Paul Craig Roberts is a former Senior Research Fellow at the Hoover Institution, a former Assistant Secretary of the Treasury in the Reagan Administration, and a prolific and popular journalist.
He continues to praise Ronald Reagan and to endorse many of Reagan's policies, arguing that "true conservatives" were the "first victims" of the Bush administration.
May 2, 2006
The Omnipotent (But Far From Omniscient) Executive
Endgame for the ConstitutionBy PAUL CRAIG ROBERTS
The Bush administration has done more damage to Americans and more harm to America's reputation than any other administration in history. Yet, a majority of Republicans still support Bush. This tells much about blind party loyalty.
<snip>
Not content with the uncontrollable mayhem he has brought to Iraq, Bush hopes to expand the catastrophe by attacking Iran.
The US Secretary of State, sounding like the warmonger she is, says the US may ignore the United Nations and attack Iran on its own initiative. This would be the second time that the Bush administration initiated wars of aggression--war crimes under the Nuremburg standard established by the US.Bush claims that he is higher authority than both US law and international law. In the past, US presidents vetoed laws with which they disagreed. Bush signs the laws and ignores them.
Bush has declared himself to be the sole judge of the limits of his powers--a claim that violates Bush's oath of office to uphold the US Constitution. Bush has set aside the Bill of Rights by detaining people indefinitely without charges, by kidnapping and torturing people, and by spying on Americans without warrants. These are actions that are illegal under law as well as unconstitutional. All of these violations of law and the Constitution are serious impeachable offenses.
Yet. Congress is supine as the Bush regime exercises dictatorial powers. The exercise of these dictatorial powers by the executive is a far greater danger to American liberty than are Muslim terrorists.Bush's apologists claim that only terrorists have anything to fear. However,
unaccountable executive power is inconsistent with free societies. America is no exception. Unless Bush is impeached and turned over to the war crimes court in the Hague, Americans will never reclaim their liberties from an executive branch that has established itself as the sole judge of the limits of its powers.
<snip>
When President Richard Nixon made excessive claims for presidential powers, principled Republicans revolted and helped to bring down Nixon.
Today's Republicans are loyal only to power. They have no principles. By supporting Bush, Republicans are bringing down America.
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