In a March 22, 2007 Time Magazine piece co-bylined with Massimo Calabresi, then-Washington Bureau Chief Jay Carney attacked the Bush administration for “its deliberate and aggressive efforts to expand and protect Executive power.”
In the piece, Carney and Calabresi charged that “[President George W.] Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney have spent six years expanding presidential powers at the expense of Congress and the judiciary, from authorizing domestic wiretapping to limiting habeas corpus and changing bills through signing statements.”
Carney also complained about the resistance from Bush administration officials to testify on those matters, which at the time included then-White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove.Thanks for that, Daily Caller! What was your opinion about big intrusive government at the time? Fir or agin'?
I can't vouch for the DC folks, but I did get this fundraising letter back in 2007 that might be illustrative. Among other things, it addressed the PATRIOT Act: If Democrats try to gut the USA Patriot Act and other important laws that promote the safety and security of all Americans, should Republicans in Congress fight back? The PATRIOT Act, you see, is the thing that authorizes all this expansion of executive power. Nearly everybody in Congress voted for it, to their discredit. I worried about it then and I worry about it now. But for the moment it's the ill-defined law of the land, which is why any attempt to impeach Obama over it are doomed to failure.
And sure I'd rather Obama ran the country without dipping into that cesspool of executive privilege, but so far no President has been able to resist it's oh-so-convenient charms. If Congress is going to spend all it's time trying to repeal laws it voted for, why not start with that one?
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