Democratic Underground

With Little Notice, Sen. Leahy (D-VT) Pushes Through Repeal of a Scary Bush Power Grab

by odum



Gone virtually unnoticed by the media was a true rarity: a Bush power grab, pushed through by the previous Republican Congress actually rolled back.



Of the many disturbing things this President and his GOP Congress did, this was one of the more chilling. Passed and signed into law in a very hush-hush manner, the law opens up the door for Bush to use the National Guard and other military forces domestically for almost any purpose he might deem appropriate.



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What could happen under the new law? As just one example, let’s say hundreds of demonstrators in Boston engaged in civil disobedience, sitting-in on the Boston Common to protest the country’s policies in Iraq, and traffic ground to a halt. Under the new law, the president could order in the Massachusetts National Guard to clear out the protesters even if the Massachusetts governor opposed this.

Indeed, the president could order the Guard of any state into any other state-even if the governors of both states objected.

In the end, Leahy got the right people front and center before his committee. From Newsday:

Upon learning of the change, infuriated governors, National Guard

associations and local law enforcement groups mounted a campaign to

repeal the language, which they say usurps state authority and damages

domestic disaster response.

Spurred by belated public awareness of the law, lawmakers from both

sides of the aisle raised objections.

“This law authorizes the president to essentially strip the control of a

state Guard unit from a state’s governor without consent,” Leahy said

during an April 24 hearing the Judiciary Committee held on the issue.

“No governor was consulted, no debate, no hearing, nothing took place,”

North Carolina Gov. Michael F. Easley, a Democrat, said at the April

hearing, adding that the law would hurt disaster response.

The repeal went into the latest Defense authorization, and quietly, and with little notice, a Bush power-grab was actually rolled back. How often does that happen?

(Source)