Comments on: The Madness of King George: Signing Statement

By: Chris Gibson

Chris Gibson — Mon, 24 Jul 2006 04:50:46 +0000

Saw this on the mainstream media today, regarding a report by an ABA group that “includes a one-time FBI director and former federal appeals court judge”:

“This [ABA] report raises serious concerns crucial to the survival of our democracy,” said the ABA’s president, Michael Greco. “If left unchecked, the president’s practice does grave harm to the separation of powers doctrine, and the system of checks and balances that have sustained our democracy for more than two centuries.”

I’m glad this story is (so far) holding the attention of the MSM.

By: Chris Gibson

Chris Gibson — Thu, 29 Jun 2006 05:01:25 +0000

For those who enjoy exercises left to the reader, someone has collected the full text of all prior Presidential Signing Statements (PSSs - no relation to ROUSs) and aggregated them together on one site. The annotations include links to the documents as posted on the White House web site, and other useful sources.

As posted in an blog entry on MSNBC, they are: Full Annotated Text of all PSSs Full Unannotated Text of All PSSs Index to PSSs

By: Tom Chappell

Tom Chappell — Wed, 28 Jun 2006 08:59:05 +0000

This is Arlen Specter’s M.O.: he huffs and puffs, says it’s not right, and then totally caves and doesn’t do a damn thing.

By: Chris Gibson

Chris Gibson — Tue, 27 Jun 2006 04:14:21 +0000

I saw a MSM article today (on MSNBC) which indicates that the Signing Statement has become visible in the mainstream. Two quotes:

“Signing statements have long been issued by presidents, dating back to Andrew Jackson all the way through President Clinton,” White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said Monday.

and

“It’s a challenge to the plain language of the Constitution,” the committee’s chairman, Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa, said in an interview with The Associated Press. “I’m interested to hear from the administration just what research they’ve done to lead them to the conclusion that they can cherry-pick.”

(Note that the second quote is from a Republican)

By: Tom Chappell

Tom Chappell — Wed, 18 Jan 2006 08:32:00 +0000

I have very slightly edited the original post to remove the implication that signing statements as such were a completely new thing.

By: Bill Standley

Bill Standley — Mon, 16 Jan 2006 19:05:34 +0000

To put this in proper perspective, I recommend you read this article which references these signing statements.

By: Chris Gibson

Chris Gibson — Sat, 07 Jan 2006 17:31:03 +0000

Certainly, President Bush II has used the signing statement more aggressively than any president before, but research on the Internet indicates it is hardly unknown, nor unprecented.

One link which purports to show ALL signing statements ever used by any chief executive shows that they have come into regular use since Truman was president, and more and more are being used by each successive officeholder.

Link: “All the Kings Statements”

Probably because of its liberal nature, one reported use was by Jimmy Carter, who used the signing statement to prevent conservatives in Congress from stymieing his plan to grant amnesty to Vietnam-era draft dodgers. President Clinton is reported to have issued 105 signing statements. President Bush #1 issued 146, but Bush II is at 500 and counting.

Clearly, there are huge issues here, and I don’t agree with the assault on the balance of power that the executive branch is waging, but the use of a signing statement, in and of itself, is probably only unknown to the “American People” because the American People (and their “guardians” in the popular press) are so pitifully ignorant of nearly everything having to do with current events.

..Chris..

By: Bill Standley

Bill Standley — Fri, 06 Jan 2006 19:01:40 +0000

You said it right, Tom. God help us all