Executive Efficacy Expanded

by Elizabeth Cable [courtesy of Blog for America]

Many, many people in these united states long for the day upon which George W. Bush will vacate the Presidency. During Bush’s terms in office, he has gotten us into a Quagmire in Iraq (and has engaged in a generally arrogant and foolish foreign policy), deftly removed many of our civil liberties from us, racked up record deficits, exploited the people’s fear of terrorism (which helped him to win elections, achieve his agenda, and rob us of our apparently undeserved liberties), and, most importantly, greatly increased the power and influence of the Executive Branch. The People long for Bush’s exit because they are tired of these repeated abuses and usurpations, and with the hope that, once Dubya leaves, we’ll be able to get a Democrat or at least a moderate in office and get America back onto the right track. This perspective is not in agreement with my own; in point of fact, I disagree with it very strongly. It seems to me that this belief is the product of the very ignorance which allowed Bush to expand his office and worsen the state of the country in the first place. Let me take just a few moments in order to explain my thoughts more clearly on this matter.

During these past several years, Presidential puppet George W. Bush and the various puppeteers in his administration have worked to greatly expand the power of the Executive Branch in the United States government. They have been very successful in their pursuance of this goal, and it now appears as though we have a new kind of ”imperial presidency” in place. Their ability to expand the power of the Presidency was due to the negligence and cowardice of the Congress and the ignorance and inattentiveness of the American people. It is as Thomas Jefferson wrote, “If once the people become inattentive to the public affairs, you and I, and Congress and Assemblies, Judges and Governors, shall all become wolves. It seems to be the law of our general nature, in spite of individual exceptions.” The people were inattentive to the Executive office, so the officials associated with the Executive all became wolves, thirsting after, not blood, but power in the excess. But what are the implications of this greatly expanded efficacy of the Executive?  What are the implications of all of the new precedents set by the Executive office?