Executive Power Flexes its Muscle
Bush installed Bolton as U.N. Ambassador, over the Senate's refusal to vote on the matter. I may have been too squeamish in backing down from reader "Ignatius Loyola" who admonished me for defending the executive's authority to view the Senate's refusal to vote as an obstruction which executive power had the authority to overcome. Bush's argument that "this post is too important to leave vacant any longer, especially during a war and a vital debate about UN reform" is a strong one.
Bush installed Bolton as U.N. Ambassador, over the Senate's refusal to vote on the matter. I may have been too squeamish in backing down from reader "Ignatius Loyola" who admonished me for defending the executive's authority to view the Senate's refusal to vote as an obstruction which executive power had the authority to overcome. Bush's argument that "this post is too important to leave vacant any longer, especially during a war and a vital debate about UN reform" is a strong one.
posted by John Coumarianos at 8/01/2005 10:37:00 AM
3 Comments:
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OK, Iggy, a recess appointment isn't exactly over-the-top "macht", though U.N. Ambassador isn't a chump position. Anyway, it gets the job done. It forces the Senate to vote next time or have the pick shoved down their throat. I doubt Bolton would leave in the absence of a down vote.
I'm not sure the inability to get a vote the first time is a "political and constitutional failure." Or, if it is, it's the Senate's failure. As for not being able to run a government this way, I wouldn't underestimate executive power so much. Let's face it, fillibustering at every turn isn't exactly the way to run a government either.
If you hope for a constitutional decision, let's begin by having the Democrats respect the fact that the Republicans have a majority in the Senate by virtue of winning more elections. If the Democrats wish to rule, let them win more elections instead of using a pseudo-constitutional device to hijack the confirmation process.
I should have saved the original exchange. Sorry about that.
So Ignatius, as you imply some knowledge of this the rest of us lack, who will the next president be?
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