The 'Fuck You' clause in the US Constitution

Make sure you read the entire thing - especially the last paragraph

Article II, Section 2:

The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States; he may require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any Subject relating to the Duties of their respective Offices, and he shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.

He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by Law: but the Congress may by Law vest the Appointment of such inferior Officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the Courts of Law, or in the Heads of Departments.

The President shall have Power to fill up all Vacancies that may happen during the Recess of the Senate, by granting Commissions which shall expire at the End of their next Session.

In times of extraordinary emergency, as determined by the President, the President is hereby granted the power to do whatever the fuck he wants.

At least that's what the Constitution that Bush has says.

It's what's in Bush's version of the Constitution *now*...

like he reads the Bible. He's got a real warped version of both.

http://writ.news.findlaw.com/dean/20020607.html

"While our constitution contains no express provision for "emergency" or "crisis" situations, such a provision is not necessary. The U.S. Supreme Court made clear in Ex Parte Milligan, following the Civil War, that "the government, within the Constitution, has all the powers granted to it which are necessary to preserve its existence." Or as one commentator has added, "self-preservation is the first law of any nation."

Past presidents - principally Abraham Lincoln, Woodrow Wilson, and Franklin Roosevelt - by exercising their powers in time of emergency, have expanded their authority as necessary to meet emergencies they faced. They have, in essence, made the law in times of crisis, not always in the manner envisioned.

Lincoln launched the Civil War unilaterally, without Congressional action, following the secession of seven Southern states. Only later did he obtain Congressional approval. His critics called him a dictator. But he got the job done that had to be done.

Wilson asked for and received near dictatorial powers from Congress when attacks by Germany against American ships and submarines plunged the nation into World War I. He had to raise and equip a large army to fight on foreign soil. To do so, he demanded and received unprecedented new power and authority"

the autor says that it can be OK when the President is responsible and things go back to normal after the crisis.
He compares even with other democracies in similar situations.

the problem is : what happens if the President is not "normal" ?

The problem here is that this is not a declared war. Bush is taking the authority Congress gave him to fight terrorism and stretching it as far as he possibly can. Bush knows damned well that we're not fighting a tangible enemy like we were in WWII, WWI, and the Civil War. Therefore, he feels free to make shit up as he goes along, and simply say it's part of the 'war on terror'.

and :

"Later, following the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, which forced the United States into World War II, FDR's exertion of his presidential powers would far exceed anything Wilson or Lincoln had done. Through the strength of his personality, Roosevelt lead the nation from that day of "infamy" through battles in Europe, Africa, Asia and the Pacific to total victory.

While FDR continued to ask Congress for what he needed, he gave them no choice as to whether they would accede. For example, in demanding that Congress repeal provisions in the Price Control Act (prohibiting ceilings on certain food products), he told the Congress: "In the event the Congress should fail to act, and act adequately, I shall accept the responsibility, and I will act." And he reminded the Congress: "The President has the power ... to take measures necessary to avert a disaster which would interfere with winning of the war."


and


"Congress has the power to determine whether it wants the American equivalent of a constitutional dictator in the White House. The only way to be certain that we don't make that decision during a crisis, is to revise and codify our emergency laws now - before fear and anger in the aftermath of a possible attack might cause us to make bad decisions, and too easily trade liberty for security in numerous areas."

"As I write this column, President Bush has announced that he will address the nation about his plans for restructuring the government for fighting the war on terrorism. None of Professor Rossiter's observations about our history is more chilling than his finding that each national crisis has left the nation a little less democratic than before. With the President's announcement, it is not too soon to consider whether, in fighting terrorism, we really want a constitutional dictator to lead us. I certainly don't, nor do I know anyone who does, but if a future attack comes, and is devastating, the pressure to resort to constitutional dictatorship may be irresistible."

so the bottom line is responsability

above was written in june 2002

:sarcasm:

In the event that a Democrat ever occupies the Oval Office again*, the U.S. Constitution shall be returned to the absolute highest law of the land and regarded as a pure holy writing from God himself in accordance with Republican demands. No debate, no exceptions, and Republicans shall hold the Democrat in strict accordance to the U.S. Constitution. In the mean time, be good Germans.... uh, Americans.

*See Diebold