Year: 2006

Enough is enough. Where the heck does Bush or anybody else get off saying that the President has “Constitutional War Time Powers”. Hello? Nowhere in The Constitution does it say anything about “wartime powers” for anyone, anywhere.

Repeated and repeated, over and over again, the “wartime authority” claims are close to, if not, propaganda. The President wants his actions excused as being necessary to keep America safe, to protect us from the terrorists and terrorist attacks.

Why do some of Americans believe it? Because they have not taken the time to educate themselves and read the Constitution. Here for the lazy is Constitution 101:

To be considered “wartime” a declared state of war would have to exist.

The Constitution gives only Congress the authority to declare war.

Congress has declared no war (a resolution to use force is not a declaration of war).

No declaration – no state of war – no wartime powers.

The Supreme Court has the final authority on what is or is not Constitutional. Two times a President has taken action declaring “Constitutional wartime authority”. Both times the Supreme Court ruled the President does not. In Ex Parte Milligan the court ruled Lincoln’s suspension of Habeus Corpus under the guise of “Presidential wartime authority” was an unconstitutional act and in Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co v Sawyer Truman claimed he had a Constitutional Duty to protect Americans and needed contol over the steel industry to Protect America because a strike was hurting the Korean war effort.

What matters is the powers and authority of the Executive branch are spelled out in Article II Section 2 of the Constitution. Still don’t believe me? Read the relevant section of the Constitution below and while you are reading remember the 10th amendment, you know the one where – powers not delegated to the government, which includes the President, do not exist as far as the government is concerned. Powers not delegated belong to the people and/or the states.

Article II Section 2 of the Constitution

The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States; he may require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any Subject relating to the Duties of their respective Offices, and he shall have Power to Grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.

He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by Law: but the Congress may by Law vest the Appointment of such inferior Officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the Courts of Law, or in the Heads of Departments.

The President shall have Power to fill up all Vacancies that may happen during the Recess of the Senate, by granting Commissions which shall expire at the End of their next Session.