"Stuart & Kathryn Fields" wrote in message
.. .
Ed, I think that you are right about the lack of voter support for Nick's
idea of secession. I also agree with Nick that our "leaders" have tromped
merrily over the Constitution and usurped power not specifically granted
to the Federal Government. This I think needs to be stopped. We had a
Constitutional Amendment to stop booze. We didn't bother with an
Amendment for the Drug war and are merrily locking away people when found
with small amounts of Marijuana and in fact have created a similar
industry to that run by the gangs in prohibition days. We didnt' bother
with an Amendment when Bush latched on to the power to declare someone an
enemy combatant and strip them of their Constitutionally guranteed rights.
Further as Naomi Wolf says in her book, the changes that have been going
on in our government parallel closely those used by historically famous
dictators. I don't think that Constitutional Amendments are going to work
anymore if the Elected Representatives choose to ignore the Constitution
to start with.

You have some good points, Stu, and I think a lot of the blame has to fall
on Congress for not contesting Bush's usurpations. There's a lot of
discussion in policy circles these days about how difficult it is to roll
back presidential powers once they're implemented if Congress doesn't
challenge them. For the most part, only Congress has standing to challenge
those things in court. But such challenges rarely get to the Supreme Court
because nobody likes a Constitutional crisis.

The thing that makes it sticky right now is our semi-war footing. During a
war, presidential powers usually are granted and allowed to slide. After the
war is over, everyone understands that the president can't expect Congress
to go along with any special powers assumed during the war. Congress now is
somewhat between a rock and a hard place, because the realists know they
can't just pull out of Iraq, and they're giving Bush as much slack as they
can to prosecute the war and get it over with. Of course, there also are
plenty in Congress who want out right now, but not enough to make anything
stick, legally.

But I'm among those who think they have allowed too much, and they should
force a confrontation on many issues now, while Bush is a lame duck and has
little sway over Republicans in Congress. Now is the time to roll those
things back.

--
Ed Huntress