“They”, of course, are per se impeachable offenses signing statements, particularly the first one that the President has used all year, this associated with a military appropriations bill as duly observed by Signing Statement Chronicler Extraordinaire Charlie Savage.
In some ways, the current signing statements are more oblique than some of his earlier statements, such as, in response to an affirmative torture ban passed by his own party: “That pussy-shit John McCain can kiss my ass, I’ll water-board any damned raghead terrorist that I feel like”. The current, kindler, gentler signing statement now reads “Consistent with my Constitutional duties and as stated in similar bills which I responded with similar signing statements”. Still, the intent of the signing statement is the same. To paraphrase the “shorter” form developed by D-Squared: Shorter Bush Signing Statement: “Fuck YOU Constitution, Congress, and the American People, ’cause I command the men and women with guns.”
It had seemed that with an inconceivably long a mere 416 days left in his presidency, the President might have decided to behave like all those other presidents (including his own father) and simply veto bills he didn’t like, instead of signing them into law and then pretending that the law whose enactment he just effectuated somehow doesn’t apply to him.
It had seemed that, but now it appears that nothing much has changed. Except, of course, for history itself (just ask Karl!) You can take Karl out of the White House… or can you?
tdog
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