Monday, February 16, 2004
Did Kerry just undermine the War Powers Act?
There's an interesting tidbit buried in the middle of the New York Post's article on Kerry's request that the Democrats abandon the "AWOL" issue. Toward the end of the article we find the following unnoticed item:
Kerry rejected the idea that his vote for the Iraq war means he bears some responsibility for it, saying: "The president had the authority to do what he was going to do without the vote of the U.S. Congress."
He did? I'm a long way from law school and no expert on the topic, but I thought that the War Powers Act, which was passed over Richard Nixon's veto, placed legal restrictions on the President's ability to deploy forces abroad without Congressional approval in advance, or ratification within 48 hours after the fact. Granted, no President has recognized the constitutionality of the War Powers Act and several have pointedly ignored it, but Congress -- not surprisingly -- takes the view that the War Powers Act is the law of the land. Of course, individual congressmen think that the WPA is hogwash and have said so, but it is remarkable that John Kerry would take that position. Am I the only one who noticed this?
Kerry rejected the idea that his vote for the Iraq war means he bears some responsibility for it, saying: "The president had the authority to do what he was going to do without the vote of the U.S. Congress."
He did? I'm a long way from law school and no expert on the topic, but I thought that the War Powers Act, which was passed over Richard Nixon's veto, placed legal restrictions on the President's ability to deploy forces abroad without Congressional approval in advance, or ratification within 48 hours after the fact. Granted, no President has recognized the constitutionality of the War Powers Act and several have pointedly ignored it, but Congress -- not surprisingly -- takes the view that the War Powers Act is the law of the land. Of course, individual congressmen think that the WPA is hogwash and have said so, but it is remarkable that John Kerry would take that position. Am I the only one who noticed this?
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