Monday, January 28, 2008
The Libertarian Twist On Presidential Powers
Roger Pilon of the Cato Institute is on a mission. While his Center for Constitutional Studies has been pounding the drum for the years to tell us that the powers of Congress are limited and delineated, he takes a far different view of the Executive Branch.
Mr. Pilon views the authority to conduct war by the Commander In Chief as broad. His point is that the Framers purposely did not spell out exactly what the President could or could not do so that the person in this position would have wide-ranging flexibility in how to conduct foreign wars.
Today, in the Wall Street Journal, Mr. Pilon focuses like a laser beam on this point in regard to the expiration Friday of the Protect America Act. He writes:
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Mr. Pilon views the authority to conduct war by the Commander In Chief as broad. His point is that the Framers purposely did not spell out exactly what the President could or could not do so that the person in this position would have wide-ranging flexibility in how to conduct foreign wars.
Today, in the Wall Street Journal, Mr. Pilon focuses like a laser beam on this point in regard to the expiration Friday of the Protect America Act. He writes:
This dangerous situation should never have arisen. From the beginning, presidents have exercised their Article II executive power to gather foreign intelligence -- in war and peace alike, without congressional or judicial intrusion. As our principal agent in foreign affairs, the president is constitutionally bound to protect the nation. For that, intelligence is essential.Read the whole piece here.
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