If you do, you're not alone...The United States needs a new law requiring that the president consult with Congress before going to war, a blue-ribbon panel led by two former secretaries of state said Tuesday.
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Baker, who served in George H.W. Bush's administration, and Christopher, who served under President Bill Clinton, said their project was not prompted by any specific war, with Christopher adding that the commission had "tried very hard not to call balls and strikes on past history here."
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The existing law, the War Powers Resolution of 1973, has been regarded as unconstitutional by every president since it was passed as a response to the Vietnam War, Baker and Christopher said. It requires presidents to report regularly to Congress about ongoing conflicts, but the provision has been flouted.
"No president has ever made a submission to Congress pursuant to the War Powers Resolution since 1973," former Sen. Slade Gorton, a Republican member of the committee, said Tuesday.
Ever hear of checks and balances? Well the President hasn't...this act has been the source of more abuse of power over the years than nearly any other, and it really, really needs to change. Not just because of Bush (though he gives a really good reason on his own), but because it was never how our founders intended it to be. War is not something to give power for with a blank check and no oversight, and yet since Vietnam we've done just that.
Let's go back to the way it was supposed to be. Power shared between branches equally and oversight of each by the other...and no war without restraint.
Technorati Tags: Politics, Bush, War+Powers
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