term at risk by testing just how far he can push his base before they turn against him.

[ZULU]

The part of this bill that restricts when campaigning can occur - public speech- is a clear and obvious violation of the Constitution. If the Supreme Court does not overturn it, we are indeed in trouble. This is one of the least liberal courts we have ever enjoyed.

Was the Brady Bill ever taken before this court?

[RamsNo1]

Bush was quoted in a Reuters article also as making these very same "joking" comments. This is real my friend, and he really did say these things.

[68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub]

"What would you do?"

That's an easy answer.
Uphold the Constitution, nothing more, nothing less.
Nothing is in his oath of office says that this can be altered because of political gain or loss.