It's no secret to anyone here that George Bush has claimed for himself an unseemly amount of authority as President. Under the guise of fighting terrorism, and invoking his role as Commander-in-Chief, Bush has claimed the power to ignore laws duly passed by Congress; to arrest American citizens and foreign nationals indefinitely without due process or judicial oversight; to eavesdrop on American citizens making international--and even domestic--calls; to disclose classified information for political purposes; and to attack any nation he wants under the doctrine of "preemptive" war. Such a claim is not only unprecedented--it's dictatorial.
That's why I'd like to have all our 2008 presidential hopefuls sign a pledge to reject Bush's imperial presidency and return the country to a constitutional presidency instead. Read the pledge below the fold.
We'd all like to hope that this dangerous expansion of the "unitary executive" theory will go away on January 20th, 2009--Bush's last day in office--but we'd be wrong. Unfortunately, a president's actions are rarely theirs alone; they act as precedents that future chief executives can choose to follow, and perhaps even expand. It's not hard to imagine the new president settling into office on that cold January day and saying to his or herself, "I kinda like all this extra power Bush claimed for the office--and I'm gonna keep it." That's why we must start lobbying our presidential hopefuls NOW and get their commitment to renounce Bush's imperial presidency and embrace the constitutional presidency the Founders envisioned.
So here's the "Constitutional Presidency Pledge" I'd like all our presidential hopefuls to sign. I got the idea of a pledge from those stupid "no-tax pledges" they make politicians sign in New Hampshire. The text:
The Constitutional Presidency Pledge
We, the undersigned, categorically reject President Bush's claims of unlimited executive power. We believe these claims are patently unconstitutional and have upset the delicate balance of power between our three branches of government. Furthermore, the actions President Bush has justified with these claims (torture, preemptive war, illegal surveillance, etc.) have gravely injured our democracy and our reputation around the world.
As Democratic presidential candidates, we pledge that, should any one of us win the presidency, we will renounce the unprecedented claims of power made by Mr. Bush, and work with Congress and the judiciary to restore the proper constitutional balance the Founders intended. We further pledge to reject any precedents established under these claims of power, to overturn any executive orders and decisions made under these claims, and conduct the struggle against terrorism and American foreign policy within the bounds of our Constitution.
I believe the dangers posed by the imperial presidency are serious enough that this should be a litmus test for all our candidates. So, my question to Mark Warner, Hillary Clinton, Russ Feingold, John Kerry, John Edwards, Evan Bayh, Wesley Clark, Bill Richardson, Joe Biden, Tom Vilsack, Tom Daschle, Al Gore, and any other hopeful is this: do you aspire to take over an imperial presidency, or to restore the constitutional presidency? Do you aspire to be our next tyrant, or will you sign the pledge?