Wait… The Patriot Act is passed and reauthorized by Congress first. So you're suggesting that if Congress passes a reauthorization, and Obama signs it, then that same Congress should go back and impeach him? This seems… Unlikely…
The Patriot Act is a law. The buck stops at Congress. They passed it the first time. They reauthorized the parts of it that are still around the subsequent times. Trying to redirect the blame to the administration, which has, by the way, done plenty of things wrong, is a misunderstanding of the system and a distortion that does no one any favors. When we concentrate responsibility in the executive, we support the concentration of power in the executive, as well.
The Patriot Act is Congress's responsibility. And unless we send a strong signal as a nation, from sea to shining sea, to our representatives, that its powers are no longer acceptable (if, indeed, they ever were), nothing will change substantively. Congress is where the blame lies, no matter which administration the act was passed under or which administration it's being administered under now. Congress, Congress, Congress. They pass the laws, no matter whether or not the administration helps write them.
Well of course it was initially passed by Congress. However, because of the nature of the checks and balances between parts of our government, all 3 are equally guilty here since the Executive has enforced the law, and the Judicial since it has not summarily found it unconstitutional and overreaching, and thus killed it with fire. Further, and more to the point, I find that the Executive is more guilty here than any other, because it has classified interpretations which allow for the mass violation of constitutional rights. This isn't something that is up to Congress, and this is where the current President comes into play.
As for impeachment, it's much easier to try to punish a single person, or demand such, than it is to demand the punishment of hundreds. I don't think we should cry foul when a bad law is passed -- it's bound to happen. Rather, when both of the other branches fail to do their duty to balance power, or worse, exacerbate the problem.
Comments
Wait… The Patriot Act is passed and reauthorized by Congress first. So you're suggesting that if Congress passes a reauthorization, and Obama signs it, then that same Congress should go back and impeach him? This seems… Unlikely…
The Patriot Act is a law. The buck stops at Congress. They passed it the first time. They reauthorized the parts of it that are still around the subsequent times. Trying to redirect the blame to the administration, which has, by the way, done plenty of things wrong, is a misunderstanding of the system and a distortion that does no one any favors. When we concentrate responsibility in the executive, we support the concentration of power in the executive, as well.
The Patriot Act is Congress's responsibility. And unless we send a strong signal as a nation, from sea to shining sea, to our representatives, that its powers are no longer acceptable (if, indeed, they ever were), nothing will change substantively. Congress is where the blame lies, no matter which administration the act was passed under or which administration it's being administered under now. Congress, Congress, Congress. They pass the laws, no matter whether or not the administration helps write them.
Well of course it was initially passed by Congress. However, because of the nature of the checks and balances between parts of our government, all 3 are equally guilty here since the Executive has enforced the law, and the Judicial since it has not summarily found it unconstitutional and overreaching, and thus killed it with fire. Further, and more to the point, I find that the Executive is more guilty here than any other, because it has classified interpretations which allow for the mass violation of constitutional rights. This isn't something that is up to Congress, and this is where the current President comes into play.
As for impeachment, it's much easier to try to punish a single person, or demand such, than it is to demand the punishment of hundreds. I don't think we should cry foul when a bad law is passed -- it's bound to happen. Rather, when both of the other branches fail to do their duty to balance power, or worse, exacerbate the problem.