Constitutional crisis brewing?
I am beginning to wonder if the United States is about to head into a major constitutional crisis. Let us speculate as follows:
1. President Bush remains unyielding in his commitment to increase the troops in Iraq by 21,500.
2. The President's State of the Union, however, fails to convince most Americans that the surge, escalation, increase or whatever you want to call it is actually a good idea.
3. The Democrats push ahead with a nonbinding resolution to disapprove of the increase. The resolution passes by fairly large margin in both House and Senate.
4. Bush ignore the resolution and makes plan to increase the troops anyway. The Democrats are now pressed by constituents to either (a) cut off funding for the surge/escalation or (b) pass an actual measure limiting the US troop commitment to present levels.
5. Congress then passes such a resolution while Bush already is sending the additional troops to Iraq.
Obviously, this story is built of speculation upon speculation. But I do not think this scenario -- or some similar version of events -- is all that farfetched. In fact, I believe we have a dangerous cocktail of newly empowered Democrats and an incredibly stubborn President who may be on a constitutional crisis crash course, since nobody really knows where Congress's war power ends and the Administration's begins. Should Bush press ahead with the surge despite offical Congressional action prohibiting the increase, well, the only recourse would be impeachment, of Bush and Cheney.
1. President Bush remains unyielding in his commitment to increase the troops in Iraq by 21,500.
2. The President's State of the Union, however, fails to convince most Americans that the surge, escalation, increase or whatever you want to call it is actually a good idea.
3. The Democrats push ahead with a nonbinding resolution to disapprove of the increase. The resolution passes by fairly large margin in both House and Senate.
4. Bush ignore the resolution and makes plan to increase the troops anyway. The Democrats are now pressed by constituents to either (a) cut off funding for the surge/escalation or (b) pass an actual measure limiting the US troop commitment to present levels.
5. Congress then passes such a resolution while Bush already is sending the additional troops to Iraq.
Obviously, this story is built of speculation upon speculation. But I do not think this scenario -- or some similar version of events -- is all that farfetched. In fact, I believe we have a dangerous cocktail of newly empowered Democrats and an incredibly stubborn President who may be on a constitutional crisis crash course, since nobody really knows where Congress's war power ends and the Administration's begins. Should Bush press ahead with the surge despite offical Congressional action prohibiting the increase, well, the only recourse would be impeachment, of Bush and Cheney.
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