Madison once said, “In republican government, the legislative authority necessarily predominates. The remedy for this inconveniency is to divide the legislature…and the executive… should be fortified.” In the
U.S.’s current administration, Congress has been particularly divided on many issues due to its increasingly partisan nature. This division has allowed President Bush to increase his power, especially since the
U.S. is currently at war.
One example is the current issue of domestic spying. Bush justifies the spying as a necessary means of protecting the country during a war in which the enemy is not easily distinguished. Congress is divided on this issue, and not necessarily by party, because there are Democrats and Republicans alike who are very against Bush’s domestic spying, and members of both parties who feel it is a necessary evil during a time of war.[1] Either way, a divided Congress can not act as quickly or efficiently on the issue of domestic spying, giving the president some leeway.
A similar example is with the war in
Iraq. Although initially Congress was very supportive of the war, there is now a lot of debate of whether or not we should keep throwing money and troops into a conflict that has been going on for quite a while.[2] Again, there are Democrats and Republicans who feel that the
U.S. needs to get out of
Iraq, and others that fear the consequences of doing so, and again, Bush has more power to make decisions while Congress remains divided.
Recently Bush was able to evade the requisite approval process in the Senate for nomination of key defense and foreign policy posts in his administration. His controversial choices have caused uproar in the Senate. Under Senate rules, a single senator can block a presidential nomination, if he or she has serious concerns about the candidate's fitness for the job.[3] Carl Levin, a Democrat in the Senate, has put a senatorial hold on the nomination, but so long as the Senate remains divided, there is not much to be done about Bush’s action.
Because of division over political issues and ideologies in Congress, President Bush can gain power as the chief executive. The fact that the nation it at war, makes his actions seem more excusable, since war often calls for some bending of the rules.
[1] http://www.wthr.com/global/story.asp?s=8945
[2] http://www.juancole.com/2005/08/ten-things-congress-could-demand-from.html
[3] http://www.politicalgateway.com/news/read.html?id=5780
Congress and Bush are butting heads right now because they are up for election this year and he's not. The midterm election was one of the greatest inventions of the Founding Fathers and is suited for times like now. If the people are disappointed with the choice they made in the Presidential election, the can elect representatives to stand against that president in the midterm elections.